Book

Mustadrak al-Wasa'il

by Husayn al-Nuri al-Tabarsi

📖 Overview

Mustadrak al-Wasa'il is a major Shi'a hadith collection compiled by the scholar Husayn al-Nuri al-Tabarsi in the 19th century. The work serves as a supplement to an earlier collection called Wasa'il al-Shi'a by Al-Hurr al-Amili. The text consists of over 23,000 hadith narratives organized into chapters covering Islamic law, ethics, and religious practices. Al-Tabarsi gathered these traditions from hundreds of earlier Shi'a sources, many of which had been previously overlooked or were difficult to access. Each hadith is presented with its complete chain of transmission and evaluated according to established principles of authentication. The collection follows a systematic arrangement by subject matter, making it a practical reference work for scholars and students. The book represents a significant contribution to Shi'a jurisprudence and hadith scholarship, demonstrating the depth and breadth of the Shi'a textual tradition. Its comprehensive nature and methodical organization have made it an essential resource for understanding Shi'a Islamic teachings.

👀 Reviews

Limited reader reviews are available online for this specialized Shia hadith collection. Based on scholarly sources and academic discussions: Readers value: - Organization by topic makes finding relevant hadiths straightforward - Clear authentication methods used for each hadith - Supplements and corrects earlier hadith collections Common critiques: - Some included hadiths have weak chains of transmission - Limited English translations available - Complex terminology requires deep background knowledge No ratings or reviews found on major platforms like Goodreads or Amazon. Academic reviews appear primarily in Islamic journals and scholarly publications in Arabic/Persian. Note: This response has limited information due to the specialized religious nature of the text and lack of widespread public reviews online. Most discussion occurs within Islamic seminary and academic contexts rather than consumer review sites.

📚 Similar books

Wasa'il al-Shi'a by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Hurr al-Amili A comprehensive collection of Shia hadith organized by legal topics that serves as a primary reference work for deriving Islamic law.

Bihar al-Anwar by Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi This encyclopedic compilation contains traditions about the Prophet Muhammad and the Twelve Imams across 110 volumes.

Al-Kafi by Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni The text compiles Twelver Shia traditions on theology, philosophy, and jurisprudence from the teachings of the Imams.

Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih by Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Babawayh This collection focuses on hadith related to religious law and practice that a believer needs when no religious scholar is available.

Tahdhib al-Ahkam by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi The work systematically presents and explains Shia hadith dealing with religious obligations and Islamic jurisprudence.

🤔 Interesting facts

🔸 Though completed in 1319 AH (1901 CE), this work serves as a supplement to an earlier 18th-century text, Wasa'il al-Shi'a, adding over 23,000 additional Shi'a hadith that were not included in the original collection. 🔸 The author, al-Nuri al-Tabarsi, personally traveled to various Islamic centers across Iran and Iraq to gather manuscripts and verify sources, spending over 25 years compiling this comprehensive work. 🔸 The book follows the same chapter organization as Wasa'il al-Shi'a, making it easy for scholars to cross-reference between the two collections and find relevant hadith on specific topics. 🔸 Al-Tabarsi developed a unique classification system within the book to indicate the reliability level of each hadith, using specific symbols to help readers quickly assess the authenticity of different narrations. 🔸 The work became so significant that it is now considered one of the "Four Books" of late Shi'a hadith collections, alongside al-Kafi, Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih, and Tahdhib al-Ahkam.