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| Author | Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi |
|---|---|
| Language | Arabic |
Bihar al-Anwar (Arabic:بِحَار ٱلْأَنْوَار,romanized: Biḥār al-Anwār,lit. 'Seas of Lights') is a comprehensive collection ofhadith (pl. ahadith) compiled byShia scholarMohammad-Baqer Majlesi (d. 1699 A.D.). It is the secondary Shi'ite hadith verification source afterthe Four Books.
Bihar al-Anwar is the most comprehensive hadith collections, documenting over 100,000 items ofTwelver Shia hadith along with Majlisi's commentary on these narrations.[1][2] He used about 400 sources written by such Sunni and Shia scholars asShaykh al-Saduq,Shaykh Tusi,Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid,Sharif al-Murtaza,Muhammad Jamaluddin al-Makki al-Amili,Sayyed Ibn Tawus,Al-Hilli,Zayn al-Din al-Juba'i al'Amili.[3]
The full title of the book is:
Biḥār al-ʾAnwār al-Jāmiʿah li-Durar ʾAkhbār al-ʾAʾimmah al-Aṭhār
(Arabic:بِحَار ٱلْأَنْوَار ٱلْجَامِعَة لِدُرَر أَخْبَار ٱلَأَئِمَّة ٱلْأَطْهَار)
(lit.Oceans of Lights: The Compendium for Pearls of Traditions of the Pure Imams)
This lengthy title indicates Majlisi collected anything he had access to in the book.[2][1] His primary goal was to preserve the knowledge for future generations and prevent forgery.[4] Majlisi has acknowledged the forgery issue in the preface ofBihar al-Anwar, emphasizing that the traditions collected were not included without extensive scrutiny, although a consequence of his approach was that he has gathered both "pearls" and "pebbles".
The compilation ofBihar al-Anwar took 36 years, during which Majlisi received aid from other scholars and his students.
Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi was born in 1617 inIsfahan, the capital city of thePersian Empire. A student ofMulla Sadra, he was described in the journalOrient as "an unprecedentedly influential author in the world of Imami Shi'ism".[5] On 1687, he was appointed asSheikh ul-Islam of Isfahan by the emperorSultan Husayn.[6] He developed the Twelver doctrine by investigating Shia and Sunni hadith. He wrote over 100 books inArabic andPersian.[5][4]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Mu 'jam al-mufahras li-alfaz ahadith Bihar al-anwar.
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