''Kitab al-Makasib'' or ''Makasib'' ( ar, كتاب المكاسب, lit=Transactions) is a two-volume Twelver Shi'ah legal manual of Islamic

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

law written on ''

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

'' by

Morteza Ansari Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Murtadha al-Ansari al-Tostari (1781–1864), ( ar, مرتضی الأنصاري التستري; fa, مرتضی انصاری شوشتری ), also transliterated as Mortaza Ansari Shushtari, was a Shia jurist who "was genera ...

. It remains a key textbook in the modern

Hawza A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold s ...

and has been the subject of numerous commentaries. ''Makasib'' and the notable work of Akhund Khorasani, ''

Kefayah al-osul Kifayat al-Usul ( ar, كفاية الاصول) (''Sufficiency of Principles'') is a two-volume book that contains the most notable works of Akhund Khorasani in the field of Principles of Islamic jurisprudence (''Usul al-Fiqh''). ''Kifayat al-Us ...

'', are taught in advanced classes at the

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. This book is one of the resources for the examination of the

Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts ( fa, مجلس خبرگان رهبری, majles-e khobregân-e rahbari), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme ...

Author

Sheikh

(1781,

Dezful Dezful ( fa, دزفول, pronounced , Dezfuli dialect: Desfil, pronounced ) also Romanized as Dezfūl and Dezfool; also known as Dīzfūl and Ab I Diz is a city and capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its popu ...

– 1864,

Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...

) was one of the most influential

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

scholars of the 19th century. He trained more than a thousand students. He was the leading Shia scholar in the late

Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

period. After Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi, Ansari became the general

Marja' Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...

of Shia. Two of his most significant works are ''Makasib'' and ''Faraed al-Osul'', which are both used as textbooks on Shia law.

Concept of the book

This book has three sections. The first section is about forbidden transactions ( ar, مکاسب المحرمه, links=no), the second is about sale ( ar, بیع, links=no), and the third is about options in the sale ( ar, خیارات, links=no). The end of the book is devoted to other issues, such as ''

Taqiya In Shi'ism, ''Taqiya'' or ''Taqiyya'' ( ar, تقیة ', literally "prudence, fear")R. STROTHMANN, MOKTAR DJEBLI. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed, Brill. "TAKIYYA", vol. 10, p. 134. Quote: "TAKIYYA "prudence, fear" ..denotes dispensing with th ...

'',

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officia ...

, and ''

rada The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Se ...

''.

Commentaries

''Makasib'' has been the subject of commentaries by Sheikh Abbas Qomi,

Akhund Khorasani Ayatullah Sheikh Muhammad Kazim Khurasani ( fa, ; 1839 – 12 December 1911), commonly known as Akhund Khurasani ( fa, ) was a Shia jurist and political activist. He is known for using his position as a Marja as legitimizing force behind the ...

Muhammad Hossein Naini Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad-Hossein Naini Gharavi ( fa, ; May 25, 1860 – August 14, 1936) was Iranian Shia marja'. His father Mirza Abdol Rahim and grandfather Haji Mirza Saeed, both one were Sheikhs of Nain and Mohammad Hussein proved him ...

Agha Zia Addin Araghi Zia'eddin Araghi also known as Agha Zia'eddin Araghi ( fa, آقا ضیاء الدین عراقی) was an eminent Shia jurist, Usuli and Mujtahid during the flourishing the Usul Fiqh in Ja'fari school in Shia after Muhammad Baqir Behbahani. F ...

, Mirza Abu'l-Hassan Azarbaijani Meshkini, and Sheikh Mousavi Khansari.

Editions

The first edition of the book was completed in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, 1886–7. The second edition was completed in Qom, and the last and popular (incomplete) edition was written by Muḥammad Kalāntar in five volumes in Najaf, 1972–5.

Corrected editions

There are numerous corrected editions of ''Makasib''. One of the editions was done by the Shaykh Ansari Congress; the first volume was published by 1415 AH and other volumes, namely, volumes 2–6, were gradually published until 1420 AH. The corrected edition was produced using one manuscript version and six printed ones. Another corrected edition was done by Hossein Amr Allahi and Muhammad Reza Fakir and issued by the institute of Islamic publication in Qom.

References