Al-Kāfi

Al-Kāfī

Al-Kāfī is one of the four canonical collections of Hadith of the Twelver Shī ‘ī Muslims. It is among the most comprehensive and reliable collection of traditions, compiled by Shaykh Abū Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Ya‘qūb al-Kulaynī (d. AH 329/941 CE) in the period of Minor Occultation. It took him twenty years to compile Al-Kāfī.

Al-Kāfī consists of three main sections: Usūl al-Kāfī, which contains hadith regarding beliefs and is comprised of eight chapters, Furū' al-Kāfī which contains fiqhī hadith regarding jurisprudential rulings and is comprised of 26 chapters, and Rawdha al-Kāfī consists of miscellaneous hadith that are in no particular order. There is a total of thirty-five chapters which cover over 15,500 Hadith. Usūl al-Kāfī is the most important part.

Al-Kulaynī tries to collect Hadiths which have no incompatibility between them and the Quran. An important feature of al-Kāfī is its order and comprehensiveness. Al-Kāfī is also known for its large number of hadiths, clear classification of hadith, complete chains of transmitters, and comprehensive coverage of various topics in theology, jurisprudence, ethics, etc.

Al-Kulaynī states the purpose of his compilation in his introduction by addressing his student: ‘You said that you would like to have a Kitāb al-Kāfi (a sufficient book) containing enough of all religious sciences to suffice the student; to serve as a reference for the disciple; from which those who . . . want to act on it can draw authentic traditions from the Truthful ones ‘alayhimus salām . . . by which our duty to Allah ‘azza wajall and to the commands of His Prophet sallāhu ‘alayhi wa-ālihi wasallam is fulfilled. Alhamdu lillāh, He has facilitated the compilation of what you had requested.

This Hadith corpus has attracted praise from numerous scholars since it was put into circulation. Below are some quotes from scholars:
- Reliable; an expert on traditions, of the highest status and scholar of traditions. Shaykh Abū Ja‘far Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī (d. 460/1067)
- One of the greatest and most beneficial of Shī‘ī books. Shaykh al-Mufīd (d. 413/1022)
- No book has served the Shī‘ah (Muslims) as has Al-Kāfī. Muhammad b. Makkī al-Jizzinī al-‘Āmilī, known as Shahīd al-Awwal (d. 786/1384).

The work has been translated into English a few times by various scholars including by Muhammad Sarwar in 2004 and published by Islamic Seminary, NY.

References:al-islam.org;en.wikishia.net;en.wikipedia.org; Al-Kāfī I, Commentary and Translation by Islamic Text Institute