Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kulaynī ar-Rāzī (; ; c. 255 AH / 868 CE – 329 AH / 941 CE)Shaikh Mohammed bin Yaqoob bin Ishaq Kulaini & Al Kafi @ islam-laws.com was a Persian Shia Muslim scholar, hadith compiler, and the author of Kitāb al-Kāfī.Sheikh Kulayni, the right keeper of Shia Ahadith Mehr News. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
He was known for his extensive travels in search of hadith, particularly in Qom and Baghdad, and received his education under numerous teachers, many of whom were contemporaries of the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, Ali al-Hadi (835–868) and Hasan al-Askari (868–874).Baḥr al-ʿUlūm, Sayyid Muḥammad Mahdī al-. Al-Fawāʾid al-rijālīyya. Edited by Muḥammad Ṣādiq Baḥر al-ʿUlūم. Tehran: Maktabat al-Ṣādiق, 1363 Sh.Ḥillī, Ḥasan b. Yūsuf al-. Khulāṣat al-aqwāl fī maʿrifat al-rijāl. Edited by Jawād al-Qayyūمī. [n.p.]: Nashr al-Fiqāha, 1417 AH.Khoei, Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīث, vol. 19, p. 59. He was also a teacher of several prominent scholars, including Shaykh al-Saduq and Ibn Qulawayh.
Life Birth
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.Ali Akbar al-Ghaffari's introduction to his eight-volume edition of al-Kulayni's Usul al-Kafi, Tehran, 3rd edition 1388-), I, 9–13. 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(al-Kulaynī) 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.Ali Akbar al-Ghaffari's introduction to his eight-volume edition of al-Kulayni's al-Kafi, Ibid. I, 13–14.Syed Waheed Akhtar: Early Imammiyah Shiite Thinkers
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). 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.
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.
See also Tafsir Numani Tafsir Qomi Sharif al-Murtaza Al-Sharif al-Radi Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid Al-Hurr al-Aamili
References
External links Classical Islam: A Sourcebook of Religious Literature by Norman Calder, J A Mojaddedi, Andrew Rippin The Formative Period of Twelver Shi'Ism: Hadith As Discourse Between Qum and Baghdad by Andrew J Newman Great Shiite Works: Al-Kafi by Al-Kulayni by I. K. A. Howard in al Serat Journal. 'Al-Kafi' by Al-Kulayni by Dr. I. K. A. Howard Al-Serat, Vol. 2 (1976), No. 1 The Trustworthy of Islam Kulayni No such page found – October 24, 2012 The Buyid Domination as the Historical Background for the Flourishing of Muslim Scholarship During the 4th/10th Century by Dr. M. Ismail Marcinkowski* October 24, 2012 Shaikh Mohammed bin Yaqoob bin Ishaq Kulaini. & Al Kafi Islamic Texts Institute "Al-Kafi Book I: Intellect and Foolishness"