Shaykh Saduq

Ibn Babawayh (Arabic: ابْنُ بَابَوَيْه), also known as al-Shaykh al-Saduq (Persian: ), was a prominent ninth-century Twelver Shia scholar, theologian, and hadith compiler of Persian descent. He is regarded as one of the most important scholars in the formative period of Twelver Shia Islam and is particularly known for his extensive work on Shia hadith and theology. His full name was Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Musa ibn Babawayh al-Qomi. He was born in Qom in the early tenth century, into a prominent family of Shia scholars. His father, Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Babawayh al-Qomi, was himself a leading Shia jurist and hadith scholar. Al-Saduq studied under his father and other scholars in Qom before traveling extensively throughout the Islamic world in search of knowledge and hadith traditions.

Al-Saduq lived during the Minor Occultation of the twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. He is traditionally reported to have received a letter of supplication from the Mahdi through his father. He later became one of the leading transmitters of the doctrines of Twelver Shia Islam, particularly the doctrines of the Imamate, the occultation, and the resurrection. His most famous work is the Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih, one of the four canonical collections of hadith in Twelver Shia Islam. The work contains traditions concerning Islamic law, ritual practice, ethics, and other religious matters. Another important work by al-Saduq is Uyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā, a major Shia collection of traditions about the eighth Imam, Ali al-Rida, including his sayings, teachings, debates, virtues, and life. Al-Saduq died in Ray around 991 AD and was buried there. He is remembered in Shia Islam as one of the major scholars of the early period of Shia hadith scholarship, alongside figures such as al-Kulayni and al-Shaykh al-Mufid.

Life His patronymic, Ibn Babawayh indicates a Persian origin, as Babawayh is an Arabic form of the Persian name Babuyah. For some length of time, unknown, the family had been devout adherents of Shia Islam. Ibn Babawayh's father, Ali ibn Babawayh Qummi (d. 939 CE) was a leading figure among the Islamic scholars of Qom.

Birth The exact date of Ibn Babawayh's birth is not known. Shia scholars consider his birth to be after the year 305 A.H. (probably 306 A.H.) He was born and raised in Qom, a town about south west of Tehran in modern-day Iran. His birth is considered a miracle as he was born after the twelfth Shia Imam, al-Mahdi's, supplications. Ibn Babawayh was educated by his father, Ali ibn Babawayh. He was taught by local scholars of Shia Islam.

Works Ibn Babawayh was a prolific scholar. Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan al-Tusi (d. 1067 CE) numbered Ibn Babawayh's works at over 300 but counted only 43 in his immediate possession. al-Najashi (d. 1058 AD) listed 193 works but does not mention Ibn Babawayh's sentinel work, Man la yahduruhu al-faqih. Many of Ibn Babawayh's works are considered lost but some do survive. Some have been published and others survive in manuscript form.

Later years During the last years of his life al Shaykh al-Saduq lived in Ray. He had been invited there by Rukn al-Dawla of the Buyid family.

Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih

Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih (lit. For Him Who is Not in the Presence of a Jurisprudent or When No Theologian is Present) a component of the group of four major books about the traditions of Shi'ite Islam. Despite the fact that many of Ibn Babawayh's other works are extremely important, this book is probably the most famous of his extant writings. However, some authorities maintain that there were five major books of traditions that included another of Ibn Babawayh's works, Madinat al-'ilm.

Man la yahduruh al-faqih represents a synopsis of all the traditions that Ibn Babawayh had collected, while his prior works, for example, Kitab al-nikah (the book of marriage) and Kitab al-hajj (the book of pilgrimage) are each a treatise on different aspect of furu'. is about Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer. It includes questions and answers about The Occultation, the event when the Mahdi appears. Ma'ani al-Akhbar explains the complexities of traditions and the Quranic verses. Oyoun Akhbar Al-Ridha, dedicated to Ibn-e Ebad, the minister of the Buyid family, includes some of the Imam Rida's traditions. Al-Khisal is about moral instruction and their scientific, historical and legal origins. Al-Amali is a collection of Ibn Babawayh's lectures. Al-Amali was translated into English by Sayed Athar Husain Rizvi and Lantern Publications published a bilingual version of al-Amali. https://lanternpublications.com/books/History/Al_amaali_Saduq Ilal al-shara'i (meaning "the cause of situations") explores the philosophy of the Islamic ordinances. Eʿteqādātal-Emāmīya (meaning "creeds of Shia") presents a summary of the core tenets of the Shi'ite creed. Man la yahduruhu al-faqih, Ilal Al-Shara'i, Kamal al-din, Al-Khisal, Ma'ani al-Akhbar, Al-Tauheed and Sawab ul Amal wa Aqab ul Amal have been translated in Urdu language by Al-Kisa Publishers.