Verses of the Holy Quran and Hadith,\nnarrations of the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HP) and his Ahlul Bayt, constitute the\nmajor religious texts of Shia. However, authenticity of the narrations is often\nquestioned. Since most of the written\naccounts were recorded years after the lives of the Imams, some have questioned\nthe connection of the sources to the Prophet and his progeny (PBUT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The history of collecting and compiling\nthe narrations1 into book collections goes far back in time to the companions\nof the Imams. In the era after Imam Sadiq (PBUH), Shiites dedicated their lives\nto collecting the Hadith of the Imams (PBUT). Often times, the works were sent\nto close and far away countries to spread the teachings of the Imams (PBUT)\nworldwide. Gradually, more and more joined these authors with more\ncomprehensive works. It was during the time of Imam Hassan al-Askari (PBUH)\nthat Hadith compilation reached its height and took a turn to truly protect\nShiite heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hossein Ibn Ashkib Samarqandi was a\ncompanion of Imam al-Askari (PBUH) who collected Hadith and authored several\nkey Hadith books, such as the al-Radd \u2018ala al-Zeidiah2. Hassan Musa al-Khashab\nalso authored a number of works, such as the al-Radd \u2018ala al-Waqefiah3. These\ntwo examples show the extent to which the companion of the Imams were working\nto prevent the Shia community from segregating into other recently developed\ncults such as the Zeidiah4 & Waqefiah5, which were working hard to gain\npopularity for themselves. The aim of the above mentioned books were to\ntherefore, utilize the teachings of the Imams ((PBUT), help people enhance\ntheir beliefs and prevent them from deviating into newly developed cults. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the presence of\ncollected and compiled references6, there are other factors that prove the\nauthenticity of the Hadith. Ahmad Ibn Mohammad Burqi, a companion of Imam\nal-Askari, authored al-Mahasin, which is an encyclopedia on Shia jurisprudence,\nvirtues, interpretation of Quran and more7. Muhammd Saffar Qummi was another\ncompanion who authored several books on jurisprudence and beliefs during the\nlife of Imam Hassan al-Askari (PBUH). His most popular book is the Basair\nal-Darajaat, which uses Hadith to cover core Shia beliefs, such as Imamat,\ntheir lives and their virtues.8 Ali Ibn Hassan Ibn Ali Fadhal was another\ntrusted companion of Imam al-Askari (PBUH) who authored numerous9 highly\nregarded and comprehensive books10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further, the Imams themselves also\napproved some of these books11. Authors would consistently check their work\nwith the Imams. Among these, were Buraq\nBushanjani who wrote the book Youm wa Lailah and offered it to Imam al-Askari to\nreceive feedback. The Imam approved the\nentire content of this book 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The abovementioned examples show that\nfirst hand narrations of the Imams were available when these original works\nwere under development. They further\nshow the ongoing research movement supporting Hadith authenticity during the\ntime. The very foundation13 (Usool) of these narrations were composed until the\ntime of Imam al-Askari (PBUH), which formed the core of what was developed\nlater on in primary references such as al-Kafi and the like. In turn, works of the early companions as\ndeveloped during the time of the Imams remains as an invaluable heritage for\nthe Shia from the start of the occultation of the twelfth Imam to the present\nday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Selection from\nThe Human Role Model by Rasul Jafarian with minor changes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers condolences\nto all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon 8th of Rabee al-Awwal, the\nanniversary of the Martyrdom of the flag of guidance, the light of piety, the\nore of wisdom and knowledge, the 11th Imam of the Shiites, Imam Hassan ibn Ali\nal-Askari (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Narration\nReferences (Jawami\u2019 al-Hadith) are the books, which contain narration in all\nsubjects, and have many detailed catagories such as Mahasin Burqi and Bihar\nalAnwar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Rijal\nNajashi, ph. 44<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Rijal\nNajashi, ph. 44<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. al-Zeidiah:\nIt a sect from Shia in which after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBUH)\nfollowed Zeid the son of Imam Sajjad (PBUH) for all religious matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. al-Waqifiah:\nThey believed that Imam Musa Ibn JA\u2019far (PBUH) was never martyred and hence\nthey did not accept the other Imams as the religious leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Different\ntypes of Narration References are beyond this note\u2019s capacity but in short\nthere are basic references and also collective\/comprehensive references which\nis comprised of several basic references.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. Rijal\nNajashi, pg. 44<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8. Rijal\nNajashi, pg. 44<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9. Rijal\nNajashi, pg. 44<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10. Rijal Kashi,\npg. 530 #1014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
11. there are\nmany other examples addressed in Rijal Najashi, pg. 231 such as Ahmad Ibn\nAbdullah wrote a book and presented to Imam Hassan al-Askari (PBUH) and the\nImam told him after revising: \u201cThe content is correct; do practice what\u2019s in\nit.\u201d (Fallah alSaa\u2019il pg. 183)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
12. Rijal Kashi,\npg. 538 #1023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
13. Those who\nmet the Imams and heard them speak and also had the opportunity\/ability to\nwrite them down, form what is called the Principle in narration or \u201cAsl\u201d in\nwhich the plural form is \u201cUsool\u201d. The Principle is each written instance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Verses of the Holy Quran and Hadith, narrations of the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HP) and his Ahlul Bayt, constitute the major religious texts of Shia. However, authenticity of the narrations is often questioned. Since most of the written accounts were recorded years after the lives of the Imams, some have questioned the connection of the sources […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[23735,23734,17912,21728,18914,18131,23365,18418,18536,17873,18700],"class_list":["post-4713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2017-11-27","tag-an-original-heritage","tag-book","tag-guidance","tag-history","tag-holy","tag-imam-hasan-askari","tag-occasion-letters","tag-prophet","tag-shia","tag-work"],"yoast_head":"\n