Narrators and Narrations, A Beginner’s Guide to Rijal and Dirayah

Narrators and Narrations, A Beginner’s Guide to Rijal and Dirayah


Author: AyatollahJa’far Subhani

Translated by:Zaid Alsalami

Published by ICAS Press, London


The sciences of narrators and narrations (rijal and dirayah) are among the most fundamental fields of study that a mujtahid must master as part of his expertise of ijtihad. In this book, the author expertly presents an introduction to these subjects and discusses their main topics in the form of thirty-four lessons, andconcludes with a series of questions in the form of exercises.The first half of this beginner’s guide acquaints the reader with the key questions of the study of the narrators of hadith, including the reliability of a narrator, the narrations by the companions of the Imams, and an explanation of rijali terms and phrases. This section addresses internal debates over the efficacy of biographical studies and explores whether certain narrators can be considered absolutely reliable from within the Shi‘i tradition.The second half delves into the classification and evaluation of hadith, including authenticity, the traditional methodologies of transmitting hadith, and the approaches scholars take in the face of seemingly contradictory evidence regarding the reliability of a narrator or hadith.All in all, this book is an excellent introduction to the traditional study of traditions, particularly in the Twelver Shi‘i heritage. It will leave the serious student well equipped to proceed in scholarly traditional studies of narrators and narrations.

Pages: 174


ISBN: 978 1 907905 44 5