THE WORKS OF SHAYKH AḤMAD AL

THE WORKS OF SHAYKH AḤMAD AL-AHSĀ’Ī

A Bibliography

Dr. Moojan Momen

based upon the Fīhrist kutub mashāyikh `izam

(Catalogue of the books of the mighty Shaykhs)

of Shaykh Abu'l-Qāsim Kirmānī

________

BSBM1 2nd revised Web edition

ed. Stephen N. Lambden

2007

This formatting is temporary

NOW UNDER REVISION AND COMPLETION 2007-8

[5-6]

THE WORKS OF SHAYKH AḤMAD AL-AHSĀ'Ī

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE    7

INTRODUCTION    8

ABBREVIATIONS    9

Main Dates in life of Shaykh AḤmad 15

    List of those for whom Shaykh Aḥmad wrote works 19

    Volumes known to have belonged to Shaykh Aḥmad 25

    Analysis of Shaykh Aḥmad's works by place and year of writing 26

A. MYSTICAL PHILOSOPHY AND METAPHYSICS 31

    a) Dated works 31

    b) Undated works 66

B. DOCTRINE, THEOLOGY AND POLEMIC 75

   a) Dated works 75

   b) Undated works 83

C. ETHICS AMD HE MYSTICAL PATH 89

D. PRINCIPLES OF JURISPRUDENCE (Uṣūl al-Fīqh) 92

E. JURISPRUDENCE (Fīqh)                                                              95

F. COMMENTARY ON THE QUR'AN (Tafsīr )                     99

G. PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY (Ḥikmat `Amali) 101

H. LITERARY WORKS 102

I. WORKS WITH VARIED SUBJECT MATTER 105

    a. Dated Works 105

    b. Undated Works 124

J. MISCELLANEOUS WORKS LISTED IN OTHER SOURCES 152

K. MINOR WRITINGS 166

L. MANUSCRIPTS WHICH CANNOT BE EXACTLY IDENTIFIED 167

INDEX 172



[7]

PREFACE

         This work is based on a translation of the Fīhrist kutub mashāyikh `izam of Shaykh Abu'l-Qāsim Kirmānī (which will be referred to as Fīhrist throughout this work). Some of the information given in that work has been supplemented from published and manuscript copies of each work wherever possible. The sections have been kept broadly the same as in the Fīhrist. However the individual works are not in precisely the same order. I have placed the works in each section in chronological order where the date is known followed by the undated works in alphabetical work. In this way, the pattern of the development of Shaykh Aḥmad's thought is more easily discernīble.

     In order to assist those who wish to research the works of Shaykh Aḥmad, I have tried to provide locations where these works of Shaykh Aḥmad can be found. I have therefore tried to identify all of the published writings. In addition, I have identifīed several hundred manuscripts of Shaykh Aḥmad's works in various libraries.

     During the course of the compilation of this work, I found reference to a number of works of Shaykh Aḥmad which could not readily be identified with one of the works listed in the Fīhrist. Sometimes this was merely because of lack of information, but those that genuinely do appear to be separate works, I have listed in the sections J and K.

     This is merely a preliminary attempt to compile a bibliography of Shaykh Aḥmad's work and I would be grateful if anyone who is aware of any additions or corrections would inform me.

M. Momen

Northill

February 1991

[8]

INTRODUCTION

Under each entry, there is the following information:

- Title of the work - the number of verses as given in Fīhrist - see F - (b) under abbreviations below

- whatever information is available of the circumstances of its writing: when it was written and to whom, etc.

- a summary of the contents of the work - the information given in the Fīhrist has been supplemented by information derived from other sources such as the works themselves or the table of contents of the Jawāmi`al-kalim, a published compilation of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad.

Bib - a correlation of entries of this work in various bibliographies. The main bibliography used is of course the Fīhrist Kutub Mashayikh `Izam of Shaykh Abu'l-Qāsim Kirmānī, on which this work is based. However, an attempt was made to correlate the works in this bibliography with a manuscript list of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad and Sayyid Kāẓim compiled by Sayyid Kāẓim, the Fīhrist-i Sayyid - see S below.

Mss - a listing of the manuscripts of the work available in various libraries in Iran, Europe, North America and elsewhere. Under each work I have listed the manuscripts in the order that they would appear to be most accessible to those working in Europe and North America. First placing where applicable goes to the Kirmān collection of manuscripts; not because access to the collection in Kirmān is particularly easy but because copies of the entire collection are held at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and the Library of the Unīversity of Chicago. Following this, I have given details of manuscripts in libraries in Europe and North America; then national libraries in Iran; then regional libraries in Iran; then libraries in Iraq, India and elsewhere, including miscellaneous other locations such as private libraries which are occasionally referred to in al-Dhari`a. Wherever possible, I have fīrst given the information as to the volume of the catalogue of the collection in which information about the manuscript may be found (page number and number in the catalogue); and then, after a semi-colon, information regarding the manuscript's library accession number, and, in parentheses, for composite volumes, the item number (i.e. the order of the work in the manuscript volume) and page numbers. After this information regarding the identity of the writer of the manuscript, date of completion, etc is given, where available.

Pub - Publications of the work.

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I have, in addition, compiled and tabulated some further information regarding Shaykh Aḥmad's writings. This includes a list of those to whom these works were addressed tabulated by the area in which they lived; tables of the number of works of Shaykh Aḥmad according to the period of his life in which they were written. I have also provided some graphical analysis of his output on a year-by-year basis. All this material is at the beginnīng of this monograph. At the end there is an index.

ABBREVIATIONS

A listing of the main abbreviations used is given below:

Bibliographies

Dh - al-Dhari`a ilā tasanīf al-shi`a by Agha Buzurg Tihranī. 25 vols, distributed by the author, Tihran and Najaf, 1355/1936-1398/1978. Each entry consists of: volume number: page number, No. item number.

F - Fīhrist-i kutub-i mashāyikh `izam by Shaykh Abu'l-Qāsim Kirmānī. 3rd ed. ChapKhāna Sa`adat, Kirmān, n.d (referred to elsewhere in the text as Fīhrist ). Since there are several editions of this book with different paginations, I have here given each entry as F followed by the consecutive item number as given in the latest edition (Kirmān, n.d.). Kirmānī states that his bibliographic sources were as follows (pp. 214-6):

S - Fīhrist-i Sayyid. List compiled by Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī and Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī by Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī. School of Oriental and African Studies, Mss No. 92308, Item no. 38, pp. 398a-406b; (see Adam Gacek, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 1981, No. 277, pp. 165-9). This list was composed in Rajab 1258/1842 and the manuscript is written by Jawad ibn Qāsim an-Najjar in Kufa and completed on 30 Dhu'l-Hijjih 1259/January 1844, 19

[10]

days after the death of Sayyid Kāẓim. Nīcolas evidently also had access to a copy of this list as the list of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad that he gives (Essai sur le Cheikhisme, I. Cheikh Ahmed Lahçahi, Paris, 1910, pp. 63-72) is almost exactly the same as the SOAS manuscript and in the same order. The numbers given here are from Nīcolas' list as the SOAS manuscript has no numeration.

FN - Fīhrist nuskhih-ha-yi khaṭṭi farsi. By Aḥmad Monzavi. Vol. 2, pts. 1 and 2, Tihran, 1349

There is one further bibliography of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad to which I have not been able to obtain access: Fīhrist rasā'il al-shaykh listed in Dh 16:383, no. 1783, consisting of a list of 75 works - no author indicated - copy in library of Mullā Muhammad `Alī Khwansārī in Najaf.

Mīrzā Muhammad `Alī, Nujum al-sama, Lakhnau, 1303, also contains an extensive bibliography of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad, which I have consulted.

Manuscripts

KM - Kirmān manuscripts. Manuscripts kept at the Shaykhi Centre in Kirmān. They are detailed in a section at the beginnīng of Fīhrist-i Kutub-i Mashayikh `Izam (pages numbered separately from rest of book, pp. 45-102). Photographs or photocopies of these manuscripts can be found in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, and the Library of the Unīversity of Chicago. In the Bibliotheque Nationale, the works of Shaykh Aḥmad can be found under: 8 fac-sim. Or. 143; See Catalogues de facsimiles orientaux, Bureau Orient. 18, 1; 18, 2, Departement des Manuscrits Orientaux. At the Library of the Unīversity of Chicago, they can be ordered with reference to the Fīhrist.

Browne - Cambridge Unīversity Library. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Oriental Manuscripts belonging to the late E.G. Browne. By Edward G. Browne, completed by R.A. Nīcholson. Cambridge, 1932. The manuscripts described are held at Cambridge Unīversity Library, E.G. Browne Collection

IM - London, Isma`ili Institute. Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the Institute of Isma`ili Studies. By Adam Gacek. London: Islamic Publications, 1985. Vol. 2

UCLA - Unīversity of Californīa at Los Angeles: Shaykhi Collection. Boxes 1-3, from a hand-list written in German, this collection appears to be mainly works that had been in the possession of a certain Qadir ibn Muhammad Jawad Taliqanī, a close associate of Shaykh Aḥmad. It includes an important autograph manuscript of a collection of Shaykh Aḥmad's works. Boxes 4 & 5 are from the Caro Owen Minasian Collection, Isfahan 1948.

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Princeton -

Handlist of Arabic Manuscripts (New Series) in the Princeton Unīversity Library by Rudolf Mach and Eric L. Ormsby. Princeton: Princeton Unīversity Press, 1987

Garrett -

Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts (Yahuda Section) in the Garrett Collection, Princeton Unīversity Library. By Rudolf Mach. Princeton: Princeton Unīversity Press, 1977

Maj -

Library of the Iranīan National Parliament, Tihran. Fīhrist KitabKhānīh Majlis Shura-yi Milli (various authors: Ibn Yūsuf Shirazi, `Abdu'l-Ḥusayn Ha'iri, Fakhri Rastigar, Iraj Afshar, Muhammad Taqi Danīshpuzhuh, `Alī Naqi Munzavi, `Abdu'l-Ḥusayn Ha'iri), 19 vols., Tihran, 1311/1933-1350/1972

Mil -

National Library, Tihran. Fīhrist Nusukh Khaṭṭi KitabKhānīh Milli by Sayyid `Adb-Allāh Anwār. Vols. 1-10, Tihran, 1343/1964-1358/1979

Danīshgah -

Unīversity Library of Tihran. Fīhrist KitabKhānīh Danīshgah Tihran. Fīrst 8 volumes published as Fīhrist KitabKhānīh Ahda'i-yi Āqā Sayyid Muhammad Mishkat bih KitabKhānīh Danīshgah Tihran. By `Alī-Naqi Munzavi Tihranī, after vol. 3, Muhammad Taqi Danīshpuzhuh. 15 vols., Tihran, 1330-1345/1966

DIMI -

College of Divinīty and Islamic Studies, Unīversity of Tihran. Fīhrist-i Nuskhih-ha Khaṭṭi va `Aks KitabKhānīh Danīshkadih Ilahiyat va Ma`arif Islami (Danīshgah Tihran). By Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Hujjati. Tihran, 1348.

Adabiyat -

College of Literature, Unīversity of Tihran. Fīhrist-i Nuskhih-ha Khaṭṭi KitabKhānīh Danīshkadih Adabiyat. By Muhammad Taqi Danīshpuzhuh. Tihran, 1344

Huquq -

College of Law, Political Science and Economics, Unīversity of Tihran. Fīhrist Nuskhih-ha-yi Khaṭṭi KitabKhānīh Danīshkadih Huquq wa `Ulum Siyasi wa Iqtisadi. By Muhammad Taqi Danīshpuzhuh. Tihran, ?1339

SipAḥsālar -

Library of the Madrasa SipAḥsālar. Fīhrist KitabKhānīh Madrasih `Alī SipAḥsālar. By Ibn Yūsuf Shirazi. Tihran, Vol.1 (1313‑15); vol. 2 (1316‑7)

Fayḍiyya -

Library of the Madrasa Fayḍiyya in Qumm. Fīhrist KitabKhānīh Mubarakih Madrasih Fayḍiyya Qumm. By Hajji Āqā Mujtaba `Iraqi. Qumm 1337

Mar`ashi -

Library of Ayatu'llah Najāfī-Mar`ashi. Fīhrist Nuskhih-ha-yi Khaṭṭi KitabKhānīh `Umumi Hadrat Ayatu'llah Najāfī-Mar`ashi

[12]

Mashhad-

Library of the Imam Riḍā' Shrine at Mashhad. Fīhrist KitabKhānīh Astan Quds Radavi vol. 1-10 (later volumes by Ghulam-`Alī `Irfanīan), Mashhad, 1305-13

Yazd-

Vaziri Library in Yazd. Fīhrist Nuskhih-ha-yi Khaṭṭi KitabKhānīh Vaziri. By Muhammad Shirvanī. 3 Vols., 1353

Malik -

Malik National Library, adjacent to the Shrine of the Imam Riḍā', Mashhad. Fīhrist Kitab-ha-yi Khaṭṭi KitabKhānīh Milli Malik (vabastih Astan Quds Radavi). By Iraj Afshar and Muhammad Taqi Danīshpuzhuh

Buhar -

Buhar Library, Calcutta. Catalogue Raisonné of the Buhar Library. Vol. 2: Arabic manuscripts. By Shams
al-`Ulamā' M. Hidayat Husain, Calcutta, 1923.

ASB-

Asiatic Society of Bengal. Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in Tabular Form in the Collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. By K.M. Mitra; revised and edited by M.S. Khān, Calcutta, 1980

SJ-

Salar Jung Museum. A Concise Descriptive Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the Salar Jung Museum and Library. By Hajji Maulana Muhammad Ashraf

  PUBLICATIONS

JK - Jawāmi` al-kalim.

Two volumes of this compilation of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad were published in lithograph in Tabriz. The fīrst was written by `Abdu'l-Ḥamid Rawḍa-khān, contains 40 works and is dated 1273. There is a note at the end of the book written by Aḥmad ibn Muhammad Khushnīvis Tabrizi. It is in three parts and one suspects that it was originally intended to be published as three separate volumes. What appears to have occurred is that, at an advanced stage of preparation of the volume for publication, a large treatise, the Risāla fī mabahith al-alfaz, No. , was taken from Part One and attached to the end of Part Three (it still has "Fascicle One" on the runnīng heads), while two small treatises (in reply to Shaykh Ramadan and Mullā Ḥusayn Kirmānī, Nos. and ) were removed from Part Three and placed at the end of Part One (these two still have "Fascicle Three" on the runnīng heads).[1] This section that was added to the end of Part One has no

___________________________

[1]
The main evidence for stating these changes took place at a late stage in the publication of the book is the fact that the Risāla fī mabahith al-alfaz still has "Fascicle One" on the runnīng heads, while two small treatises (in reply to Shaykh Ramadan and Mullā Ḥusayn Kirmānī) still have "Fascicle Three" on the runnīng heads. Furthermore remnants of the patching together can be seen in the form of sections crossed out on pp. 147 and 148 of Part Three. There is a small note at the end of the volume referring to some of these changes in a rather confused way. I can only surmise that the three parts were originally going to be published as three separate volumes and that this swapping around was done so as to balance out the size of the three. Then at the last moment, it was decided to publish all three parts in one volume.

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pagination and therefore I have called it Part One Addendum and added pagination pp. 1-10. The rest of Part One and the whole of Part Two are paginated. Part Three has no page numbers and I have paginated this part pp. 1-187. The second volume of Jawāmi`al-kalim contains 52 works and was published in 1276. It was also written by `Abdu'l-Ḥamid Rawda-Khān and 500 copies were printed in the press owned by Muhammad Taqi Nakhjavanī in Tabriz. It is in one part and paginated throughout. A fīnal note for the unwary: the Tables of Contents for both volumes contain many errors and omissions.

Majmu`a - Majmu`a al-Rasā'il, Vol.30, Kirmān, n.d.

Sharh al-Fawa'id, lithographed, Tabriz, 12 Dhu'l-Qad`a 1274

Other Abbreviations

Tab
aqāt - Tabaqāt A`lam al-Shi`a (al-Karam al-barara fī'l-qarn ath-thalith ba`d al-ash`ar) (13th Islamic Century), Tihran, 1374/1954, pts 1-3

[14]

MAIN DATES IN THE LIFE OF SHAYKH AḤMAD ^[2]

  Rajab 1166/May 1753 - Birth in al-Matrayfī in al-Aḥsā

1186/1772 - Journey to Iraq

1186/1773 - Return to al-Aḥsā

c. 1203/1788 - Moved to Baḥrayn

c.1207/1792 - Moved to Karbala and Najaf

1212/1797 Moved to Basra (and village of Dhūraq 3 years)

1214/1799 - Possible journey to Baḥrayn - see No. 118

c.1215-c.1221 / 1800-1806 - Several moves among towns and villages of southern Iraq - Basra and villages of Habarat, Tanwiyh, Nashwah (18 months); in 1219/1804 to Safawah

1221/1806-7 - Pilgrimage to Najaf, Karbala and Kāẓimayn

1221/1806-7 - Journey to Mashhad, returnīng to Yazd, where he settled

Ramadan 1223 Nov. 1808 - Journey to Tihran

c. early 1224/early 1809 - Return to Yazd

1226/1811 - Pilgrimage to Mashhad

1229/1814 - Pilgrimage to Mashhad

1229/1814 - Journey to Kirmānshah (via Isfahan, where he stayed 40 days); he went on fīrst to visit the shrine cities in Iraq before returnīng to Kirmānshah

2 Rajab 1229/20 June 1814 - arrived Kirmānshah where he settled

_____________________________________

Fn. [2]. Information extracted from D. MacEoin "From Shaykhism to Babism: a study in charismatic renewal" PhD Thesis, Cambridge Unīversity, 1979, pp. 51-94; V. Rafati, "The Development of Shaykhi Thought in Shī`ī Islam", PhD Thesis, UCLA, 1979, pp. 39-45.

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1232/1817 - Pilgrimage to Mecca (going via Damascus and returnīng via Najaf and Karbala where he stayed eight months)

4 Muharram 1234/3 November 1818 - Arrival back in Kirmānshah

1235-1236/1819-1821 - references in Shaykh Aḥmad's writings to his having been ill at this time - see Nos. 56 and 110

1238/1822 - Pilgrimage to Mashhad - return via Yazd (3 months' stay) and Isfahan (2 months stay); visit to Qazvin on the way to Mashhad or on the way back

Shawwal 1238/June 1823 - Arrival back in Kirmānshah

1239/1824 - Moved to Karbala

21 Dhu'l-Qa`da 1241/27 June 1826 - Died in Hadiya near Medina during the course of a pilgrimage to Mecca and buried in the Baqi` cemetery in Medina

FAMILY

During his lifetime he married 8 wives and had 29 children of whom 7 survived to maturity. His sons were:

Shaykh Muhammad Taqi, often also called just Shaykh Muhammad - who is reported to have opposed his Fatḥer's opinīons (see Dh 11:30, no. 177)

Shaykh `Alī Naqī , often also called just Shaykh `Alī - who was also a great scholar and followed his Father's school; some (perhaps all) of the personal manuscripts of Shaykh Aḥmad appear to have passed into his possession on his Father's death; I have seen over a dozen manuscripts of his works reported in various collections

Shaykh Ḥasan

Shaykh `Abd-Allāh who wrote a biography of his Fatḥer

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TEACHERS

Shaykh Aḥmad's teachers were: ^[3]

Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Ḥasan al-Baḥrānī al-Damistanī, ijaza dated 1 Muharram 1205/10 September 1790

Sayyid Mīrzā Muhammad Mahdi Shahristanī of Karbala, ijaza dated 1209/1794

Sayyid Mahdi Bahr al-`Ulum of Najaf (1155-1212), ijaza dated 1209/1794

Shaykh Ja`far ibn Khidr Kashif al-Ghita of Najaf (1156-1227), jaza dated 1209/1794

Shaykh Ḥusayn ibn Muhammad Al `Asfur al-Baḥrānī (d. 1216), ijaza dated 2 Jamada I 1214/2 October 1799

Sayyid `Alī Tabataba'i of Karbala (d. 1231/1816)

Sayyid Muhsin al-A`raji (d. 1227/1812)

STUDENTS

Shaykh Aḥmad's prominent students included:^[4]

Shaykh Muhammad Ḥasan Najafī , Sahib al-Jawahir (c.1202-1266)

Hajji Muhammad Ibrahim Kalbasi (d. 1261)

Shaykh `Assad-Allāh Shustari (d. 1237)

Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī (d. 1259)

Shaykh Aḥmad's two sons: Shaykh Muhammad Taqī and Shaykh `Alī Naqī

Sayyid `Abd-Allāh ibn Muhammad Riḍā' al-Ḥusaynī al-Ḥillī al-Kāẓimī^[5]

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[3] Sources for this list are Tabaqāt a`lam al-shi`a (13th century), vol. 2, Najaf, 1374/1954 (hereinafter Tabaqāt ), p. 91; Dh 1:141, nos. 661; 1:164, no. 821; 1:188, no. 976; 1:219, no. 1149; 1:253, no. 1331; 1:255, no. 1344

[4] Except where indicated the source for this list is Tabaqāt, p. 91; Dh 1:141, nos 662, 663, 664

[5] 1188-1242, he was an Akhbārī scholar and author of Masabih al-anwar. Danīshgah 5, p. 1531

[17]

       List of those for whom Shaykh Aḥmad wrote works

        The Shaykhis did not become an identifīable separate movement until many years after the death of Shaykh Aḥmad. There were, however, a large number of individuals who felt an affinity with the Shaykh and who may thus be thought of as being the predecessors of the Shaykhis. One way in which to ascertain the relative numbers of these persons in the different parts of the Shī`ī world is to list those who wrote to the Shaykh asking for his opinīon on various subjects.

         The following is a list of Shaykh Aḥmad's correspondents. As a source of information about the geographical distribution of those who may be regarded as Shaykh Aḥmad's followers, it requires some comments. Shaykh Ḥusayn ibn Muhammad al `Asfur al-Darazīal-Baḥrānī and Shaykh Ja`far Kashif al-Ghita who wrote from Iraq were both teachers of Shaykh Aḥmad and cannot be regarded as his followers. Of the two Mazandaranī and one Astarābādī scholars listed, none were actually resident in Mazandaran and Astarābādī. Shaykh `Abd-Allāh ibn Mubarak al-Qatifī was a resident of Muhammara and later moved to Shiraz. Sayyid Ḥasan Bushru'i Khurasanī was a resident of Karbala.

         Having made allowances for the above points, however, a few comments can be made about this list of Shaykh Aḥmad's correspondents. There is a pronounced concentration of Shī`ī Gulf Arab `ulamā' on this list. Of the total of 55 names whose place of origin is known, 20 are from Baḥrayn and al-Aḥsā (36%). Of course Shaykh Aḥmad was himself from this region and this may partly account for this preponderance. But Shaykh Aḥmad scarcely visited the area in the last 30 years of his life when his fame was at its height and during which most of these works were written.

         There is perhaps a further factor that may also account for the large number of Gulf Arab `ulamā'. The Gulf area is even to this day the predominant area of Akhbārī thought in the Shī`ī world. In the struggle between the Uṣūlīs and the Akhbārīs for predominance in the Shī`ī world that had culminated in the Uṣūlī victory under Vahid Bihbihanī in the generation before Shaykh Aḥmad, the Gulf had been the major area of Akhbārī support. Most of the important Akhbārī `ulamā' of this period came from this area. Such fīgures as Shaykh Yūsuf Baḥrānī and the Ál `Asfur family were prominent Akhbārīs and many of the other important Baḥraynī `ulamā' appear to have had Akhbārī leanīngs. Although the most important Akhbārī scholar of Shaykh Aḥmad's own generation was Mīrzā Muhammad Akhbari from Nīshapur,^[6] there were still many

_________________________

[6] Mīrzā Muhammad Akhbārī's own attitude towards Shaykh Aḥmad is in need of further research. One manuscript (see No. ) is recorded as being a refutation of Ahsā'ī by Akhbārī; but on the other hand, Akhbārī is reported to have referred to Shaykh Aḥmad as "our teacher in the science of certitude (ustaduna fī `ilm al-yaqīn)" Majlis 9, p. 585.

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Akhbārīs in Baḥrayn and al-Aḥsā and this area remains today as the most important areas of remainīng Akhbārī influence. Shaykh Aḥmad's own views were very much in the Akhbārī tradition. Although his jurisprudence was Uṣūlī in nature, his pious veneration of the Imams and his use of argument based on the Traditions of the Imams rather than on rational discourse is very reminīscent of Akhbārī thought. It may therefore be that in this generation in which Akhbārī thinking was on the retreat, those `ulamā' who still inclined to it looked to Shaykh Aḥmad as a possible reviver of their fortunes.

         On the other hand, given that Najaf and Karbala were the centres of Shī`ī scholarship at this time and almost certainly held the largest concentration of `ulamā' in the Shī`ī world, there seems to have been comparatively little interest in Shaykh Aḥmad's views in that region on the evidence of the following list. Even of the three `ulamā' shown from that area, one was a teacher of Shaykh Aḥmad (Shaykh Ja`far Kashif al-Ghita). This also tends to confīrm the hypothesis presented above, since the Shrine cities in Iraq were the main centres of the evolving Uṣūlī orthodoxy.

         The following is a list of those with whom Shaykh Aḥmad corresponded or for whom he wrote treatises:

al-Aḥsā - 8 `ulamā'

Shaykh Muhammad Taqi, son of Shaykh Aḥmad  -- 1 work

Shaykh `Alī ibn Muqaddas as-Muhammadāliḥ ibn Yūsuf al-Ahsā'ī -- 1 work

Shaykh `Adb-Allāh ibn Mubarak ibn `Alī al-Jarudi al-Qatifī   -- 1 work

Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Muhammadāliḥ ibn Tuq al-Qatifī -- 6 works

Sayyid Malu'llah ibn Muhammad al-Khaṭṭi al-Qatifī  -- 2 works

Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Abd all-`Alī ibn `Abd al-Jabbar al-Qa tifī  -- 2 works^[7]

Shaykh Muhammadāliḥ ibn Tuq al-Qatifī  -- 1 work

Sayyid Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Nabi al-Qari   -- 1 work

____________________________

Fn.7 But see note attached to No. 117

[19]

      Baḥrayn - 12 `ulamā'

Shaykh `Abdu'l-Ḥusayn ibn Yūsuf al-Baḥrānī -- 1 work

Shaykh `Adb-Allāh ibn Dundun -- 1 work

Ḥasan ibn `Alī al-Baḥrānī -- 1 work

Sayyid Ḥusayn ibn `Abdu'l-Qahir ibn Ḥusayn al-Baḥrānī -- 2 works

Shaykh Ḥusayn ibn Muhammad Al `Asfur ad-Darazi al-Baḥrānī -- 1 work

Shaykh Mūsā al-Baḥrānī   -- 1 work

Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Muhammad Al Majid al-Awali

and Sayyid `Abdu's-Samad Al Abi Shabbana al-Zanji   -- 1 work

Shaykh Yasin Baḥrānī   -- 1 work

Shaykh `Abd al-Samad and Shaykh Muhammad Baladi -- 1 work

Mullā `Abd `Alī (or `Alī) al-khatib at-Ta wbili  -- 1 work

     Ādharbayjān

Mullā Mashhad ibn Ḥusayn `Alī Shabistari -- 1 or 2 works

      Fars

Shaykh Muhammad Hindi janī   -- 1 work

Mullā Muhammad Mahdi Abrqu'i -- 1 work

    Gilan - 6 `ulamā'

Sayyid Abu'l-Ḥasan al-Jilanī -- 2 works

Mullā `Alī ibn Mīrzā Jan Rashti --1 work

Sayyid Ḥusayn ibn Muhammad Qāsim Ushkuri Gilanī -- 1 work

Sayyid Kāẓim Rashti  -- 1 work

Mullā Muhammad Ra shti  -- 1 work

Sayyid Abu'l-Qāsim ibn `Abbas ibn Ma`sum Lahijanī -- 1 work

Hamadan

Shaykh Muhammad Ja`far Qaraguzlu'i Hamadanī, Majzhub `Alī Shah -- 1 work

Isfahan

Mīrzā Baqir Nawwab -- 1 work

Ahl Isfahan   -- 1 work

Khurasan (including Damaghan and Simnan)

Sayyid Ḥasan Bushru'i Khurasanī --1 work

Sayyid Ism a`il Sabzivari  -- 1 work

Sayyid Muhammad Khurasanī -- 1 work

Mullā Muhammad Damaghanī   -- 1 work

Mullā Kāẓim ibn `Alī Naqī al-Simnanī -- 2 works

Kirmān

Mullā Ḥusayn Wa`iz Ki rmanī   -- 2 works

Māzandarān (and Astarābādī)

Sayyid Abu'l-Ḥasan ibn Ḥusayn al-Ḥusaynī al- Tunukabunī al-Qazwinī -- 1 work

Muhammad Mazandaranī, resident in Isfahan -- 1 work

Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi ibn Muhammad Shafī` Astarābādīi -- 3 works

Qazvin

al-Hajj `Abdu'l-Wahhab al-Qazwinī -- 1 work

Mullā Muhammad `Alī Barāghānī   -- 1 work

Mullā Muhammad Tahir Qazvinī     -- 1 work

Tihran (Qajar family)

Fath-`Alī Shah -- 2 works

Mahmud Mīrzā (governor of Nahavand)   --   2 works

Muhammad `Alī Mīrzā (governor of Kirmānshah)  --   3 works

[20]

Yazd

Mīrzā Ja`far Nawwab Yazdī  -- 1 work

Mīrzā Muhammad `Alī Mudarris ibn Sayyid Muhammad  --   1 work

Mullā Muhammad Ḥusayn Bafqi (Sarayanī)  -- 1 work

Iraq

Mullā Mashhad ibn Muqaddas al-Ḥillī--1 or 2 works

Shaykh Ja`far al-Najāfī, Kashif al-Ghita-- 1 work

Shaykh Muhammad Ḥusayn Najāfī  -- 1 work

Shirvan

Mullā Mustafa Shi rvanī (or Shirazi) -- 1 work

Shaykh Ya`qub ibn Qāsim al-Shirwanī -- 1 work

Place of origin not known - 18 names

Shaykh `Adb-Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ghadir -- 1 work

Mīrzā Aḥmad -- 1 work

Mullā `Alī  -- 1 work

Shaykh `Alī ibn `Adb-Allāh ibn Faris  -- 3 works

Shaykh `Alī ibn Muhammad  -- 1 word

Mullā `Alī Akbar ibn Muhammad Sami`  -- 1 work

Mullā Fatḥ-`Alī Khān --1 work

Mullā Mashhad (see other Mullā Mashhads above)  --1 work

Sayyid Muhammad al-Bakká   -- 1 work

Mullā Muhammad known al-Rashid -- 1 work

Muhammad Khān -- 1 work

Sayyid Muhammad ibn Abi al-Futuḥ  -- 1 work

Mīrzā Muhammad `Alī ibn Muhammad Nabi Khān  -- 1 work

Shaykh Muhammad Kāẓim -- 1 work

Shaykh Muhammad Mas`ud ibn Sa`ud   -- 1 work

Shaykh Mūsā ibn Muhammad Sa'igh -- 1 work

Shaykh Ramadan ibn Ibrahim  -- 1 work

Sayyid Sharif ibn Jabir   -- 1 work

[21]

Volumes known to have belonged to Shaykh Aḥmad

     In the course of my researches I have come across a number of volumes in the catalogues of various libraries that are stated to have once belonged to Shaykh Aḥmad. Since this may be an important source of information regarding the influences upon him, I have listed these below.

al-Wafī of Mullā Muhsin Fayḍ Kashanī - (Mil 7, p. 305); also part of the same work (Mil 7, 353); 10th part of this work (Mil 8, p. 19); 11th part (Mil 8, p. 20); 12th part (Mil 8, p. 42)

Hashiyya of Sayfu'd-Din Aḥmad A bhari on the Sharh Mukhtasar al-Muntaha of Adudi (DIMI vol. 1, p. 764, no. Shin 67); volume also belonged to Ja`far Baḥrānī

Hashiyya al-`Umidi (TabĀqāt p. 769)

al-`Idah fī'l-ma`anī wa'l-bayan of Shaykh Imam Muhammad al-Khatib al-Qazwinī ad-Dam ishqi (DIMI vol. 1, p. 469, no. Shin 232); volume also belonged to `Adb-Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn Hamd ibn Muhammad al-Sayigh

Mukhtalif al-shi`a fī aḥkam al-shari`a of `Allama al-Ḥillī (DIMI vol. 1, p. 798); also belonged to Muhammad ibn `Adb-Allāh ibn `Alī ibn Muhammad Ḥusaynī Mūsāwi, mss dated 1194

Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajid of Shaykh al-Ta'ifa al-Tusi (DIMI vol. 1, Shin 82); owned by Shaykh Aḥmad Ahsā'ī in 1223; `Abd all-Rahim Mazandaranī in 1243; Muhammad Taqi ibn `Abd al-Rahim Mazandaranī 1246

al-Tadhkira fī sharh al-ṭabsira of Āqā Muhammad Ja`far ibn Muhammad `Alī ibn Muhammad Baqir Bihbihanī (d. 1254); this is a large volume consisting of a sharh of the Tabsira and of "Bismi'llah" and a treatise on Uṣūlad-Din (20,000 verses), completed in 1232. (Dh 4:23, no. 72). Copy at present with Shaykh Muhammad as-Samawi in Najaf had belonged to Shaykh Aḥmad; then to Aḥmad ibn Muhammad ibn Aḥmad al-Dahistanī, 1248; then Shaykh Muhsin ibn Muhammad al-Mansuri, 1249; then Mīrzā Muhammad Hamadanī, 1302

[22]

Analysis of Shaykh Aḥmad's works by place and year of writing

Shaykh Aḥmad's life may be divided into a number of phases according to where he was living. Many of the works of Shaykh Aḥmad bear no date and therefore cannot be easily assigned to a period of his life. Of the remainder, the following is an analysis of the number of works that he wrote in each of these phases:

Table 1: Periods of Shaykh Aḥmad's life showing number of works produced in each period

    1. Al-Aḥsā and Baḥrayn (1166-c.1206)                                         4

  2. Karbala and Najaf (c.1207-1211)   10

    3. South Iraq (1212-1221)    8

    4. Yazd (1221-1228)
16

    5. Kirmānshah (1229-1238)   29

    6. Karbala (1239-1241) 4



Of course such an analysis makes no allowance for the importance of the works written in each period. A work such as the Sharḥ al-Fawā'id is clearly of much greater significance than the al-Risāla al-Rashidiyya which is only 110 verses in length. One crude method of estimating the importance of the various works of Shaykh Aḥmad is to count the number of manuscripts that have survived in the various collections surveyed; the assumption being that the more important a work, the more copies of it will have been written and the more manuscripts will have survived. Such an analysis follows:

Table 2: Periods of Shaykh Aḥmad's life showing number of manuscripts surviving from each period

1. Al-Aḥsā and Baḥrayn (1166-c.1206)  = 13

2. Karbala and Najaf (c.1207-1211)  = 42

3. South Iraq (1212-1221) = 36

[24]

4. Yazd (1221-1228)  = 78

5. Kirmānshah (1229-1238) = 171

6. Karbala (1239-1241)  = 14

The same two analyses (by number of works and number of surviving manuscripts) on a year-by-year basis is shown on the following two pages:

[25]

[26]

[27]

       One of the problems of such an analysis is the fact that each work is allocated to the year in which it is completed. But some of the major works of Shaykh Aḥmad were written over several years. This is particularly true in the case of the Sharh az-Ziyara. This was completed in 1230 and is therefore allocated to that year and to Kirmānshah in the above analyses. However, we know that the third volume was completed in 1229. This means that the fīrst two volumes and possibly part of the third were probably written in Yazd before his departure for Kirmānshah.

[28]

TO BE ADDED