Kitab al-Kafi
Template:Hadith collections The Kitab al-Kafi is a Shia hadith collection compiled by Mohammad Ya'qub Kulainy. It is divided into three sections: Usul al-Kafi, which is concerned with the principle of religion, Furu al-Kafi, which is concerned with the details of religious law, and Rawdat (or Rauda) al-Kafi, which is concerned with various religious aspects and includes some writings of the imams.[1]
Usul al-Kafi
Usul al-Kafi (literally, "Sufficing fundamentals") includes 16,199 traditions that can be traced back to Muhammad and his Ahl al-Bayt by an unbroken isnad (chain of transmission). Of the basic traditions, scholars have placed 5,072 in the first category (sahih "sound"), 144 are placed in the second category (hasan "good"), 178 are placed in the third category (muwaththaq "trustworthy"), 302 are placed in the fourth category (qawi "strong"), and the remaining 9,484 are placed in the fifth category (da'if "weak").[1]
The book has come under criticism throughout history. For example, Shaqyh al-Saduq, the famous Shi'a scholar, claimed that it consisted of mostly weak narrations. Sayyid al-Khoie points this out in his "Mu'jam Rijaal al-Hadith", or "Collection of Men of Narrations", in which he states:
أنّ الشيخ الصدوق : قدّس سرّه : لم يكن يعتقد صحّة جميع مافي الكافي "Shaqyh al-Sadook did not regard the majority of the traditions in al-Kafi to be Sahih (truthful)."[2]
Al-Khoei also states, in his Mu'jam (on the same referenced page):
"لانّ فيها مرسلات وفيها روايات في اسنادها مجاهيل، ومن إشتهر بالوضع والكذب،" :There is within it (Al-Kafi) traditions, who's chains of narration contain (known) ignorants, liars and fabricators."
This is not to dismiss al-Kafi in its entirety, as it still contains thousands of authentic narrations.
Furu al-Kafi
Furu al-Kafi is one of the most authoritative Shia hadith collections, containing eight volumes. It consists of books and sections on jurisprudence and is one of the authoritative reference books for deduction and independent reasoning (ijtihad) from Islamic law for the Shi'a jurisprudents (fiqh).
Rawdat al-Kafi
Rawdat al-Kafi is the third section.
References
- ^ a b Howard, I. K. A. (1976), "'Al-Kafi' by Al-Kulayni", Al-Serat: A Journal of Islamic Studies, 2 (1)
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ (Arabic reference)
See also
- List of Shi'a books
- Shahr Usul al-Kafi, a commentary on the Usul al-Kafi
- Branches of Religion, Furu al-din
- Sharif al-Kafi
External links
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