Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni

Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kulaynī ar-Rāzī (Persian: محمد بن یعقوب بن اسحاق کلینی رازی; Arabic: أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ ٱلْكُلَيْنِيُّ ٱلرَّازِيُّ; c. 255 AH/868 CE – 329 AH/941 CE)^[1] was a Persian^[2] Shia Muslim hadith collector and author of Kitab al-Kafi.^[3] He is famous for his extensive travels for acquiring hadith, particularly in Qom and Baghdad, and received his education under numerous teachers, many of whom were contemporaries of tenth and eleventh Shia Imams Ali al-Hadi (835–868) and Hasan al-Askari (868–874).^[4][5][6] Moreover, he was a teachers of the prominent scholars Shaykh al-Saduq and Ibn Qulawayh.

Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Kulaynī مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ ٱلْكُلَيْنِيُّ
Title	Thiqatul Islam ("The Trustworthy of Islam")
Personal life
Born	255 AH /868 CE
Died	329 AH /941 CE
Era	Islamic golden age
Region	Iran and Iraq
Main interest(s)	Ḥadīth
Notable work(s)	Kitāb al-Kāfī
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Shia
Sect	Twelver
Teachers	Ali ibn Babawayh Qummi, Yaʿqūb al-Kulayni, Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi
Muslim leader
Influenced by Imām al-Mahdī
Influenced Shaykh Ṣadūq, Ibn Qulawayh

Life

Birth

Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine in Ray, where Kulayni was born

Al-Kulayni was born in Kulayn, a village or small town situated near Rey, Iran, though sources do not specify the date of his birth.^[7] It's mentioned that his birth was around 255 AH (868), in the same time as that of Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi, the last of the Twelve Imams who, according to Shia belief, is currently in major occultation (al-ghayba al-kubra) ever since 941, and will re-appear in the future. Others, like Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, believe he was born after the passing of Hasan al-Askari (c. 874 CE). His father was Ya'qub al-Kulayni, who lived during the era of the Minor Occultation (874–941). He is claimed to have greatly benefited from al-Mahdi's divine knowledge by interacting with him through the Imam's Four Deputies.^[8][9]

Education

Kulayni received his early religious education in his native town and went to Rey for further education. According to Shia view he is among a special class of muhaddithin known as Rihalah-ye hadith (which means those who travelled in order to collect a hadith and met the persons considered to be the authority on hadith).^[9] He travelled to Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, for this particular reason and lived there for twenty years, engaging in teaching and pursuing academic work, until he died in 329 AH/941 CE. He is known to have studied under more than fifty teachers, among them Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi, who is the source of many narrations in his book. He is considered the foremost Shia compiler of hadith and was the author of Kitab al-Kafi.^[10]

Work and contribution

Although Shaykh al-Kulaynī is most famous for al-Kāfī, this opus was not his only accomplishment. The following is a list of his known works:

• Kitāb al Kāfī
• Rasāʾil al ʾaʾimmah
• Kitāb ar-rijāl
• Kitāb ar radd ʿalā al qarāmitah
• Kitāb mā qīla fī al ʾaʾimmah min ash-shiʿr
• Kitāb taʿbīr al-ruʾyā

Of these only al-Kāfī has survived in its entirety.^[11]

v t e Early Islamic scholars

Muhammad, The final Messenger of God(570–632 the Constitution of Medina, taught the Quran, and advised his companions Abdullah ibn Masud (died 653) taught Ali (607–661) fourth caliph taught Aisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taught Abd Allah ibn Abbas (618–687) taught Zayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taught Umar (579–644) second caliph taught Abu Hurairah (603–681) taught Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taught Husayn ibn Ali (626–680) taught Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (657–725) taught and raised by Aisha Urwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught by Aisha, he then taught Said ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taught Abdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taught Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taught Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taught Hisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taught Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taught Salim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taught Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught by Abdullah ibn Umar Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman taught Muhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taught Farwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar and Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by the Fatimid and taught Zayd ibn Ali (695–740) Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great grand son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taught Malik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, jurisprudence from early Medina period now mostly followed by Maliki Sunnis in North Africa, and taught Al-Waqidi (748–822) wrote history books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqh Muhammad al-Shaybani (749–805) al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Shafi'i Sunnis and Sufis, and taught Ismail ibn Ibrahim Ali ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote The Book of Knowledge of the Companions Ibn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history and As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775) Musa al-Kadhim (745–799) Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) wrote Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal jurisprudence followed by Hanbali Sunnis and Sufis Muhammad al-Bukhari (810–870) wrote Sahih al-Bukhari hadith books Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875) wrote Sahih Muslim hadith books Dawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4) founded the Zahiri school Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi (824–892) wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi hadith books Al-Baladhuri (died 892) wrote early history Futuh al-Buldan, Genealogies of the Nobles Ibn Majah (824–887) wrote Sunan ibn Majah hadith book Abu Dawood (817–889) wrote Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith Book Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (864- 941) wrote Kitab al-Kafi hadith book followed by Twelver Shia Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923) wrote History of the Prophets and Kings, Tafsir al-Tabari Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936) wrote Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn, Kitāb al-luma, Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna Ibn Babawayh (923–991) wrote Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih jurisprudence followed by Twelver Shia Sharif Razi (930–977) wrote Nahj al-Balagha followed by Twelver Shia Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote jurisprudence books followed by Ismaili and Twelver Shia Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) wrote The Niche for Lights, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, The Alchemy of Happiness on Sufism Rumi (1207–1273) wrote Masnavi, Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi on Sufism Key: Some of Muhammad's Companions Key: Taught in Medina Key: Taught in Iraq Key: Worked in Syria Key: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadith Key: Worked in Persia

See also

• Tafsir Numani
• Tafsir Qomi
• Sharif al-Murtaza
• Al-Sharif al-Radi
• Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid
• Al-Hurr al-Aamili