Some
Notes upon select works and
published writings
of
Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī
(d.1241/1826)
by
Stephen N. Lambden
In
progress and revision 2009-10
Last revised 01/09/09
Please communicate additions or corrections to, slambden@ucmerced.edu
See also for
Printed and select primary mss. materials
URL :
It is hoped that this page will gradually evolve into a comprehensive
bibliography of all the various editions of the published writings of Shaykh Aḥmad
al-Ahsā'ī, with occasional notes regarding libraries holding such volumes and
bookshops selling them whether in Europe, the Middle East or
elsewhere.
I
جوامع الكلم
Jawāmi` al-kalim
("The Comprehensive
Meaningful Discourse")
-
Jawāmi` al-kalim,
Vol. 1 (= JK1). Lithographed, Tabriz:
Muhammad Tāqī
Nakhjavānī. 1273/1856-7.
-
Jawāmi`
al-kalim,
Vol. 2 (= JK2)
Lithographed, Tabriz:
Muhammad Tāqī
Nakhjavānī. 1276/1859-60.
While vol.1 contains around 40
treatises (rasa'il) Vol. 2 has 52
often composite, multi-faceted
works
and was also
written
in the script of
`Abd
al-Ḥamīd
Rawḍa-Khān.
A print run of
500 copies was made at
the
Tabriz located
press
of
Muhammad Tāqī
Nakhjavānī.
Perhaps the most significant compilation of Shaykh Aḥmad's writings is the long
out of print, two [three] large multi-part volumes lithographed in Tabriz (Iran)
with the
title
Jawāmi`
al-kalim
(= JK lit. "Comprehensive Discourse" ).
Volume 1 is in 3 parts and is
dated 1273/1856-7. It contains 40 often composite works and was written
by
a certain
`Abd
al-Ḥamīd
Rawḍa-khān.
Momen's
useful note about the confused pagination and arrangement of the first volume is worth citing:
"There
is a note at the end of the book written by Aḥmad ibn Muhammad Khushnivis
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.
ADD ,
was taken from Part One and attached to the end of Part Three (it still has
"Fascicle One" on the running heads), while two small treatises (in reply to
Shaykh Ramaḍan
and Mullā Ḥusayn Kirmānī, Nos.
ADD
and
ADD ) were removed from Part Three and placed
at the end of Part One (these two still have "Fascicle Three" on the running
heads).This
section that was added to the end of Part One has no 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."
Individual
writings and compendia derived in part or wholly from writing (s) of Shaykh
Ahmad originally
printed in the Jawāmi` al-kalim.
Many booklets have been
published which draw wholly or partly upon the massive amount of Shaykh Aḥmad's
writings found
in the
Jawāmi` al-kalim. For some details see Hajji Mirza `Abd al-Rasūl al-Hā`iri
al-Iḥqāqī al-Taḥqīq fi madarisa al-awḥad (3rd printing)
(1424/2003), pp.229-266.
A few examples:
Tafsīr sūrat al-tawḥīd (Commentary on the Surah of the Divine Unity).
This commentary was originally written in reply to Sayyid
Muhammad Bakā' and printed within vol.1 of the Jawāmi` al-kalim
as
part
of the
Tafsīr Sūrat al-tawhīd wa āyat al-nūr.
Its first part, the Tafsīr Sūrat al-tawḥīd
(Commentary upon the Surah of the Divine Unity) is printed in a 2nd. ed.
in the composite volume of collected Shaykhī Tafsir works
entitled Majmū`a al-rasa'il al-hikma'
(Kirmān: Maṭba`at
al-Sa`ada. Shawal, 1379/ March-April 1959-60). pp. 1-16. A recent Kuwait reprint
is :
For my ongoing trans.
see
Kitāb al-raj`at
("The
Book of the Return").
The vols. with
this title referred to below all
seem to be reprints of a treatise first published in J-kalim vol.1 ADD PAGES, a
Risala written by Shaykh Ahmad in reply to Muhammad `Ali Mirza ibn Fath-`Ali
about raj`at (eschatological "return") and `iṣmat (the
doctrine of infallibility).
-
Kitāb al-raj`at. first
reprinted Kirman: Sa`adat, (?) 1390/ ?
-
Kitāb al-raj`at Beirut: Dār al-`Ālamīn, 1st printing 1414/1993.
pp. 230 (pp. 229-230= index).
-
-
Majmu`a al-rasā'il min musnafat al-Shaykh..
The useful volume 30 of the Kirman printed (n.d.)
Majmu`a al-rasā'il
min musnafat al-Shaykh..
series
reprints in a 2nd edition some of the most
interesting titles of Shaykh Ahmad found in the JK.
Rasā'il al-Shaykh..
Pt. 1...
The singular Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Ahsa'i
(d. 1241).. Green HB. [Kuwiat] : Jami` al-Imam al-Sadiq, 1st printing
1421/2000. 294pp. +Index pp. 295-304. A very rich compendium of Arabic
treatises of Shaykh Ahmad (probably all reprinted from the Jawāmi` al-kalim)
opening with his exoteric and esoteric exegesis of the well-known tradition
ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad, `man `arafa nafsahu faqad `arafa Rabbahu' (
Whoso knows his "Self" (nafs) will assuredly have known his Lord"), pp. 9-24.
The second group of treatises commences with the commentary upon the 'Hadith of
Names" (pp. 27-44) followed by the Sharh Hadith Kumayl [ibn Ziyād al-Nakha'i]
(pp.45-98 ). ADD REST..
H-Bahai
URL
link:
II
Select 19th Cent Lithograph and later Printed Editions
of the Writings of
Shaykh Aḥmad
al-Aḥsā'ī.
شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة
Sharh al-ziyāra al-jāmi`a
al-kabīra ("Commentary upon the weighty, comprehensive Visiting Tablet")
(4 vols).
An important
phrase or word by word commentary of Shaykh Aḥmad upon the weighty visitation prayer for
the (twelver) Imams collectively by the tenth Imam `Alī al-Hadi (d. 214 [254] /829
[868]). It is found, for example, in the following two important legalistic works
of Ibn Babūya/ Babuwayh al-Qummī (d.381/991)
-
[1], Man lā yahḍuru-hu al-faqīḥ
("For whomsoever is without access to a lawyer") and the
-
[2] Tahdhīb al-aḥkām
(The Rectification of Judgments)...
Translation of Imam `Alī
al-Hadi's Ziyāra al-jāmi`a al-kabīra
Note also the
recently printed commentary of the
Shi`i writer Sayyid `Abd-Allah Shubbar
(d. ADD/ADD)
.
Editions of the Sharh al-ziyāra
of Shaykh Ahmad :
-
Sharh al-ziyāra ... Ramaḍan 1256 / Oct-Nov. 1840.... (=
first edition?).
-
-
Sharh al-ziyāra. Tehran
Lithograph ed. Mullā Muhammad Nizam al-`Ulamā. 4 vols. in 1. Ramadan, 1267 / July 1851
Camb. Univ. Lib. S828.a.85.2 (Momen, BSBM1).
-
-
Sharh al-ziyāra ....
2 vols. in one.
n.p. [Lithograph ed. Tabriz], 1276 / 1859.
-
Sharh al-ziyāra. 4 Vol ed. Kirmān: Maṭba'at al-Sa'ādat, 1355-6
Sh./1976-7.
-
The (reprinted?)
4th ed. I have seen is paginated as follows:
-
Vol. 1 has
Introd. pp.1-26 dated 29th Sha`ban, 1398/ 4th August 1978 + Image of
Shaykh Aḥmad + Index pp. 28-34 + text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-421.
-
Vol.2 Index
alif-ha+ Text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-366;
-
Vol.3 Index
alif-ha+ Text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-374;
-
Vol. 4 Index
alif-zein+ text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-335+ 2 pages of errata + Index to all
4 vols. in 3 parts spanning 71pp.
In this printing of the 4th ed. Shaykh Aḥmad's extensive commentary on
the Sharh al-ziyāra consists of 421 + 366 +374 + 335 pages = total of
1456 pp.
-
-
Among the most
recent printing of the Sh-Ziyāra is,
-
Sharh al-ziyāra
al-jāmi`a al-kabīra 4 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd,
1420/1999.
-
Sharh al-ziyāra
al-jāmi`a al-kabīra 4 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1424/2003.
-
-
A printing of these seminal
vols. can be obtained, for example, from the USA located Fadak bks:
http://fadakbooks.com/shalal1.html
_________________
كتاب
شرح الفوائد
[Kitāb]
Sharḥ
al-fawā'id
("The Commentary upon the Lessons [Observations]").
In the Shaykhiyya
[Shaykhī] collection of the Univ. of Calif. at Los Angelos (UCLA) there is a
very well-preserved mss of 307pp dated 9th Shawwal,1233/ 28th Nov. 1808. It is
catalogued as follows:
- MS 2 (box 1) http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/url/colls/mideast/shaykhi.htm
- "Kitab sharh al-fawa'id" (Arabic), fully preserved, w. red
titles and marked passages. Brown leather binding. - 307 pages of text; 22
lines per page 220x150 mm (text: 155x70 mm) Dated (p.307): 9. Shawal 1233 H.
(=1818); work written "with the quill of the author, the miserable slave..."
etc. (Autograph)
Lithograph and other editions:
-
Sharḥ
al-fawā'id,
Lithograph ed. Tabriz: 1272/1856
??) CHECK
Sharḥ
al-fawā'id.
Lithograph
ed. Tabriz: 12th Dhu'l-Qad`a 1274
/ 24th June 1858.
___________________________
كتاب شرح المشاعر
-
Kitāb
Sharḥ
al-mashā`ir. Lithograph
1st ed. Tabriz: [ADD]1278/1861-2.
-
Kitāb
Sharḥ
al-mashā`ir. 2nd ed. Kirman: Matba`at al-Sa`ada,
1408/ADD
A commentary by Shaykh Aḥmad upon the Kitāb
al-mashā'ir ("The Book of the [Metaphysical] Prehensions")
by Sadra al-Dīn Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Shirazi, known as Mullā
Sadrā (d. 1050/1640). According to Nasr, the
Kitāb
al-mashā`ir.
of Mullā Sadrā is a "synopsis of his ontology"(1978:44). Apart from being
lithographed in Tehran in 1315/1897-8 this work has been newly edited and published by
Henri Corbin (d.1978) along with his French translation and a Persian
translation of the Qajar prince-philosopher Badī` al-Mulk Mīrzā `Imād al-Dawlah:
Kitāb
al-mashā'ir. ed. and trans. Henri Corbin,
Live des pénétrationes Métaphysiques. Tehran + Paris, 1964; also rep.
1982 = Tehran: Institut Francais d'Iranologie de Tehran [1968] + Paris: Librarie
d'Amérique et d'Orient, A. Maisonneuve, rep. 1982 Kitāb-khānih: Tahūrī (=
Bibliotheque Iranienne, Vol. 10).
Contents in 1982 repr. =
Ar. section, K. Mashā`ir pp. 1-81; Per. trans. pp.84-220;
French section. I. Intro. Biog. of Mullā Sadrā, 1-26; Ch. II = Bibiographical
essay re: Mullā Sadrā, pp. 27-41. Ch. III = Kitāb al-Mashā`ir, +Ar. and Per.
commentaries, pp.42-52 includes refs. to Shaykh Aḥmad's comm, pp. 47-50. etc.
Corbin's French trans + notes, spans pp.87-242. The French index records
extensive refs. to Shaykh Aḥmad's comm (for the list see p. 243).
Molla Sadra Shirazi, Le Live des Pénétrationes Métaphysiques (Kitāb
al-Mashā`ir)
Ed. + trans.etc. Henri Corbin. Editiones Verdier, 1988 (ISBN 2-86432-070-3).
The above volume is a
reprint of the 1964 French introduction (pp.1-78) and translation (pp. 81-164)
with extensive notes (pp.166-234) + index (pp. 235-232), etc..
Sadra al-Dīn Muhammad al-Shirazi,
Note also the
following editions and publications:
Lahijani, M. J.,
Parwiz Morewedge
(trans.),
-
The Metaphysics of Mulla Sadra.
Kitāb al-Mashā`ir, The Book of [Metaphysical] Prehensions (Islamic
Philosophy Translation Series = ISPTS) The Institute for Cultural Studies,
Tehran Iran. Sponsors = The Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and
Science [SSIPS]. New York, 1992 (ISBN 0-9633277-1-2). This is a translation from
the Corbin edition (with occasional corrections and notes); the Arabic and its
English translation face each other from page 1-88 (Ar.+ Eng. beginning). Notes
are included from p.89ff.
____________________
شرح الكتاب الحكمة
العرشية
Sharḥ
al-kitāb al-ḥikma al-`arshiyya
("Commentary upon the Book of
the Wisdom of the Throne").
This work is a commentary by Shaykh Aḥmad upon the Kitāb
al-ḥikma al-`arshiyya ("The Book of the Wisdom of the Throne")
by Sadra al-Dīn Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Shirazi, known as Mullā
Sadrā (d. 1050/1640). This 100 or so page work of
Mullā Sadrā with the title Kitāb al-`arshiyya (The Book of the
Throne) has recently, in 1429/2000 (1st printing) been printed
in Beirut by the Mu'asassa al-Tārīkh al-`Arabiyya ("The Arab
History Estate"). Earlier editions include, Mullā Sadrā, al-Ḥikma al-`arshiyya on pp. 110-214 of the composite Mulla Sadra lithograph of 1315/1897-8 (also includes
the Mashā'ir + other commentaries).
A useful approach to this work is the English volume of James W.
Morris (trans.), The Wisdom of the Throne, An Introduction to the
Philosophy of Mulla Sadra. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1981. Aside from containing an excellent introduction to the work of Mullā
Muhammadadrā and to his Kitāb al-`Arshiyya, this volume provides an
annotated translation of the Kitāb al-`arshiyya with
occasional comments upon Shaykh Aḥmad's critique (esp. pp.47f; 126n.67).
Morris' translation is based upon Ghulām Riḍā Āhānī's Arabic edition of the
al-Ḥikma al-`arshiyya (with Persian paraphrase, Isfahan, 1341 Sh./
1962, pp. 218-288) occasionally corrected on the basis of reference to the
lithograph edition of Shaykh Aḥmad's commentary upon the `Arshiyya (lithographed in 1278/1861, see above).
Later editions
of the
Sharḥ
al-kitāb al-ḥikma al-`arshiyya
شرح العرشية
A 2nd (3rd?) edition of Shaykh Ahmad's
commentary in 2 volumes entitled Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya was
printed at the Shaykhī press in Kerman: Kirmān:
Maṭba`at al-Sa`ada,
vol.1 1361 Sh / 1983 and vol. 2 1363/1985. In this second edition
volume 1 has 5 indexes spanning eighty pages and the commentary from p.2
until p. 332 (K-`Arshiyya), while volume 2 again has several indexes and the
commentary on pp. 4-335 (K-`Arshiyya). Some glosses on Shaykh Ahmad's
commentary by Karim Khan Kirmani are also printed (in vol.2 = pp. 336-367).
This 2nd (?) edition of Shaykh Ahmad's
commentary in 3 vols. [sic. ?] entitled Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya
fi al-mabda` wa'l-ma`ad is said to have been
printed at the Shaykhī press : Kerman: Matba`at al-Sa`ada, in 1405-6/
1985-6 (so Ihqaqi, al-Tahqiq, 261).
The most
recent edition of the
Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya of Shaykh Ahmad
ADD HERE
edition of c. 2006?
Note also
Moris, Zailan.
Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason in the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra: An Analysis of the Al-Hikmah Al-'Arshiyyah.
Rep. Routledge: October 2003.
"An examination and analysis of the
legitimacy of the widely-held claim that Mulla Sadra's philosophy is a
synthesis of principles and doctrines drawn from revelation, gnosis and
discursive philosophy. It demonstrates how Mulla Sadra achieves this
synthesis in his "Wisdom from the Divine Throne". Pbk
__________________________
Rasā'il
al-ḥikma ("Treatises expressive of
Wisdom")
The following H-Bahai link exists:
-
Rasa'il al-Hikmah.
Beirut: Dar al-`Alamiyyah, 1993. Selected and reprinted from a 19th century
Iranian lithograph. Here digitally reproduced, East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai,
2001. Digitally reprinted, East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2001.
_________________
کتاب حىات النفس
Ḥayat al-nafs fī
ḥaḍīrat al-qūds fī uṣūl al-dīn
al-khams
("The
Life of the soul in the sanctified domain: regarding the five bases of religion").
An apparently abbreviated
version of this work forms part of the Jawāmi` al-kalim which has
been several times separately published (in Karbala? and ) in Tabriz in
1381/ 1961-2 as well as in Najaf in 1387/1967-8.
Select mss. and printed
editions:
-
Mss. Oxford: Wadham College Library, Mīnāsīān Collection Ms. No. 282
-
Hayāt al-nafs. 2nd ed. Kirmān: Matba`at al-Sa`ada,
1353/1974-5.
-
Kitab Ḥayāt al-nafs. Qum : Dār Sabṭ al-Nabī,
2004.
There have been at least two Persian translations:
[1] by Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī
Hayāt al-nafs.
trans. to Persian by Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī.
Tabriz, 1276/1859. Printed along with some replies of Sayyid Kāẓim
to various questions. It also appears to have been reprinted in 1396/
see Dhari`a vol.7:124 + Vol. 4:98 (Ihqaqi, al-Tahqiq, 249+fn.3).
[2] by Mīrzā Ḥasan `Azīm-Ābādī
Ḥā'irī (d. c.1260/ 1844)
حياة النفس...
- Persian trans. of Shaykh Aḥmad's Ḥayat al-nafs
by the Indian Lucknow based Shaykhī Mīrzā Ḥasan `Azīmābādī (d. 1260/1844)
(so Muhammad Mahdī in Nujūm al-samā' vol.1:43 as noted by Naqvi in
Brunner et. al. ed., 2001).
Several later editions including:
Another recent [reprint?] is
the Arabic
An Arabic ( zipped, downloadable,
printable) version of Shaykh Ahmad's Hayat al-nafs can be found at the Kuwaiti, Shaykhi website: http://www.alahsai.net/lib/
Rasā'il fī
kayfiyya ilā Allāh.
Beirut: Dar al-`ālamiyya (n.d.)
("Treatises about the manner of the
journey unto God")
This is a slim paperback booklet, the 4th
(re-)printing of the Qumm : al-Amīr edition spanning 52 (+53-58 pp.+
Index p. 59) Contains up till p.19 introd. material including a picture of
Shaykh Ahmad (on p. 3), p.20 = a short extract from the Nahj al-balagha
then Risala no.1 (pp. 21-36) and following Risala
no.2 (pp. 37-52). There also follows (pp. 53-58) an exposition of
various utterances of the Imams, firstly,
بنا
عرف الله
"through
us [the Imams] is the comprehension of God", then secondly, an
expostion of
استجابة الدعاء
(pp.56-58).
Recent (re-) publications of
works of Shaykh Aḥmad.
Pages 1-19 = introduction about the author by the publishers; pp.
20-135 = K.`iṣma with several sub-sections and a conclusion (=
pp.137-14) and an index (pp.149-151).
ADD DETAILS
Diwān al-Shaykh
al-Awḥad al-Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī
Majmu`at
Qaṣā'id Shaykh Mutā'llihīn.
-
Diwān al-Shaykh
al-Awḥad al-Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī
-
Majmu`at
Qaṣā'id Shaykh Mutā'llihīn.
Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsā'ī (1166-1241[A]H). (The Diwān
of the Peerless Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī, edited by Rāḍī Nāṣir al-Salmān
[with Ustad Dr. As`ad `Alī], Damascus: Mu`assat Fikr al-Awhad wa
Mu`assat al-Balāgh, 1324/ 2003. 544pp. A beautifully printed HB
compendium of sixteen lengthy Arabic Qaṣīdahs of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī,
with detailed indexes (pp.511-544) and annotations.
ADD DETAILS
On the Cover is the the
Website and email add. : www.fikrALawhad.net and
Radi@FikrALawhad.net
Shams Ḥajar
شمس حجر
