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A Shi'ite Anthology Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i Part 1
The fundamental distinction to be made between Shi'ite and Sunni hadiths
is that in Shi'ism the traditions are not limited to those of the Prophet,
but include those of the Imams as well. As important and basic as this
point is, it has not been understood even in such standard reference works
as the new Encyclopedia of Islam. There the author of the article
"Hadith" is aware that there is some difference between Shi'ism
and Sunnism on the question of which hadiths are included, but he
thinks that it lies in the fact that the Shi'ite collections accept "only
traditions traced through 'Ali's family." But this is incorrect, since
numerous traditions are also transmitted through other sources. What the
author fails to mention is that the hadith literature as understood
by Shi'ites is not limited to the sayings of the Prophet, but includes
those of the Imams as well. [3] In short, collections of hadiths in Sunni Islam, such as those
of al-Bukhari and Muslim, contain only sayings transmitted from and about
the Prophet. But the Shi'ite collections, such as that of al-Kulayni,
also contain sayings transmitted from and about the twelve Imams. Naturally
the Shi'ites make a distinction among the hadiths, so that those
transmitted from the Prophet are of greater authority, but nevertheless
all traditions are listed together according to subject matter, not according
to author. The most famous and authoritative collections of Shi'ite hadiths
are four works which, in terms of their importance for Shi'ism, correspond
to the Six Correct Collections in Sunni Islam. These are al-Kafi
fi 'ilm al-din (The Sufficient in the Knowledge of Religion)
by Thiqat al-Islam Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 329/940), Man
la yahduruhu al-faqih (For him not in the Presence of Jurisprudent)
of Shaykh al-Saduq Muhammad ibn Babuyah al-Qummi (d. 381/991), Tahdhib
al-ahkam (Rectification of the Statutes) by Shaykh al-Ta'ifah
Muhammad al-Tusi (d. 460/ 1068) and al-Istibsar fi ma ukhtulif fihi
min al-akhbar (Reflection upon the Disputed Traditions) also
by al-Tusi. The Present Collection The sermons, sayings, prayers and writings translated here present a
cross section of Shi'ite religious thought with an emphasis upon that which
is most basic for the religion itself and most universal and hence understandable
in the eyes of non-Muslims. As 'Allamah Tabataba'i points out in his foreword,
in making these selections his aim was to emphasize the three basic dimensions
of the Shi'ite tradition: I. The profession of Unity (altawhid),
or the metaphysical and theological principles of the faith 2. The political,
social and moral teachings. 3. The inward, spiritual and devotional life
of the community. Hence the selections stress the principles and fundamentals
(usul) of Islam, while they tend to ignore the branches and secondary
aspects (furu). In other words, little is said about the concrete
ramifications of the principles in terms of the details of the application
of the Divine Law (al-Shari'ah) to everyday life. Nevertheless,
the secondary aspects are clearly reflected in 'Ali's "Instructions to
Malik al-Ashtar" and to a lesser degree in the prayers. Although it is well known that the first "pillar of Islam" is the profession
of faith, which begins with a statement of the Divine Unity, Western scholars
have tended to explain the Islamic belief in God's Oneness as a relativity
simple-minded affirmation of the existence of only one God. Perhaps one
reason the Nahj albalaghah and the Shi'ite hadith literature
in general have been neglected or simply branded as spurious is that their
very existence flatly contradicts the commonly accepted idea of a simple
bedouin faith with few philosophical or metaphysical overtones. In these
writings we see that already in the first centuries of Islam the Divine
Unity was affirmed in terms reminiscent of the subtlety of later "theosophical"
Sufism, but still completely steeped in the peculiar spiritual aroma of
the revelation itself. The Sources In making the selections 'Allamah Tabataba'i utilized four works: the
Nahj al-balaghah, al-Sahifat al-sajjadiyyah, Bihar al-anwar
and Mafatih al-jinan. The first two works are discussed in Dr. Nasr's
introduction. Bihar al-anwar (Oceans of Lights) is a monumental
encyclopedia of hadiths which attempts to collect all Shi'ite traditions
in a single work and which classifies them by subject matter. It was compiled
in the Safavid period by the famous theologian Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (d.
1110/1698-9 or 1111/1699-1700). The importance the work has possessed since
its compilation as the standard reference work for all Shi'ite studies
can hardly be overemphasized. One indication of its popularity is that,
despite its enormous size, it was published twice in lithographed form
in the nineteenth century. The modern edition of the work fills 110 volumes
of approximately 400 pages each. Majlisi collected his traditions from numerous earlier sources. As examples,
we can mention a few of the works from which he derived the hadiths
in the present collection, works which have been independently published
in modern times. Shaykh al-Saduq, the author of one of the four basic works
on Shi'ite hadiths referred to above, compiled dozens of authoritative
hadith collections, each of which usually follows a particular theme.
His al-Tawhid collects traditions which illustrate the profession
of God's Unit. His 'Uyun akhbar al-Rida gathers together everything
that has been related about Imam 'Ali al-Rida, the eighth Imam, whose tomb
in Mashhad is the holiest site of pilgrimage in Iran. The work contains
such things as descriptions of the Imam's mother, explanations of the reason
his name was chosen, all the sayings which have been recorded from him,
and traditions concerning his death and the miracles which have occurred
at his tomb. Shaykh al-Saduq's al-Khisal demonstrates the importance
of numbers in the traditions. In twelve long chapters he records all the
hadiths which mention the numbers one to twelve. The author of al-Ihtijaj,
Abu Mansur Ahmad ibn 'al-Tabarsi (d. 599/1202-3), rejects the views of
certain of his contemporaries who had claimed that the Prophet and the
Imams never engaged in argumentation. He collects together traditions in
which their discussions with opponents have been recorded. The fourth work from which 'Allamah Tabataba'i made his selections is
Mafatih al-jinan ("Keys to the Gardens of Paradise"), a standard
collection of Shi'ite prayers compiled from Bihar al-anwar and other
sources by 'Abbas Qummi (d. 1359/1940-1). It includes prayers to be recited
daily, prayers for special occasions such as religious holidays and days
of mourning, litanies and invocations for different moments in one's life,
instructions for making a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Prophet or any
one of the Imams and prayers for every other conceivable occasion as well. The Translations A note needs to be added about the method of translation. Because of
the sacred nature of the texts and their fundamental importance as sources
for the Shi'ite branch of Islam, I have attempted to translate them in
a strictly literal manner so that the least amount of personal interpretation
will have been made. There are definite disadvantages to this method, but
the necessity for an accurate translation would seem to outweigh them all.
After all, the Quran has been translated dozens of times. Others who may
feel that the present translation does not do justice to the literary qualities
of the text may try their own hand at rendering it into English. The necessity for a literal translation is all the greater because a
good deal of the material translated here-in particular those parts which
derive from the Nahj al-balaghah-has also been translated elsewhere
and on the whole has been misrepresented. Before such interpretive translations
are made and held to reflect the thought of the Imams, literal translations
are of paramount importance. In order to maintain a faithful translation,
I have added notes wherever I deviate from a strictly literal translation
or wherever there are questionable readings in the original. Because no standard translations exist for many technical terms, I have
felt it necessary to add the Arabic original in brackets for the benefit
of scholars and Arabic speakers. This is especially true in the most difficult
and metaphysical section of the book, Part I "On the Unity of God."
Although the Arabic terms will prove a distraction to most readers, they
represent the only practical way of tying the present texts into the reader's
knowledge of the Arabic language. Finally I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Seyyed Hossein
Nasr, who asked me to undertake this work many years ago and has guided
me in every stage of it, although of course I remain completely responsible
for any inaccuracies which may remain in the translations and notes. Peter
Lamborn Wilson and William Shpall also read the manuscript and made valuable
suggestions. And without the kindness and encouragement of Wg. Cdr. (rtd.)
Husayn and the Muhammadi Trust, the work may never have been completed
and published. Notes: [1] On the subject of Prophetic Hadith
in general see the article "Hadith" in the Encyclopedia of Islam
(new edition), where a good bibliography is also provided (vol. III, pp.23-8) [2] Perhaps the most important hadith
collection yet to be completed into worthy English is the Mishkat al-masabih,
trans. By J. Robson, Lahore 4 vols, 1963-5. See also the translation
of Bukhari mentioned in note 1 of the introduction, and Sahih Muslim,
trans. By A.K Siddiqi, Lahore, 1972 onward. [3] The Encyclopedia of Islam,
vol. III, p.24. |