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Tahdhib al-Ahkamand
Al-Istibsarby Al-Tusi
Dr. I. K. A. Howard
The Author
Shaikh al-taifa (the teacher of the community) Abu Jafar
Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. Ali b. al-Hasan al-Tusi was born in Tus in Iran in the year 385
of the Islamic era. His career marks the climax of a very great period in Shiite Islamic
scholarship and learning. It was during this period that Shiite scholars were without
rivals in the Islamic world. Al-Shaikh al-Tusis teachers included al-Shaikh al-Mufid, and
the two brothers, members of Ahl al-bait and both outstanding scholars, al-Sharif
al-Murtada and al-Sharif al-Radi.
This period of great public Shiite Islamic scholarship had begun
with al-Kulaini (died 328/9 A.H.), whose collection of traditions, al-Kafi, is the
first of the four major works of Shiite Islamic traditions.[1] It was
then continued with al-Shaikh al-Saduq lbn Babawaih (died 381 A.H.); his great collection
of traditions, Man la yahduruh al-faqih, is the second of the major works of
traditions.[2] The remaining two major collections of traditions were
compiled by al-Shaikh al-Tusi and they are Tahdhib al-ahkam fi sharh al-munqia
Al-Shaikh al-Tusi grew up in Tus and began his studies there. In 408
A.H. he left Tus to study in Baghdad. There he first studied under al-Shaikh al-Mufid, who
died in 413 A.H. Leadership of the Shiite scholars then fell to al-Sharif al-Murtada. The
latter remained in this position until his death in 436 A.H. During this time al-Shaikh
al-Tusi was closely associated with al-Sharif al-Murtada. His vast scholarship and
learning made him a natural successor of al-Sharif al-Murtada as the leading spokesman of
Shiite Islam. So impressive was his learning that the Abbasid caliph, al-Qadir bi-llah,
attended his lectures and sought to honour him.
In the closing years of al-Shaikh al-Tusis life the political
situation in Baghdad and the domains of the Abbasid caliphate was in turmoil. The
Saljuqids fiercely anti-Shiite, were gaining commanding power in the centre of the
Islamic Empire at the expense of the Buyids who had always seemed tolerant to Shiite
views. In 447 Tughril-bek the leaders of the Saljuqids entered Baghdad. At this time many
of the ulamain Baghdad, both Sunni and Shiite were killed. The house of
al-Shaikh al-Tusi was burnt down, as were his books and the works he had written in
Baghdad, together with important libraries of Shiite hooks. Fanaticism against the Shia
was great.
Al-Shaikh al-Tusi, seeing the danger of remaining in Baghdad, left
and went to al-Najaf. Al-Najaf, the city where Ali b. Abi Talib had been martyred, was
already a very important city in the hearts of Shiite Muslims. However, it was al-Shaikh
al-Tusis arrival which was to give that city the impetus to become the leading centre of
Shiite scholarship. This is a role, which it has maintained down to the present
day.
Al-Shaikh al-Tusi died in al-Najaf in 460 A.H. His body was buried
in a house there, which was made into a mosque as he had enjoined in his will. Even today
his grave is a place of visitation in al-Najaf. Al-Tusi was succeeded by his son al-Hasan,
who was known as al-Mufid al-Thani, and was himself an outstanding scholar.[5]
The learning of al-Shaikh al-Tusi extended over the whole of Islamic
studies. He was a learned traditionist, whose two compilations will be discussed below;
but he was not only a traditionist, he was also an authoritative jurist, who could
interpret traditions to meet the needs of jurisprudence, and many of his works on
jurisprudence and the principles of jurisprudence still survive, in particular al-Mabsut
and al-Nihaya. In addition, he was the leading Shiite theologian of his time.
As well as writing works of a general theological nature, he also wrote specific works on
individual topics. On the Imamate, he wrote Talkhis al-Shafi, which was based on
al-Sharif al-Murtadas al-Shafi fi l-imama. He wrote a work on al-Ghaiba, the
occultation of the 12th Imam. As a traditionist, he naturally had an interest in the men
who related traditions, in his Kitab al-rijal, he tries to list most of the
important Shiites. His Fihrist is an important work of Shiite bibliography. In it
he lists many of the works of early Shiite writers and sometimes gives an account of
their writers and the contents of the works. This work may to some extent reflect
al-Tusis own library before it was so tragically destroyed.
Tahdhib al-ahkam fi sharh al-muqni a
The title of this work could be translated as "The Refinement
of the Laws (as Discussed) in Terms of the Explanation of the Sufficiency". "The
Sufficiency" or al-Muqnia was a work on traditions by al-Shaikh al-Mufid, the
teacher of al-Tusi, who has been mentioned earlier. Thus the original intention of al-Tusi
had been to write a commentary on al-Muqnia of al-Mufid. However, he makes it
clear in his introduction that his work would only concern the furuof Islamic
law, i.e. the practical regulations for carrying out the sharia, the holy law of
Islam. He said: "I went first to the chapter which was connected with ritual purity (tahara),
leaving aside the (chapters) which preceded it, which were about the Unity of
God (tawhid), Justice (adl), Prophethood (nubuwwa) and the Imamate (imama),
because the explanation of these would be too lengthy, and also because it was not the
intention of this book to elucidate the principles of religion (al-usul).[6]
In his introduction, al-Tusi makes it clear that the principal
motive for writing this work and limiting it to the furu, was the great
differences which were arising in Shiite traditions. He mentions that these differences
were being used against the Shia by their opponents as an argument against the truth of
Shiite beliefs. The situation had become so critical that al-Tusi reports al-Mufids
account of one Shiite adherent who had left the community because of the contradictory
traditions. Al-Tusi set himself the task of analysing the traditions concerned with furu,
explaining which traditions were deficient and reconciling apparent contradictions in
sound traditions. He used al-Mufids al-Maqnia as the basis for this task.
he analysed many more traditions which he included at the end of various sections,
appendices of traditions not mentioned by al-Mufid, which he also discusses.
The method used is to quote the traditions and then al-Mufids
comments on them. This is often followed by al-Tusis explanation of al-Mufids comments.
Sometimes, it is not always clear whether the explanation belongs to al-Mufid or al-Tusi.
However, he quite often makes it clear that it is al-Mufid when he says: "Al Shaikh
said..." But sometimes a discussion is introduced by the ambiguous terms: "He
said..." This could refer to either al-Mufid or al-Tusi. In the appendices al-Tusi
makes it quite clear that he is making the comments, for he says: "Muhammad b.
al-Hasan said..."
The discussions on the traditions are sometimes of considerable
length. An example is the discussion of the method of performing ritual ablutions, there
quotations are made from Arabic verse to support the Shiite version of rubbing the feet
instead of washing them.[8]
The work is divided into chapters (kutub) and the chapters
into sections (abwab) with appendices following when appropriate. The work is a
very comprehensive study of Shiite traditions and consists of the following
chapters:
al-Tahara
Ritual Purity
al-Salat
Formal Prayer
al-Zakat
Alms Tax
al-Siyam
Fasting
al-Hajj
Pilgrimage
al-Jihad
Sacred War
al-Qadaya wa-l-ahkam
Judgements and Legal Requirements
al-Makasib
Acquisitions
al-Tijarat
Trading
al-Nikah
Marriage
al-Talaq
Divorce
al-itq wa-l-tadbir wa-l-mukatba
Manumission of Slaves (according to the various
methods)
al-Ayman wa-l nudhur wa-1-kaffarat
Oaths, Vows and Atonements
al-Said wa-l-dhabaih
Hunting and Ritual Slaughter
al-Wuquf wa-l-sadaqat
Endowments and Alms
al- Wasaya
Bequests
al-Faraid wa-l-mawarith
Formal Rules of Inheritance
al-Hudud
Punishment prescribed by Revelation
al-Diyat
Indemnities for Bodily Injury
It is said that al-Tusi began this work during the life of al-Mufid
and had reached the end of the chapter on "Ritual Purity" by the time of his
death (413 A.H.). However the work was not finally finished until al-Tusi moved to
al-Najaf (448 A.H.).[9]
One of the remarkable features of this work is that despite the
great number of traditions, which had become known to al-Tusi since the time of al-Kulaini
and lbn Babawaih, al-Tusis interpretation of what are the correct traditions, preserves
Shiite law in a very similar position to that of al-Kulaini and lbn Babawaih. The reason
for the great spread of diverse traditions during the period from al-Kulainis death to
al-Tusis (328/9 A.H.) death (460 A.H.) may have been the fact that this was a period in
which the Buyids held sway in Baghdad; they were very sympathetic towards the Shia. Thus,
this was a period in which the Shia were not persecuted and could admit their beliefs
without too much fear. In such circumstances, there was much more opportunity for
outsiders to bring extraneous traditions into the Shiite corpus. However al-Tusi had
available to him many of the early works of Usul which had been available to the
earlier Shiite compilers of collections of traditions. Al-Tusi says about this work:
"When our companions looked at the akhbar (traditions) connected with what is
permitted and forbidden (al-halal wa-l-haram) which we had collected in it, they
saw that they included most of what the sections of laws connected with jurisprudence. In
all its sections and its chapters, only very little of the traditions of our companions,
their books, usul and compilations has escaped.[10]
Al-Istibsar fima khtalaf al-akhbar
Al- Istibsar is the fourth and last of the major works of
Shiite Islamic traditions. It covers the same field as Tahdhib al-ahkam but is
considerably smaller. Al-Tusi mentions that his colleagues, after seeing the size of Tahdhib
al-ahkam considered: "...... It would be useful that there should be a reference (madhkur)
book which a beginner could use in his study of jurisprudence, or one who has
finished, to remind himself, or the intermediate (student) to study more deeply. Thus (so
that) all of them could obtain what they need and reach their souls desire, what is
connected with different traditions would be set in an abridged way . . . Therefore they
asked me to summarise it (Tahdhib al-ahkam) and devote care to its compilation and
abridgement, and to begin each section with an introduction about what I relied on for the
legal decisions and traditions in it; then I should follow with those traditions which
disagree and explain the reconciliation between the two without leaving out anything which
was influential. I would follow my practice in my big book mentioned earlier (i.e. Tahdhib
al-ahkam) and at the beginning of the book, I would explain briefly how traditions are
weighed against each other, and how the practice of something was possible through (the
authority) of (some of) them to the exclusion of the rest ..."[11]
Al-Tusi, then, follows this statement with a brief but comprehensive and clear outline of
the principles of jurisprudence.[12]
As can be seen from al-Tusis own introduction, al-Istibsar is
essentially a summary of Tahdhib al-ahkam. Its methods are similar but briefer;
there are not so many traditions used in the work and the explanations are more concise.
In many ways it is closer to Man la yahduruh al-faqih, although unlike the latter
it gives full isnads for the traditions quoted. However it is possible to say that al-Kafi
and Tahdhib al-ahkam represent comprehensive collections of traditions, while Man
la yahduruh al-faqih and al-Istibsar are books intended to be used as ready
reference works for students and scholars.
The collections and commentaries of Shiite traditions did not end
with al-Tusi but his works mark the high point in this process. It had begun with
al-Kulaini, whose al-Kafi, while not the first collection, was certainly the first
major collection based on the early works of usul. The process had been continued
by lbn Babawaih; in his introduction to Man la yahduruh al-faqih he makes it clear
that he had also used these usul. Al-Tusi, the author of the other two major works
of Shiite traditions also admits his dependence on these early works. As has already been
pointed out, these three authors and their four major works of tradition present a
generally consistent picture of Shiite Islamic legal thinking. It is a remarkable picture
of tradition and shows that, whatever the vagaries of individuals may have been, leading
Shiite scholars had a clear and consistent view of their traditions.
Notes:
[1]
On al-Kulaini and al-Kafi, cf. Al-Serat, Vol. II, No.1
(March, 1976), 28-32
[2] On Ibn Babawaih and Man la yahduruh al-faqih, cf.
Al-Serat, Vol.II, No.2 (June, 1976), 19-22
[3] New edition in ten volumes edited by al-Sayyid Hasan
al-Musawi al-Khurasan, published in Teheran (3rd edition) 1390 A.H.
[4] New edition in four volumes edited by al-Sayyid
Hasan al-Musawi al-Khurasan, published in Teheran (3rd edition) 1390 A.H.
[5] The details of the life of al-Shaikh al-Tusi have
been taken from al-Sayyid Bahr al-Ulums introduction to al-Tusis Talkhis al-Shafi (3rd
edition) (Qumm 1974) 1-45
[6] Tahdhib al-ahkam, op.cit., I, 3
[7] Idem 2-3
[8] Idem, 66-74
[9] al-Musawi, "Introduction" Tahdhib
al-ahkam, I, 46 citing al-Sayyid Bahr al-Ulum.
[10] al-Istibsar, op.cit. I, 2
[11] Idem 2-3
[12] Idem 3-5
