''Al-Irshad'' ( fa, ارشاد), also called the ''Book of Guidance into the Lives of the 12
Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
s,'' is a biography of the lives of the 12 Shia Imams. It describes their historical circumstances, miracles and virtues.
The book also includes evidence for
Imamate
{{expand Arabic, date=April 2021
The term imamate or ''imamah'' ( ar, إمامة, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate, in Sunni doctrine the caliphate
:* Naqshb ...
s among
Shia.
Author
Shaykh Mufid was a prominent
Twelver Shi'a
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
theologian.
He was the son of Muallim, and was called
Ibn Muallim. Mufid was taught by
Al-Shaykh al-Saduq,
Ibn Qulawayh,
Abu Abdallah al-Basri and al-Rummani. He passed his teachings to his own students, including
Sharif al-Murtaza and
al-Shaykh al-Tusi. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, including ''Amali'', ''Al-Irshad'', ''Al-Muqni'ah'', and ''Tashih al-Itiqadat''.
Content
He described the situation and life of each Imam and the circumstances of each of their deaths. He mentioned the disappearance of the last
Muhammad al-Mahdi
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī ( ar, محمد بن الحسن المهدي) is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justic ...
. The work reflects Mufid's perspective on history and hadith rather than theology or philosophy.
This book begins by praising Allah, prophet Muhammad and Shia's twelve Imams. Nearly half of the book is dedicated to Imam Ali and his characteristics and virtues.
Translation
This book was translated into English by I.K.A. Howard.
The book is available in many languages such as Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi, Azeri and German.
External links
Introduction to Kitab al-IrshadObituary of I.K.A. HowardGreat Shia Works Kitab al-IrshadKitab al-Irshad
See also
*
Ja'fari jurisprudence
Jaʿfarī jurisprudence ( ar, الفقه الجعفري; also called Jafarite in English), Jaʿfarī school or Jaʿfarī fiqh, is the school of jurisprudence (''fiqh'') in Twelver and Ismaili (including Nizari) Shia Islam, named after the sixth ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
History books about Islam
Biographies (books)