''Tahdhib al-Ahkam'' ( ar, تَهْذِيب ٱلَأَحْكَام فِي شَرْح ٱلْمُقْنِعَه) ''(Tahdhib al-Ahkam fi Sharh al-Muqni'ah lit. ''Rectification of the Statutes in Explaining the Disguised'' or ''The Refinement of the Laws'') is a
Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
collection, by
Twelver
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
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 ...
Hadith scholar
Abu Ja'far Muhammad Ibn Hasan Tusi, commonly known as Shaykh Tusi. This work is included among
the four books of
Shia Islam
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, m ...
. It is a commentary on the Al-Muqni'ah by
Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid () and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c.9481022 CE), was a prominent Twelver Shia theologian. His father was a teacher (''mu'allim''), hence the name Ibn ...
, who was a Twelver Shia theologian.
Title
''Tahdhib al-Ahkam'' is translated by
Ludwig W. Adamec as ''confirmation of decision''
and by I.K.A Howard as ''The Refinement of the Laws (as Discussed)''.
Author
''Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hasan Tusi'' ( fa, ابوجعفر محمد بن حسن توسی) known as Shaykh al-Ta'ifah ( ar, شيخ الطائفة) or Shaykh al-Tusi was born in 996 AD in
Tus,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. He was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Shia
Twelver
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
scholar and authored two references of Shia collections of
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
, Tahdhib al-Ahkam and
Al-Istibsar. Al-Shaikh al-Tusi died in
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 ...
on the 22nd of
Muharram
Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...
on 2 December 1067.
Background
Al-Istibsar is one of the
four major Shia collections of Hadith ( fa, الكتب الاربعة) authored by Shaykh Tusi.
According to Ali Nasiri, when Shaykh Tusi transferred to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
and participated in the class session of
Shaykh al-Mufid, he found conflicting
Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
(traditions) in Shia sources. Due to his nomination at the introduction of ''Tahdhib al-Ahkam'',
he wrote the book as a commentary on the Al-Muqni'ah for solving the crisis of contradiction in the Shia Islamic seminary in response to his friend request. Ali Nasiri give three reasons for selection Al-Muqni'yah by Shaykh Tusi: dignity of Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid, Al-Muqni'ah was based on Shia view and last reason is fruition of Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid’s intellectual and mental protection.
Content
Shaykh Tusi explained his style in authoring the ''Tahdhib al-Ahkam'' in the introduction of it. According to viewpoint of Ali Nasiri, Shaykh Tusi authored this book basis on the six phases:
# Mention the jurisprudential issues by keeping the structure of the book al-Muqni by Shaykh al-Mufid
# Recounting their proof except tradition (Hadith): Shaykh Tusi nominated to three type of proof, the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
,
Sunnah and
consensus (agreement of the Muslim scholars basically on religious issues). The types of Quranic evidence was described by him. Also, according to his belief, Sunnah may contain
Mutawatir tradition or
Ahaad
Hadith terminology ( ar, مصطلح الحديث, muṣṭalaḥu l-ḥadīth) is the body of terminology in Islam which specifies the acceptability of the sayings (''hadith'') attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by other early Islamic fig ...
. In view of Shaykh Tusi, consensus referred to an agreement of
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 ...
Muslim scholars.
# Recounting the Hadith proof: one of the fundamental parts at Tahdhib al-Ahkam is to rely on the tradition that protects every issue.
# Recounting the conflicting proof: rectifying the conflicting tradition was the main purpose of Shaykh Tusi for authoring this book. So he devoted the main part of his work to examine such tradition with a tradition that verifies every issue.
# Describing the way of rectifying concordant and conflicting traditions: after determining this type of tradition, Shaykh Tusi inspect the way of rectifying.
# Citing tradition in a bid to declare the interpretation: Shaykh Tusi used interpretation and rationalization to rectifying concordant and conflicting traditions.
Therefore, Shaykh Tusi proceeded to his work in three step:
# Transmitting tradition that verifies every issue
# Transmitting tradition that contrasts the first set of tradition
# Transmitting tradition that affirms the interpretation
''Tahdhib al-Ahkam'' contains the following:
:I: Ritual purity in Islam ( ar, الطهارة (Taharah))
:II:
Prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...
:III:
religious tax
:IV:
fasting regulated by Islamic jurisprudence
:V:
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
:VI:
Sacred War
:VII: Judgements and Legal Requirements ( ar, القضاء و الاحکام)
:VIII: Acquisitions ( ar, المکاسب)
:IX:
Trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
( ar, التجارة)
:X:
Marriage in Islam
:XI:
Divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
:XII: Manumission of Slaves
:XIII: Oaths, Vows and Atonements
:XIV: Hunting and Ritual Slaughter
:XV: Endowments and Alms
:XVI: Bequests
:XVII: Formal Rules of Inheritance
:XVIII: Punishment prescribed by Revelation
:XIX: Indemnities for Bodily Injury
According to
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 ...
publication, ''Tahdhib al-Ahkam'' included 409 chapters, 13988 traditions and according to the counting of
Muhaddis Noori it included 393 chapters, 13590 traditions. This variance between reports had led by mistake in counting.
See also
* ''
Akhlaq-i Nasiri''
* ''
Hilyat al-Muttaqin''
References
{{Shia hadith literature, state=collapsed
Hadith collections
11th-century Arabic books
Shia hadith collections