So in this case, what did the compiler of Man La Yahdhuhul Faqih, Shaikh Sadooq (one of our greatest scholars ever) himself say about his book and its authenticity?
Preface of Man la yahdhuruhul faqih (by Shaikh Sadooq)
أما بعد فإنه لما ساقني القضاء إلى بلاد الغربة ، وحصلني القدر منها بأرض
بلخ من قصبة إيلاق وردها الشريف الدين أبو عبد الله المعروف بنعمة - وهو
محمد بن الحسن بن إسحاق بن [ الحسن بن ] الحسين بن إسحاق بن موسى بن جعفر بن محمد
ابن علي بن الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب عليهم السلام فدام بمجالسته سروري وانشرح بذاكرته
صدري وعظم بمودته تشرفي ، لأخلاق قد جمعها إلى شرفه من ستر وصلاح ، وسكينة ووقار
وديانة وعفاف ، وتقوى وإخبات فذاكرني بكتاب صنفه محمد بن زكريا المتطبب
الرازي وترجمه بكتاب " من لا يحضره الطبيب " وذكر أنه شاف في معناه ، وسألني
أن أصنف له كتابا في الفقه والحلال والحرام ، والشرايع والأحكام ، موفيا على جميع
ما صنفت في معناه وأترجمه ب " كتاب من لا يحضره الفقيه " ليكون إليه مرجعه
وعليه معتمده ، وبه أخذه ، ويشترك في أجره من ينظر فيه ، وينسخه ويعمل بمودعه ،
هذا مع نسخه لأكثر ما صحبني من مصنفاتي وسماعه لها ، وروايتها عني ، ووقوفه
على جملتها ، وهي مائتا كتاب وخمسة وأربعون كتابا .
فأجبته - أدام الله توفيقه - إلى ذلك لأني وجدته أهلا له ، وصنفت له هذا
الكتاب بحذف الأسانيد لئلا تكثر طرقه وإن كثرت فوائده ، ولم أقصد فيه قصدالمصنفين في إيراد جميع ما رووه ، بل قصدت إلى إيراد ما أفتي به وأحكم بصحته
وأعتقد فيه أنه حجة فيما بيني وبين ربي - تقدس ذكره وتعالت قدرته - وجميع ما فيه
مستخرج من كتب مشهورة ، عليها المعول وإليها المرجع ، مثل كتاب حريز بن
عبد الله السجستاني وكتاب عبيد الله بن علي الحلبي وكتب علي بن مهزيار
الأهوازي ، وكتب الحسين بن سعيد ، ونوادر أحمد بن محمد بن عيسى وكتاب
نوادر الحكمة تصنيف محمد بن أحمد بن يحيى بن عمران الأشعري وكتاب الرحمة لسعد بن عبد الله وجامع شيخنا محمد بن الحسن بن الوليد رضي الله عنه ونوادر
محمد بن أبي عمير وكتب المحاسن لأحمد بن أبي عبد الله البرقي ورسالة أبي - رضي
الله عنه - إلي وغيرها من الأصول والمصنفات التي طرقي إليها معروفة في فهرس الكتب
التي رويتها عن مشايخي وأسلافي - رضي الله عنهم - وبالغت في ذلك جهدي ،
مستعينا بالله ، ومتوكلا عليه ، ومستغفرا من التقصير ، وما توفيقي إلا بالله عليه توكلت
وإليه أنيب ، وهو حسبي ونعم الوكيل
Shaikh Sadooq(ra) came to the town of Balkh and met al Sharifuddin abu Abdullah, who requested him to compile a book on the pattern of Muhammad bin Zakariyya al Mutatabib al Razi's "Man la yahdhuruhul Tabib"(One who is not attended by a doctor) which completely explains fiqh, hala and haram, sharia and its rulings to form "Man la yahdhuhul faqih"(One who is not attended by a faqih) and also to let him copy his 245 books. Shaikh Sadooq(ra) accepted both requests and says:
Full translation of text in red and green
And [I] compiled for him this book with truncated chain of narrations so that its transmissions should not be too many while its benefits are many. I did not intend intention of the [other] compilers in presenting all of what they have narrated; instead I intended to present that by which I issue fatwa and judge to be sahih (authentic), and I believe in it that it is proof [hujjat] between me and my Rabb (Allah(swt)), glorified is His mention and exalted is His power. And all that is in it is derived from famous books, relying upon and referring to, such as book of Haridh b. Abdullah al Sijistani and book of Ubaidullah b. Ali al Halbi and books of Ali b. Mahdhyar al Ahwadhi, and books of al Hussain b. Sa'eed and Nawadir of Amad b. Muhammad b. Isa and and book Nawadir al Hikma compiled by Muhammad b. Ahmad. Yahya b. Imran al Ash'ari and book of the blessed Sa'ad b. Abdullah and perfect of the shaikhs Muhammad b. al Hasan b. al Walid(ra) and Nawadir Muhammad b. abi Umair and books of al Mahasin by Ahmad b. Abi Abdullah al Barqi and Risala of my father(ra); to others among usool and compilations with well known transmission in index of books narrated by my shuyukh and predecessors, may Allah(swt) be pleased with all of them, and my effort has been spent in that, by the help of Allah, and reliance upon Him, seeking forgiveness from taqsir, and there's no taufeeq but from Allah(swt) upon Him is reliance and to Him I turn, and He is sufficient and the best disposer of affairs.
Subhanallah. So Sheikh Saduq derived all of the Ahadith in Man la yahdhurul faqih from the famous (400) Usul.
ReplyDeleteThe only question now is: What is the proof that all of the Usul (if they are indeed 400) were proofread by the Aimmah (as)?
@Anonymous: Assalamu alaikum,
ReplyDeletePlease note that Shaikh Sadooq did not derive all the ahadith directly from the 400 or so usul compiled during Imam Ja'far al Sadiq (as)'s time. He also quoted ahadith from the books of his shuyukh (teachers, such as Shaikh ibn al Walid) who in turn had extracted them from the usul.
Unfortunately we do not have currently extant information specifying by name each and every asl (pl. usul) being presented to the aimah for proofreading, if that did happen. This is inevitable, because most of our classical works from Shaikh Kulaini, Shaikh Sadooq and their predecessors are not extant anymore.
Nevertheless, what the classical and latter scholars generally agree upon regarding the reliability of the usul is that, many of the usul were presented to the aimah for proofreading, but in addition to that the reliability of the usul were also determined by having them proofread by certain special representatives/companions of the Imams, by comparing the contents with the contents found in the usul of trusted scholars such as the ashaabul ijma ("people of the consensus", i.e. those special companions of the Imams who were the best scholars of the community) as well as by the consensus of the scholars (special companions of Imams) of the community. So all in all the reliability is established due to their having been proofread by the Imams and having gone through "peer review". The books of the classical scholars such as Shaikh Kulaini, Shaikh Sadooq etc are considered reliable because they and their shuyukh had the usul available to them and they had thorough knowledge about the relative reliability of all usul, and they therefore compiled extremely reliable books.
You can read brief information about this process here (refer to the second passage, from rawdatul muttaqee): http://realtashayyu.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/manhaj-of-our-classical-scholars.html
You can also read about the books being approved by Imams as well as the "special companions" in Rijal Kashi.
Wassalam
As salaamu 'alaykum,
ReplyDelete"I did not intend intention of the [other] compilers in presenting all of what they have narrated..."
Do you know whom Shaykh as Saduq is referring to in this?
@Hussain: Wa'laikummus salam,
ReplyDeleteHe's most probably referring primarily to Kafi, which was the only book among kutub al arba present in his time, and its predecessors. But that doesn't in any way undermine Kafi and other classical books, Shaikh Hurr al Amili has beautifully explained this preface of al faqih in his khatima of Wasail. I'm a bit pressed for time right now, but I'll show a summary shortly when I'm free.
Wassalam
JazakAllah khayr, brother.
ReplyDelete