Usul al-Kafi

The book Al-Kāfī (The Sufficient Book) is a Twelver Shīʿī ḥadīth collection compiled by Muhammad ibn Ya‘qūb al-Kulaynī. It is divided into three sections: Usūl al-Kāfī, which is concerned with epistemology, theology, history, ethics, supplication, and the Qurʾān, Furūʿ al-Kāfī, which is concerned with practical and legal issues, and Rawdat (or Rauda) al-Kāfī, which includes miscellaneous traditions, many of which are lengthy letters and speeches transmitted from the Imāms. In total, al-Kāfī comprises 16,199 narrations.

197572

Hadith . Usul al-Kafi . Zanj

What is the authenticity of the Hadith in al-Kafi that warns against marrying the people of al-Zanj declaring them to be خَلْقٌ مُشَوَّهٌ a distorted creature?

Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 1 week ago

Bismihi ta'āla

This is an interesting topic that many of our scholars have addressed. I would like to share some quick points:

1. Our principle is we are all the same, and equal, and our virtue over others is only in taqwa.

2. Not every narration mentioned is to be taken as authentic. Many narrations are fabricated.

3. There are Arabic expressions that one understands on face, but linguists and experts have explained it carrying different meaning that the meaning commonly used. for example, "shadid al-sawad", does not mean extremely black, it means someone who does not die their hair, even though they are of old age. Or a "qawm of jinn" this does not mean they are jinn, but they hide in mountains, do not socialise, so "jinn" here does not mean the jinn creature, but the literal meaning of "concealing and hiding".

4. There are narrations about the people of Kufah, or the people of Esfahan and not loving Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). If authentic, it could be referring to a group of people, or a certain situation, or specific for a time, not generalising and forever.

5. The word "zinj" has numerous meanings, and does not only mean "black people". In principle, our Islamic values condemn such an attitude, and is categorically rejected, so therefore, it must be referring to something else other than what is commonly taken as its meaning.

And Allah knows best

196024

Hadith . Son . Usul al-Kafi . Sunni-Shi'a

Does the Imam assign a Kunya to his child immediately after birth, or during childhood, and is there a Hadith that suggests that in Al-Kafi?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 months ago

We have Hadeeth evidence encouraging naming our children before their birth. ( Wasa'il al-Shia, V. 15, page 121). The Hadeeth is narrated from Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (AS) from his fathers from Ameerul Mo'mineen Ali (AS). The Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) named his grandson Mohsin before his birth. This Hadeeth was also narrated by Shaikh al0Sadouq in his book Al-Khisal.

Wassalam.

195431

Usul al-Kafi . Sunni-Shi'a . Qur'an Preservation . Tahrif

A member of another sect claims that Twelver Shia believe there were originally 17,000 verses in the Quran, referencing Al-Kafi. Is this a widely accepted belief among the Shia, or is it considered a deviant perspective?

Mahmood Abu Maryam, Trying to make sense of it all... Answered 2 months ago

Here is an explanation given by Sayyid Sa'eed Akhtar Rizvi in his book, The Quran: Its Protection from Alteration.

The commentator of al-Wafiyah, Muhaqqiq al-Baghdadi has clearly stated, by quoting from Muhaqqiq al-Karaki (who has written a complete tract on the subject) that: "The traditions which speak of omission must either be reinterpreted or rejected. Any tradition which is contradictory to the Qur'an, the acknowledged sunnah and the ijma' must be discarded if it has no room for interpretation or justifiable explanation."

A tradition, recorded in al-Kafi is quoted here to give an example in practice of what we mean when we speak of reinterpretation or justifiable explanation: Abu 'Abdillah [al-Sadiq] (peace be upon him) said, "The Qur'an which was brought by Jibrail (peace be upon him) to Muhammad (Mercy of Allah be on him and his progeny) is seventeen thousand verses."

Shaykh as-Saduq has written in his Kitabu'l-Itiqaddat, what in my view amounts to a reinterpretation of this hadith. He writes, "We say that so much of revelation has come down, which is not a part of the Qur'an, that if it were to be collected, its extent would undoubtedly be 17,000 verses. And this, for example, is like the saying of Gabriel (a.s.) to the Prophet (peace be upon him & his progeny): 'Allah says to thee, O Muhammad, deal gently with My creatures, in the same manner as I do."'

He goes on quoting many such ahadith qudsiyah until he concludes by saying: "There are many such (ahadith qudsiyah) all of which are revelations, but do not form part of the Qur'an. If they had been (part of the Qur'an), they would surely have been included in it, and not excluded from it."

If one is not prepared to accept this explanation because the tradition speaks about "the Qur'an", then we will discard this hadith without hesitation. Although the number (17,000) given in this tradition is much smaller than the one given by the 2nd Caliph (one million and twenty seven thousand letters in the Qur'an), it is never-the-less three times bigger than the actual number of the verses (which is some six thousand two hundred and thirty six verses).

This is the Shi'a method of resolving the problem of the ahadith on tahrif. Anyone studying it with unbiased mind and heart would readily accept it as the only correct solution for such ahadith because it is based on the method formulated by the Prophet (peace be upon him & his progeny) and expressed by Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) as follows: "...And so whatever conforms to the Book of Allah, take it; and whatever is contrary to the Book of Allah, leave it .. "

Source - https://al-islam.org/quran-its-protection-alteration-sayyid-saeed-akhtar...

183928

Imamah . God (Allah) . Usul al-Kafi

Does al-Kafi (1/409) state that the Imams have complete authority over everything in the heavens and earth, despite the Quran attributing these qualities solely to Allah? What does the divinity of Imamate signify?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 7 months ago

An English translation of this is (alongside the Arabic text) is available here:

Chapter 105 (page 66-74 of the PDF)
https://www.wofis.com/book/18-AL-KAFI%20The%20Book%20of%20Divine%20Proof...(II)

This edition notes some weaknesses and problems with the hadith in this chapter.

In any case, Shi'a have varying views about the spiritual nature, knowledge, and authority of the Imams. Some take a rather expansive view, and some take a more restrictive view.

As for the more expansive view, you could read through the book by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism, which attempts to explain what this means. This tends to be a love-or-hate book - some people love it, other people hate it - but it handles the subject excellently.

Ultimately, if you are Shi'i, this is a theological issue you will have to decide on for yourself (and your views may change over time). If you are not Shi'i, you can still explore and appreciate the variety of views.

185389

Bay'ah . Usul al-Kafi . Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin

Is it true that the Imam Zayn al-'Abidin (AS) pledged allegiance to Yazid and that it is mentioned in Usul-al-Kafi?

No, it is untrue. Imam Zainul Abudeen (AS) never pledged allegiance to Yazid or any wrongdoer. None of our Infallible Imams pledged allegiance to any wrongdoer.

Wassalam.

184103

Sunni-Shi'a . Ilm al-Rijal . Hadith . Usul al-Kafi

Which Shia narrators can be considered reliable and trustworthy in our collection of Hadiths such as Al-Kafi? Is there a book or source that provides a list of narrators classified as reliable or unreliable?

The most authentic books of Hadeeth are our four books ; Al-Kaafi, Al-Tahtheeb, Al-istibsaar and Manila Yahdharuhul Faqeeh. Yet we don't claim that every narration in these books is hundred percent authentic as every expert in Hadeeth has the freedom of research and freedom of opinion in the authenticity. We are not like some Muslims who claim that every narration in Bukhari is authentic, despite the fact that many narrations in Bukhari book is clearly against Quran and against the dignity of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) e.g. false claims that he attempted suicide many times, he used to urinate while standing on the road and land of others, and many other false claims. (Look at A Journey in the two Saheeh by Sadiq Najmi).

Our scholars of Hadeeth have the research procedure continuous , not like others who closed the research on the Hadeeth and kept following blindly previous scholars.

if you want to know the authenticity of any Hadeeth,b you need to refer to the specialized scholar of your time. In general, the book called Al-Kaafi has the maximum number of authentic Hadeeths and it has more authentic narrations than the all six books of Hadeeth with our Sunni brothers.

Wassalam.

177587

Murtad . Hadith . Sahaba (Companions) . Meaning . Usul al-Kafi

Did the Sahaba in general abandon religious belief or did the word 'Irtadu' have a different meaning in some narrations from Usul al-Kafi that talk about what transpired after the death of the Prophet (s)?

We never believe that all the companions left Islam after the passing away of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). We believe in Quranic facts (Sura 3, verse 144) stating :(Muhammad is really a messenger before him messengers were sent, if he dies or is killed, you will then turn back on your heels). Most of Muslims of that society remained as Muslims in faith but did not obey the orders of the Prophet (SAWA) who clearly ordered them to follow and obey Ali when he announced seventy days before his departure that ( Foe whom so ever I am the master, Ali is his master).

IRTADDU ارتدّوا does not mean that they left Islam, but did not fulfill their responsibility to obey the Prophetic orders in following the divine leadership which was been appointed by Allah and the Prophet.

Wassalam.

169267

Woman . Hadith . Salah (Prayers) . Usul al-Kafi

Do Shia women have to pray Namaz in a different way because of the narration in al-Kafi vol 3 chapter 29 hadith 2?

The obligatory acts of Salah of man and woman are same, except reciting in Fajr, Maghrib and Isha where man should recite with clear voice and woman should whisper. There are few recommended acts for woman and another few recommended acts for man which are mentioned in the narration.

'Wassalam.

161841

Hadith . Usul al-Kafi

How can someone effectively use books like Al-Kafi for reference? When asked to find a specific reference such as Al-Kafi 1:289, does it imply volume 1 hadith 289?

This likely refers to volume 1, page 289.

Frequently, the standard Arabic printing is cited, and so you can find it in that version. If the book was written in Farsi, they may be citing a version in Farsi or with Farsi in it. So you may need to dig to find the exact narration, if they have not given publication information.

Sometimes it is easiest to try to find it by back-translating it and searching online or on library software such as ablibrary.net until you find what you are looking for. This website can also help with seaching: https://hadith.academyofislam.com/

Best wishes!

157203

Angels . Usul al-Kafi . Imamah . Qur'an

Is the belief that the Imams can hear angels but cannot see them, not in conflict with the Qur'an's assertion that the religion has been completed and cannot be added to?

Hearing the angles is not restricted for the prophets only but many persons were mentioned in Quran used to hear the angles like mother of Musa ( We inspired to mother of Musa that: Suckle him ) Sura Al-Qassass, verse 7.
Mariam, the mother of Easa used to hear the angles (Sura 3m verse 42 and 45) but she was never a prophet. Sara, wife of Prophet Ebrahim was also hearing the angles as we read in Quran (Sura Hood, verse 69 to 73).

Even Sunni Muslims claim that Umar ibn Al-Khattab used to hear the angles. They called Umar ibn Al-Khattab by the name: Muhaddath Al-Ummah. Fadhaa'il Al-Sahabah, by Mohammad Hasan abdul-Ghaffar, V.4, page 6.

The 12 Unfallible Imams were granted by Allah great gifts and abilities to guide the Ummah to the right path after the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).

Islam was completed before the departure of the Prophet from this life. Infallible Imams never added any thing but preserved the real teachings of Islam. Their status definitely higher than mother of Musa and mother of Easa and Sara wife of Ebrahim.who were hearing the angles.
Wassalam.

143930

Sunni-Shi'a . Imamah . Fabricated Traditions . Hadith . Usul al-Kafi

How can Shia claim to have acquired knowledge from Imams if there are many fabricated hadiths in the chain of narration between Imams and the authors of Usul-e-Arba'a? Or are all these chains of narration considered authentic?

Same question should be put for Sunni books of Hadeeth. Thousands of narration were been fabricated by Sunni narrators for different reasons, so how Sunni Ulama identify the authentic? Our Shia scholars do thorough research on every narration and all its narrators. We don't accept but the narration which is according to Quran and authentic Hadeeth and which has been narrated by authentic narrators one after another. Our main books of Hadeeth have much more authentic Hadeeths that what our Sunni brothers have in their books of Hadeeth.

Wassalam.

143370

Ramadan . Hadith . Usul al-Kafi

What is the scholarly stance on the Ahadith reported in Kutub Al-Arba'a that suggest that the month of Ramadan is always 30 days long?

Such narrations are not to be taken for granted and most of our great scholars did not follow it in their verdicts. It might be talking about a specific year and can not be taken for all the years.

‘Wassalam.