Tahdhib al-Ahkam is a hadith collection, by the famous Twelver Shi'a hadith scholar Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi

Shaykh Tusi

Shaykh Tusi , full name: Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi , known as Shaykh al-Taʾifah was a prominent Persian scholar of the Shi'a Twelver Islamic belief.-Birth:...

, commonly known as Shaykh Tusi. This work is included among Twelver The Four Books

The Four Books

The Four Books is a Twelver Shiʿa term referring to their four best known hadith collections.The books are:Shi'a Muslims use different books of ahadith than Ahl al-Sunnah's Six major Hadith collections...

 of Shia Islam.

Name

Tahdhib al-Ahkam could be translated as "The Refinement of the Laws (as Discussed) in Terms of the Explanation of the Sufficiency".

Content

The original intention of al-Tusi had been to write a commentary on al-Muqni'a of al-Mufid. However, he makes it clear in his introduction that his work would only concern the practical regulations for carrying out the sharia

Sharia

Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

, the holy law of Islam. He said: "I went first to the chapter which was connected with ritual purity (tahara), leaving aside the (chapters) which preceded it, which were about the Unity of God (tawhid

Tawhid

Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....

), Justice (adl

Adl

ʻAdl is an Arabic word meaning 'justice'. In Islamic theology, ʻadl refers to God's divine justice.Adil, and Adeel are male names derived from ʻadl and are common throughout the Arab world, Pakistan, India and in most regions with significant Muslim populations.- In Islamic jurisprudence :ʻAdl, as...

), Prophethood

Prophethood

Prophethood is the word used to reference the institution by which God sends emissaries, or prophets, to guide mankind. Use of the word is almost always theological.-Islam:...

 (nubuwwa) and the Imamah, because the explanation of these would be too lengthy, and also because it was not the intention of this book to elucidate the principles of religion (al-usul).

Introduction

In his introduction, al-Tusi

Shaykh Tusi

Shaykh Tusi , full name: Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi , known as Shaykh al-Taʾifah was a prominent Persian scholar of the Shi'a Twelver Islamic belief.-Birth:...

 makes it clear that the principal motive for writing this work and limiting it to the furu', was the great differences which were arising in Shia traditions. He mentions that these differences were being used against the Shia by their opponents as an argument against the truth of Shia beliefs. Al-Tusi

Shaykh Tusi

Shaykh Tusi , full name: Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi , known as Shaykh al-Taʾifah was a prominent Persian scholar of the Shi'a Twelver Islamic belief.-Birth:...

 set himself the task of analysing the traditions concerned with furu', explaining which traditions were deficient and reconciling apparent contradictions in sound traditions. He used al-Mufid's al-Maqni'a as the basis for this task. However, he did not only deal with the traditions used in al-Muqni'a; he analysed many more traditions which he included at the end of various sections, appendices of traditions not mentioned by al-Mufid, which he also discusses.

View

Shi'a Muslims regard this book as among the most reliable Hadith collections. Thus, the book is included in The Four Books of the Shi'a, together with Al-Kafi, Al-Istibar and Man la yahduruhu al-Faqihm. However, all hadith must be individually examined and no book other than the Quran is considered sahih.