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Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i (d. 1241/1826) Annotated Bibliography

Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Aḥsā'ī

    

الشيخ أحمد بن زين الدين الإحسائي

(d.1241/1826)

An Annotated Alphabetical Bibliography of Manuscript and Published Writings of Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Ahsā'ī (d. 1241/1826), with occasional URLs and PDfs.

Stephen N. Lambden

In progress and under revision -Last updated 09-01-2016.

The mss. listing then alphabetically organized bibliographical notes below will attempt to list select, key mss.,  printed books and other writings of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsā'ī (d.1241/1826) the sage, philosopher and esoteric imamological exegete from whom al-Shaykhiyya (= Shaykhism) derives. It will be evident that many of these writings are creative, sometimes novel expressions of twelver Shī`ī thought and philosophy. The foundational writings of al-Aḥsā'ī  are listed in the important Fihrist of Ibrahimi (3rd ed. pp. 220-288), consisting of 128 items.  Many of these writings will be listed here along with notices of publication, length and contents.

Abbreviations

  • BSBM1 = Baha'i Studies Bulletin Monograph 1 Moojan Momen (Newcastle upon Tyne, 1983). An annotated translation of the Persian Fihrist of Abu'l-Qasim Khan Kirmani listed below. 
  • al-Dhari`a =  the massive 26+ volume annotated Imami Shi`i bibliography of of Aqa Buzurg al-Tehrani.
  • Fihrist ("Bibliographical Index") of Sayyid Kazim Rashti = Fihrist SKR.

Some details regarding this work are summed up by Momen in his BSBM1 as follows : "List of the works of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i and Sayyid Kazim Rashti by Sayyid Kazim Rashti. School of Oriental and African Studies, Mss No. 92308, Item no. 38, pp. 398a-406b; (see Adam Gacek, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 1981, No. 277, pp. 165-9). This list was composed in Rajab 1258/1842 and the manuscript is written by Jawad ibn Qasim an-Najjar in Kufa and completed on 30 Dhu'l-Hijjih 1259/January 1844, 19 days after the death of Sayyid Kazim."(BSBM1:  ).

  • Fihrist = "The Bio-Bibliographical Index" of Abu'l-Qasim ibn Zayn al-`Abidin Khan Kirmani (Fihrist, 3rd ed. pp. 220-288), consisting of 128 items from the writings of al-Ahsa'i with some details of contents, often including a list of questions posted to al-Ahsa'i in specific treatises (cf. above BSBM1).  

JK = Jawāmi` al-kalim ("The Comprehensive Discourse"), Lithograph edition. See below for details. 

  • JK1 [1273] = vol. 1 Pts. i, ii [and iii]. Tabrīz: Muhammad Tāqī Nakhjavānī, 1273/1856-7. This volume 1 is in 3 parts and is dated 1273/ 1856-7.
  • JK2 [1276] = vol. 2 Pts. i, ii. Tabrīz: Muhammad Tāqī Nakhjavānī, 1276/1859-60.  
  • JK-Basra (2009) = 2nd Revised and expanded Basra Ed. in 9 vols. dated 2009-2010.
  • JK-Turath (2011) = جوامع الكلم Jawami` al-kalim consists of ten volumes (vols 11-21cf. the index volume (vol. 22) in the 2011 compilatioin entitled Turath al-Shaykh al-Awhad ("The Heritage of the Most Unique Shaykh"). For details se below.

Various Shi`i Rijal (bio-bibliographical) books will occasionally be referrenced to as they throw light upon the persons for whom al-Ahsa'i wrote treatises or books. Select such vols. are listed at the end of this webpage. 

I. Alphabetical Listing of Select Writings of Shaykh Ahmad

Under this  heading I shall further subdivide under secondary sub-headings (placed alphabetically), such as, Fiqh (Jurisprudence) Kitab (Book), Rasā'il  (sing. Risāla) (Treatises), Tafsir (Qur'an Commentary) and Sharh (Other Commentary texts)... materials which will be loosely incorporated alphabetically.

`Abaqat min fada'il ahl al-bayt

Ahwal al-Barzakh wa'l-akhira ("The Modes of the Ithsmus and the Hereafter").

احوال البرزخ والاخرة. حققه صالح احمد دياب

الأربعون حديثا

Asrār ḥadīth al-Kisāʼ wa-sirr tikrār Fāṭimah fī ḥadīth al-Kisāʼ.

  • اسرار حديث الكساء وسر تكرار فاطمة في حديث الكساء = Asrār ḥadīth al-Kisāʼ wa-sirr tikrār Fāṭimah fī ḥadīth al-Kisāʼ. Beirut: al-Maḥajjah al-Bayḍāʼ / Mu'assasat Shams Hajjar, 1431/2010.

بسيط الحقيقة

Ma`na Basit al-Haqiqa kull al-ashya' (The meaning of Basit al-Haqiqa is All things).

  •  Ma`na Basit al-Haqiqa kull al-ashya'   معنى بسيط الحقيقة كل الأشياء  ed. Ṣāliḥ Aḥmad Dabbāb. Dar al-Muhajja al-Bayda'/ Mu'assasat Shams Hajjar, 1430/2009 [2012]. 81pp.
  • PDf.  Basit al-Haqiqa.pdf  or download here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1283

Dīwān

ديوان الشيخ الأوحد الأحسائي : مجموعة قصائد شيخ المتألهين 

  • Dīwān al-Shaykh al-Awḥad al-Aḥsāʼī : majmūʻat qaṣāʼid Shaykh al-Mutaʼallihīn...Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsā'ī (1166-1241[A]H). (The Diwān of the Peerless Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī) ed. Rāḍī Nāṣir Salmān. Beirut : Muʼassasat Fikr al-Awḥad / Damascus: Muʼassasat al-Balāgh, 2003.

This Diwān al-Shaykh al-Awḥad al-Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī  -  Majmu`at Qaṣā'id Shaykh Mutā'llihīn... Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsā'ī (1166-1241[A]H). (The Diwān of the Peerless Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī, edited by Rāḍī Nāṣir al-Salmān [with Ustad Dr. As`ad `Alī], Damascus: Mu`assat Fikr al-Awhad wa Mu`assat al-Balāgh, 1324/ 2003. 544pp. is a beautifully printed HB compendium of sixteen lengthy Arabic Qaṣīdahs of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Ahsā'ī, with detailed indexes (pp.511-544) and annotations. On the Cover is the Website and email add. : www.fikrALawhad.net  and Radi@FikrALawhad.net

PDf. Download here 2003 edition :

 

Fiqh (Jurisprudence) and related texts. 

  • Mukhtasar al-Risala al-Haydariyya fi fiqh
  • مختصر الرسالة الحيدرية في فقه الصلوات اليومية  Mukhtaṣar al-risālah al-ḥaydariyya fī fiqh al-ṣalwah [salat] al-yawmiyya in JK-Basra [Jawāmi` al-Kalim [new rev. ed.] Basra : Matba`at al-Ghadir, Jamadi al-Awwal 1430/April May 2009,  vol. VII [7]. 534 pp.
  • PDf. Download here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1529
  •  

Ḥayāt al-nafs ("The Life of the Soul").

Ḥayat al-nafs fī ḥaḍīrat al-qūds  fī  uṣūl al-dīn al-khams ("The Life of the soul in the sanctified domain: regarding the five bases of religion").

An apparently abbreviated version of this work forms part of the Jawāmi` al-kalim which has been several times separately published (in Karbala? and ) in Tabriz in 1381/ 1961-2 as well as in  Najaf in 1387/1967-8.

Select mss. and printed editions:

  • Mss.  Oxford: Wadham College Library, Mīnāsīān Collection Ms. No. 282
  • Ḥayāt al-nafs. Karbala : Maṭbaʻat Ahl al-Bayt, c. 1900. See World. Cat. Copy at Princeton Univ. Arabic Coll.
  • Hayāt al-nafs. 2nd ed. Kirmān: Matba`at al-Sa`ada, 1353/1974-5.
  • Kitab  Ḥayāt al-nafs. Qum : Dār Sabṭ al-Nabī, 2004.
  • Sharḥ ḥayāt al-nafs fī ḥaḍarat al-Quds. Risālat inṭabāq al-ʻalam ʻala 'l-maʻlūm. ed. ʻAbd-al-Jalīl al- Amīr. Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Balāgh, 2006. 480 pp.

Persian Translations of the Hayat al-nafs

  • Tarjama-yi Hayat al-nafs. Translation of Sayyid Kazim al-Husayni al-Rashti (d.1259/1843).
  • Hayāt al-nafs. trans. to Persian by Sayyid Kāẓim Rashtī.  Tabriz, 1276/1859. Printed along with some replies of Sayyid Kāẓim to various questions. It also appears to have been reprinted in 1396/XXXX , see Tehrani, Dhari`a vol.7:124 + Vol. 4:98  (Ihqaqi, al-Tahqiq, 249+fn.3).
  • Tarjama-yi Hayat al-nafs. 2nd ed. Kirmān: Chapkhana Sa`ādat, 1353 Sh./1974-5. iv + 134pp. Translation by al-Rashti.
  • An Arabic ( zipped, downloadable, printable) version of Shaykh Ahmad's Hayat al-nafs can be found at the Kuwaiti, Shaykhi website:  http://www.alahsai.net/lib/
  • Ḥayāt al-nafs wa uṣūl al-`aqā'id.  Hayāt al-nafs  with  Sayyid Kazim' Rashti's  (Ar.) Uṣūl al-aqā'id (?). See image above ...
  • Tarjama-yi Hayat al-nafs. Persian translation PDf. Hayat al-nafs.pdf

ʻAbd al-Jalīl Amīr (ed. and commentary). 

شرح حياة النفس في حضرة القدس = Sharḥ ḥayāt al-nafs fī ḥaḍrat al-Quds (Commentary upon the Ḥayāt al-nafs of his Eminence the Sanctified One).

  •  Sharḥ ḥayāt al-nafs fī ḥaḍrat al-Quds. Beirut : Muʼassasat al-Balāgh lil-Ṭibāʻah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ, 2006.
  • Persian trans. of Shaykh Aḥmad's Ḥayat al-nafs  by the Indian Lucknow based Shaykhī Mīrzā Ḥasan`Azīmābādī (d. 1260/1844) (so Muhammad Mahdī in Nujūm al-samā'  vol.1:43 as noted by Naqvi in Brunner et. al. ed., 2001.

Select Ijāzas ("Certificates of religious authorization") written by Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i.

Muhammad Ibrāhīm ibn Muhammad Hasan al-Najafī al-Kalbāsī [Karbāsī] (b. Isfahan 1180/1766-7/d. 1261/1845). A great Qajar era mujtahid and all but an early marja al-taqlid.

  إجازة العلامة الشيخ أحمد الأحسائي للشيخ ابراهيم الكلباسي

  • Ijāzat al-ʻallāma al-Shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsāʼī li'l-Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Kalabāsī. Beirut: Dār al-Maḥajja al-Bayḍāʼ, 1431/2010. 136pp.  

جوامع الكلم 

Jawāmi` al-Kalim [Kalam] ("The Compendium of Discourse"). Abbreviated JK. On this important compilation see below.

Kashkūl ("Begging Bowl"). A compilation by Shaykh Aḥmad himself of  favourite texts/pericopae.

كشكول الأحسائي 

Kitab (pl. kutub), Books.

 This is a loose heading since various writings of Shaykh Ahmad are referred to as books though many literary works also have other designations. It should be noted then, that the prefix Kitāb (`The Book of ...') before writings of al-Ahsa'i is often arbitary. There are often alternative titles such as Risala ___, etc.

كتاب الفوائد  

Kitab al-Fawā'id al-Ḥikmiyya  ("The Book of the Scrutiny of Wisdom")

كتاب الفوائد   

  • Kitab al-Fawā'id al-Ḥikmiyya.
  • Kitab al-Fawā'id al-Ḥikmiyya.   Critical ed. and translation announced by Idris Sawami Hamid (IJSS 1:67 fn.8).

For [Kitab] Sharḥ al-Fawā'id   ("The [Book of] The Commentary upon the Scrutiny [of Wisdom]") see below under Sharh.

Kitab al-`Iṣmat bahth mufassal fi `iṣmat al-anbiya' wa'l-a'imma ("The Book of Infallibility relative to the Infallibility of the Prophets and the Imams")

العصمة، بحث مفصل في عصمة الأنبياء والأئمة

  • Kitab al-`iṣmat in Jawāmi` al-kalim vol. 1[1273] :xx-xx. 25pp.
  • Kitab al-`iṣmat. Beirut: Dār al-`Ālamīyya, 1414/1993. *
  • Kitab al-`iṣmat. Beirut: Dār al-`Ālamīn, 1414/1992. 152pp. Pages 1-19 = introduction about the author by the publishers; pp. 20-135 = K.`iṣma  with several sub-sections and a conclusion (= pp.137-14) and an index (pp.149-151).

Kitab al-Raj`a ("The Book of the [Eschatological] Return").

The vols. with this title all seem to be reprints of a treatise first published in Jawāmi` al-kalim, a Risala written by Shaykh Ahmad in reply to Muhammad `Ali Mirza ibn Fath-`Ali about raj`a (eschatological "return") and `iṣmat   (the doctrine of  infallibility). 

  • Kitāb al-raj`at in Jawāmi` al-Kalim  vol. 1:
  • Kitāb al-raj`at. first reprinted Kirman: Sa`adat,   (?) 1390/ ?
  • Kitāb al-raj`at Beirut: Dār al-`Ālamīn, 1st printing 1414/1993. pp. 230 (pp. 229-230= index). 
  • Kitāb al-Raj`a. Beirut: al-Dār al-`Ālamiyya. 1414/1993 (XXXpp.).*
  • PDf. Kitāb al-Raj`a. ed. Shaykh Mujtabbi al-Sama'il, Shaykh Radi al-Ahsa'i. Beirut: Mu`assasat Fikr al-Awhad 1427/2006. 414 pp.  Kitab al-raj`a.pdf  or download here :  http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1237.

Maʻná basīṭ al-ḥaqīqah kull al-ashyāʼ ("The meaning of the Unicity of the Reality of Everything").  معنى بسيط الحقيقة کل الأشياء  See above under Basit al-Haqiqah ...

Ma'rifat Kayfiyyat al-Suluk ilā Allāh (The Gnosis of the Mode of the Journeying unto God).

  • Ma'rifat Kayfiyyat al-Suluk ilā Allāh. Beirut: Dar al-'Alamiyyah, 1993.
  • Selected and reprinted from a 19th century Iranian lithograph. Digitally reprinted, East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2003, at: www.h-net.org/-bahailar print/ahsailsulukJsuluk.htm.

مسائل حكمية = Masa'il Hikmiyya

Muṣṭalaḥāt ʻilm al-kalām ʻinda al-Shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsāʼī.  Beirut: Mu`assat Fikt al-Awhad. 1423/2004. 93pp.

مصطلحات علم الكلام عند الشيخ احمد الاحسائي = Muṣṭalaḥāt ʻilm al-kalām ʻinda al-Shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsāʼī.
  • Muṣṭalaḥāt ʻilm al-kalām ʻinda al-Shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsāʼī. ed.  Aḥmad ʻAbd al-Hādī Ṣāliḥ. Beirut: Dār al-Maḥajjah al-Bayḍāʼ, 2009. 168pp. 

Najāt al-hālikīn fī bayān ḥaṣar al-ʻilāl al-arbaʻ fī Muḥammad wa-ālihi al-ṭāhirīn

  • نجاة الهالكين في بيان حصر العلل الأربع في محمد وآله الطاهرين  = Najāt al-hālikīn fī bayān ḥaṣar al-ʻilāl al-arbaʻ fī Muḥammad wa-ālihi al-ṭāhirīn. Beirut : Dār al-Maḥabbah al-Bayḍāʼ : Lajnat Iḥyāʼ Turāth Madrasat al-Shaykh al-Awḥad al-Aḥsāʼī, 2003.

القضاء والقدر

القضاء والقدر al-Qida' wa'l-Qadr ("The Decree and the Destiny"). ed. Salih Ahmad al-Dabbab. Beirut: Mu'assasat Shams Hajjr. 1426/2005. 108pp.

 

Rasa'il (Treatises) : Select Rasā'il  (sing. Risāla) of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsā'i listed alphabetically according to title or primary recipient

In excess of  100 of these often detailed and lengthy Rasā'il  (sing. Risāla, loosely `treatises') of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsā'i in consideration of numerous issues and in reply to diverse  often theological-Imamological questions, are found in the two bulky volumes of the Jawāmi` al-kalim ("The Comprehensive Discourse") as well as many other mss. or printed compilations (see above).

Risāla al-Bahrāniyya (The Bahrani Treatise).

  • al-Risāta al-Bahrāniyya,  in Jawāmi' al-kalim, vol, I.ii, 217-19.

Risāla Dhü ra'sayn (Treatise on the Twin Leadership)

  • Risāla Dhü ra'sayn, in Jawami' al-kalim, vol. l/iii 87-108.

Risāla fi jawab

Risāla fi jawab  al-Sayyid Abi al-Hasan al-Jilani

  • Risāla fi jawab  al-Sayyid Abi al-Hasan al-Jilani. In JK-Basra vol.1: 1-14. PDf. JK-Basra-jilani.pdf

Risāla fi jawab

Risāla fi jawab

Risāla fi jawab

Risāla fi jawab

Rasā'il al-Hikmiyya ("Treatises Expressing Wisdom")

  • Risāla al-hikmiyya. 19th cent. Lithograph ed.
  • Rasā'il al-Hikmiyya. Beirut: Dar al-`Alamiyya, 1414/1993. 294pp. Contains around twenty six Risalas (Treatises, often in reply to questions) or related writings.
  • Digital reproduction from 19th cent. lithograph, H-Baha'i, 2003 :
  • http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~bahai/areprint/ahsai/hikma/hikma.htm
  •  الرسائل الحكمية al-Rasa'il al-Hikmiyya. Two (opening) vols. with this title are found in the  Jawāmi` al-kalim ("The Compendium of Discourse"),  2nd Revised and expanded Basra ed. in 9 vols. vol. 1 (603 pp. [with preliminary biographical and other materials]) and vol. 2 (has 663 pages) which opens with the important Risala in commentary (sharh) of al-Ahsa'i upon the al-Risala al-`ilmiyya (Treatise Concerning Knowledge) of the Safavid thinker Mulla Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani (d. 1091/1680-1). 
  • These 2 vols (and others besides) can be downloaded in PDf.here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1529
  • PDf.

Risālah fī Jawab Masā'il Fath `Ali Khan Zand.

  • Risalah fī Jawab Masā'il Fath `Ali Khan Zand in  Jawami` al-Kalim, vol. 2 : 92-100. East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2002.

Rasā'il fī kayfiyya ilā Allāh ("Treatises about the manner of the journey unto God").

  • Rasā'il fī kayfiyya ilā Allāh. Beirut: Dar al-`ālamiyya  (n.d.)

This is a slim paperback booklet, the 4th (re-)printing of the Qumm : al-Amīr edition spanning  52 (+53-58 pp.+ Index p. 59) Contains up till p.19 introd. material including a picture of Shaykh Ahmad (on p. 3), p.20 = a short  extract from the Nahj al-balagha  then Risala  no.1 (pp. 21-36)   and following Risala  no. 2  (pp. 37-52). There also follows (pp. 53-58) an exposition of various utterances of the Imams, firstly, بنا عرف الله    "through  us [the Imams] is the comprehension of God", then  secondly, an   expostion of استجابة الدعاء (pp.56-58).

al-Risālah al-khāqāniyya (The Treatise    ) for Fath `Ali Shah.

  • al-Risālah al-khāqāniyya, in Jawämi' al-kalim, vol. 1. i, 120-29

Risāla fī jawāb ba`ḍi al-ikhwān min Iṣfahān (Epistle in Reply to some of the Brethren from Isfahan).

Risala al-Qaṭīfīyya I

  • Risala al-Qaṭīfīyya,  JK 1 Pt.ii 114-147. A very important and lengthy (over 30 page) Arabic risala in reply to 71 questions posed by Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Sāliḥ ibn Tūq al-Qaṭīfī. Of uncertain though probably early date the Risāla Qaṭīfiyya is published in Jawāmi' al-kalim [1273] vol I/2 pp.114-147. See further Ibrahimi, Fihrist, 272-277.  Al-Aḥsā’ī responded six or seven times to complex questions of al-Qaṭīfī.
  • PDf. jk-Qatifiyya.pdf.

Cf.  Risālah fī radd man iʻtaraḍa ʻalá wālidihi fi al-maʻād or المعاد الجسماني عند الشيخ احمد الاحسائي = al-Maʻād al-jismānī ʻinda al-shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsāʼī.

  • al-Maʻād al-jismānī ʻinda al-shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsāʼī ("Bodily return according to Shaykh Ahmad") by ʻAlī ibn Naqī Aḥsāʼī; Saʻīd Muḥammad Qurayshī. Beirut: Dār al-Maḥajjah al-Bayḍāʼ, 2009.  137pp.

  • al-Risala al-saymiyya [Sufiyya?] ... [Kuwait] : Jami` al-Imam al-Sadiq, ADD.

al-Risäla al-sultäniyya. (The Sultanid Treatise [for the Fath `Ali Shah Qajar]). 

  • al-Risäla al-sultäniyya. in Jawämi' al-kalim, vol. 2:245-9.

Untitled :

  • Untitled Risâla, In Sirat al-Shaykh Ahrnad al-Ahsâ'i; by Husayn 'Ali Mahfùz, Baghdad: Matba'at al-Ma'ärif, 1376/1957 (so MacEoin, Messiah, 710).

al-Risālah al-wiʻāʼiyya =  الرسالة الوعائية

SELECT COMPILATIONS OF RASA'IL - TREATISES WRITTEN FOR VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS

  • Majmu`at al-rasā'il min musnafat al-Shaykh.. Aḥmad. Volume 30 [= Maj.R-30]. Kirman: Matba`a al-Sa`ada,  2nd  ed. Kirman, n.d.  *
    The useful volume 30 of the Kirman printed (n.d.) Majmu`a al-rasā'il min musnafat al-Shaykh..  series  reprints in a 2nd edition some of the most interesting titles of Shaykh Ahmad found in the Jawāmi` al-Kalim (see above).

  • رسائل الشيخ Rasā'il al-Shaykh [Ahmad al-Ahsa'i]..  al-juz' al-awwal.. The singular Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Ahsa'i (d. 1241).. Green HB. [Kuwait] : Jami` al-Imam al-Sadiq,  1st printing 1421/2000. 294pp. +Index pp. 295-304. A very rich compendium of  Arabic treatises of Shaykh Ahmad (probably all reprinted from the Jawāmi` al-kalim) opening with his exoteric and esoteric exegesis of the well-known tradition ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad, `man `arafa nafsahu faqad `arafa Rabbahu' ( Whoso knows his "Self" (nafs) will assuredly have known his Lord"), pp. 9-24. The second group of treatises commences with the commentary upon the 'Hadith of Names" (pp. 27-44) followed by the Sharh Hadith Kumayl [ibn Ziyād al-Nakha'i] (pp.45-98 ).
  •   رسائل الشيخ PDf. download here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1314
  •   رسائل الشيخ PDf. download here from Narjes Library:
  • http://ia600805.us.archive.org/27/items/3489902380/rsail-alshikh.pdf

Rasā’il al-ḥikma/ḥikmiyya (Treatises pertaining to Wisdom).

  •  Rasā’il al-ḥikma.  Beirut: al-Dār al-`Ālamiyya.  1414/1993. *
  •  الرسائل الحكمية al-Rasa'il al-Hikmiyya,  the first 2 vols. with this title are found in the  Jawāmi` al-kalim ("The Compendium of Discourse"),  2nd Revised and expanded Basra Ed. in 9 vols. They are a huge compendium of treatises of al-Ahsa'i which will often be registed above (section Rasa'il) with the appropriate volume and page location.
  • PDf.The abovementioned 2 vols (and others) are the first two volumes which can be downloaded here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1529

Sharh - Miscellaneous works of Commentary

Sharḥ Kitab al-Hikmat al-`Arshiyya (Commentary upon the Wisdom of the Throne) of Mulla Sadr al-Din Shirazi.

On Mulla Sadra = Muhammad ibn Ibrahim b. Yahya Qawami Shirazi, Sadr al-Din (ca. 1571–1636)

This work is a commentary by Shaykh Aḥmad upon the Kitāb al-ḥikma al-`arshiyya ("The Book of the Wisdom of the Throne") by Muhammad Sadr al-Dīn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shirazi, known as Mullā Sadrā (d. 1050/1640). This 100 or so page work of Mullā Sadrā with the title Kitāb al-`arshiyya (The Book of the Throne) has recently, in 1429/2000 (1st printing) been printed in Beirut by the Mu'asassa al-Tārīkh al-`Arabiyya ("The Arab History Estate"). Earlier editions include, Mullā Sadrā , al-Ḥikma al-`arshiyya on pp. 110-214 of the composite Mulla Sadra lithograph of 1315/1897-8 (which also includes the Mashā'ir + other  commentaries).

  • al-Ḥikma al-'arshiyya ("The Wisdom of the Throne"), ed. with Persian paraphrase by G. R. Ahani, Isfahan, 1962

  • Trans. and intro. J. W. Morris, The Wisdom of the Throne: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982. A useful approach to the al-Ḥikma al-'arshiyya is this English volume of  James W. Morris.  Aside from containing an excellent introduction to the work of Mullā Muhammad Sadrā and to his Kitāb al-`Arshiyya, this volume provides an annotated translation of the Kitāb al-`arshiyya  with occasional comments upon Shaykh Aḥmad's critique (esp. pp.47f; 126n.67). Morris' translation is based upon Ghulām Riḍā Āhānī's Arabic edition of the al-Ḥikma al-`arshiyya  (with Persian paraphrase, Isfahan, 1341 Sh./ 1962, pp. 218-288) occasionally corrected on the basis of reference to the lithograph edition of Shaykh Aḥmad's  commentary upon the `Arshiyya  (lithographed in 1278/1861, see above).

Note also Moris, Zailan.  

  • Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason in the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra: An Analysis of the  Al-Hikmah Al-'Arshiyyah. Rep. Routledge: October 2003. "An examination and analysis of the legitimacy of the widely-held claim that Mulla Sadra's philosophy is a synthesis of principles and doctrines drawn from revelation, gnosis and discursive philosophy. It demonstrates how Mulla Sadra achieves this synthesis in his "Wisdom from the Divine Throne". Pbk.

Editions of Shaykh Ahmad's Commentary العرشية

  • Sharḥ al-kitāb al-ḥikma al-`arshiyya ("Commentary upon the Book of the Wisdom of the Throne"). Lithograph 1st ed. in 2 vols. Vol.1 Tabriz:ADD, 1271/1854-5 and vol. 2  Tabriz: ADD, 1278-9/1861-2.
  • هذه تعليقة لطيفة من اعلم العلماء المتبحرين وافضل الفضلاء والعارفين الشيخ احمد بن زين الدين الاحسائي على الرسالة المسماه بالعرشية للعالم الجليل الماهر والحكيم الفاخر صدر الدين الشيرازي الشهير بصدرى التي وضعها في اثبات النشأة الاخرى
  • Hādhihi Taʻlīqah laṭīfah min aʻlam al-ʻulamāʼ al-mutabaḥḥirīn wa-afḍal al-fuḍalāʼ wa-al-ʻārifīn al-Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī ʻalá al-Risālah al-musammāh bi-al-ʻArshīyah lil-ʻālim al-jalīl al-māhir wa-al-ḥakīm al-fākhir Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī al-shahīr bi-Ṣadrá allatī waḍaʻahā fī ithbāt al-nashʼah al-ukhrá. Tehran : Dār al-Ṭibāʻah-i Muhammad Ridā ibn Karīm Nūrī,  1278/1861,1 volume lithograph ed.
  • PDf. Haithi Trust [Princeton Univ. Library] : http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009035723

A 2nd  (3rd?) edition of Shaykh Ahmad's commentary in 2 volumes  entitled Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya  was printed at the Shaykhī press in Kerman: Kirmān:   Maṭba`at al-Sa`ada, vol.1 1361 Sh / 1983  and vol. 2 1363/1985. In this second edition volume 1 has 5 indexes spanning eighty pages and the commentary from p.2 until p. 332 (K-`Arshiyya), while volume 2 again has several indexes and the commentary on pp. 4-335 (K-`Arshiyya). Some glosses on Shaykh Ahmad's commentary by Karim Khan Kirmani are also printed (in vol.2 = pp. 336-367).  This edition of Shaykh Ahmad's commentary in  several vols. is entitled Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya  fi al-mabda` wa'l-ma`ad and  is said to have been printed at the Shaykhī press : Kerman: Matba`at al-Sa`ada, in 1405-6/ 1985-6  (so Ihqaqi, al-Tahqiq, 261).

  • Sharḥ Kitab al-Hikmat al-`Arshiyya  2 vols. 2nd. ed. Kirmān: Sa`ada. n. d.
  • Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya شرح العرشية

  • شرح العرشية Sharḥ al-ʻArshiyya. 3rd ed. 3 vols. ed. Ṣāliḥ Aḥmad al- Dabbāb.  Beirut : Muʼassasat al-Balāgh + Muʼassasat Shams Hajr, 2008.,  vol.1 = 545pp. vol. 2 = 497 pp. and vol.3 = 559pp.
  • PDf. All three vols. of the above edition can be downloaded here:   http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1280.
  • شرح العرشية Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya in JK-Basra [2009]
  • PDf. 4 vols. جوامع الكلم - ج4 - شرح العرشية - الشيخ أحمد بن زين الدين الأحسائي  :  شرح العرشية http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1529
  • شرح العرشية Sharḥ al-`Arshiyya in JK-Turath [2011] in 3 vols. as vols. 6-8.
  • PDf. Download here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=3065.

[Kitāb] Sharḥ al-fawā'id ("The Commentary upon the Lessons /Observations") or ("The [Book of] The Commentary upon the Scrutiny [of Wisdom])".

Lithograph and other editions:

  • [Kitab] Sharḥ al fawā'id.  Lithograph n.p. [Tabriz?] 1271[2]/1854-6. Check this.
  • Sharḥ al fawā'id.  Lithograph n. p. [Tabriz?]: 12th Dhu'l-Qad`ah 1274 / 24th June 1858 (= pp.2-323) published at the command of Muhammad Shafī`. This lithograph edition includes (pp. 323-333)  "a small Risālah by [Sayyid] Kāẓim al-Rashtī (d. 1259/1843) in answer to a question put to him by Muhammad Shafī` regarding ḍamīr al-fā'il" (see Brockelmann, GAL Supp. II:845; Gacek,  ALB [1996] No. 274 +317). Copy in McGill Univ. Library. Canada.
  • MS 2 (box 1)    http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/url/colls/mideast/shaykhi.htm

In the Shaykhiyya  [Shaykhī] collection of the Univ. of Calif. at Los Angelos (UCLA) there is a very well-preserved mss of 307pp dated 9th Shawwal,1233/ 28th Nov. 1808. It is catalogued as follows:  "Kitab Sharḥ al-fawa'id" (Arabic), fully preserved, w. red titles and marked passages. Brown leather binding. - 307 pages of text; 22 lines per page 220 x150 mm (text: 155x70 mm) Dated (p.307): 9. Shawal 1233 H. (= 1818); work written "with the quill of the author, the miserable slave..." etc. (Autograph).

  •   شرح الفوائد في حكمة أهل البيت  [Kitāb] Sharḥ al-Fawā`id tisa' `ashara fa'ida fi hikmat ahl al-bayt. ed. and compiled in 3 vols. (vol.1 474 pp. vol.2 560 pp. vol.3 480 pp.) Shaykh Rāḍī Nāṣir al-Salmān al-Ahsa'i. Beirut: Mu`assasat Fikr al-Awhad. 1326/2005-6.
  • شرح الفوائد في حكمة أهل البيت PDf. in 3 vols. download here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1310

  • Sharḥ al-Fawā`id. ed. Tawfiq Nasir Abu-`Ali. Mu`assasat al-Ihqaqi li'l-Tahqiq wa'l-Taba`a wa'l-Nashr. 1423/2011. 570pp.
  • in JK-Turath (2011) vol.5 [= جوامع الكلم Jawami` al-kalim vol. 5 ] but actually the شرح الفوائد Sharḥ al-Fawā`id. Download here http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=3065

Kitab Sharḥ al-mashā'ir (A Commentary on "The Book of Metaphysical Prehensions" of Mulla Sadra).

I. Editions and Translations of the Kitāb al-Mashā`ir of Mulla Ṣadra.

  • Kitab al-mashā'ir . Tehran: ADD., 1315/1897-8.
  • Kitab al-masha'ir (The Book of Metaphysical Penetrations), ed., trans. and intro. by H. Corbin, Le livre des pénétrations métaphysiques, Paris: Départment d'Iranologie de l'Institut Franco-Iranien de Recherche, and Tehran: Librairie d'Amerique et d'Orient Adrien-Maisonneuve, Bibliothèque Iranienne vol. 10, 1964 + 1982 + French portion re-edited Lagrasse: Verdier, 1988; ed. and trans. P. Morewedge, The Metaphysics of Mulla Sadra, New York: Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1992.
  • Kitāb al-mashā'ir. ed. and trans. Henri Corbin, Live des pénétrationes Métaphysiques. Tehran + Paris, 1964; also rep. 1982 = Tehran: Institut Francais d'Iranologie de Tehran [1968] + Paris: Librarie d'Amérique et d'Orient, A. Maisonneuve, rep. 1982 Kitāb-khānih: Tahūrī (= Bibliotheque Iranienne, Vol. 10). Contents in 1982 repr. = Ar. section, K. Mashā`ir pp. 1-81; Per. trans. pp.84-220; French section. I. Intro. Biog. of Mullā Muhammadadrā, 1-26; Ch. II = Bibiographical essay re: Mullā Sadrā, pp. 27-41. Ch. III = Kitāb al-Mashā`ir, +Ar. and Per. commentaries, pp.42-52 includes refs. to Shaykh Aḥmad's comm, pp. 47-50. etc. Corbin's French trans + notes, spans pp.87-242. The French index records extensive refs. to Shaykh Aḥmad's comm (for the list see p. 243).*
  • Molla Sadra Shirazi, Le Live des Pénétrationes Métaphysiques (Kitāb al-Mashā`ir) Ed. + trans.etc. Henri Corbin. Editiones Verdier, 1988 (ISBN 2-86432-070-3). The above volume is a reprint of the 1964 French introduction (pp.1-78) and translation (pp. 81-164) with extensive notes (pp.166-234) + index (pp. 235-232), etc..
  • Lahijani, M. J., Commentary on the Recital of Mashā`ir. ed. + notes, J. Ashtiyani (Mashhad, 1965). 1992
  • Parwiz Morewedge (trans.), The Metaphysics of Mulla Sadra. Kitāb al-Mashā`ir, The Book of [Metaphysical] Prehensions (Islamic Philosophy Translation Series = ISPTS) The Institute for Cultural Studies, Tehran Iran. Sponsors = The Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science [SSIPS]. New York, 1992 (ISBN 0-9633277-1-2). This is a translation from the Corbin edition (with occasional corrections and notes); the Arabic and its English translation face each other from page 1-88 (Ar.+ Eng. beginning). Notes are included from p.89ff.
  • Muhammad Sadr al-Dīn al-Shirazi, Mullā Sadrā Shirazi, Kitāb al-Mashā`ir . Introd. Henry Corbin (Arabic trans.). Beirut: The Arabic History Est. / Mu`assat al-Tarikh al-`Arabi. 1420/2000. 128pp. (incl. introd. and index).
  • Kitāb al-mashā'ir. ed. and trans. Henri Corbin, Live des pénétrationes Métaphysiques. Tehran + Paris, 1964; also rep. 1982 = Tehran: Institut Francais d'Iranologie de Tehran [1968] + Paris: Librarie d'Amérique et d'Orient, A. Maisonneuve, rep. 1982 Kitāb-khānih: Tahūrī (= Bibliotheque Iranienne, Vol. 10). Contents in 1982 repr. = Ar. section, K. Mashā`ir pp. 1-81; Per. trans. pp.84-220; French section. I. Intro. Biog. of Mullā Muhammadadrā, 1-26; Ch. II = Bibiographical essay re: Mullā Muhammadadrā, pp. 27-41. Ch. III = Kitāb al-Mashā`ir, +Ar. and Per. commentaries, pp.42-52 includes refs. to Shaykh Aḥmad's comm, pp. 47-50. etc. Corbin's French trans + notes, spans pp.87-242. The French index.

II. Kitāb Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir of Shaykh Ahmad.

  • Kitab Sharḥ al-mashā'ir.  Tabriz/Tehran: XXXX, 1277-8/1861.  Lithograph
  • Sharḥ al-mashā'ir. n,p. [Tabriz] n.d. [before 1285 AH]. Copy in Library of Toshihiko Izutzu (see Consciousness and Reality, 2000: 453 No.11).
  • [Kitāb] Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir  2nd ed. Kirman: Matba`at al-Sa`ada, 1408/ADD
  • PDf. Haithi Trust. Sharḥ al-Mashāʻir, Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʾī : http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009409834. Original in Princeton Univ. Library.
  • PDf.. Opening and last pages from the Lithograph ed. Sharh al-Masha'ir.pdf

شرح المشاعر Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir. 2 vol. ed.

شرح المشاعر Sharḥ al-mashā'ir. 2 vols. = vol.1 (593pp.)+ vol.2 (620pp.). ed. / preface,Tawfīq Nāṣir al- Bū-ʻAlī. Beirut:  Mu'assasat al-Balagh, 1428/2007. 

  • PDf. Dowload here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1303
  • Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir. Pt.II ed. Tawfīq Nāṣir al- Bū-ʻAlī. [Muʼassasat al-Iḥqāqi]. Beirut: Muʼassasat al-Balāgh li’l-Ṭibāʻa wa’l-Nashr wa’l-Tawzī’, 2007.  619pp

 شرح المشاعر Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir. 3 vols. in JK-Basra and 2 vols in JK-Turath. 

  • جوامع الكلم  ج3 - شرح المشاعر = Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir. In JK-Basra [Jawāmi` al-Kalim [new rev. ed.] Basra : Matba`at al-Ghadir, Jamadi al-Awwal 1430/April May 2009,  vol. III. 668pp.
  • PDf. Download here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1529
  • Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir. In JK-Turath in 2 vols. designated vol 9 [= vol1] and volume 10 [= vol.2].
  • PDf. Vols. 9 and 10. Download here : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=3065.

Sharḥ al-Risāla al-`Ilmiyya of Mulla Muhsin al-Fayd al-Kashani. 

A lengthy commentary (sharh) upon the al-Risala al-`ilmiyya (Treatise Concerning Knowledge) of the Safavid thinker Mulla Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani (d. 1091/1680-1).

  • Sharh al-risala al-'Ilmiyya. In Jawämi' al-kalim, vol. l, ii, 166-200.
  • Sharḥ al-Risāra al-`Ilmiyya in Jawāmi` al-Kalim vol. 1. Pt. 2 pp. 166-200.
  • Sharḥ al-Risāra al-`Ilmiyya  opens the second volume of the compendium of Treatises of Shaykh Ahmad entitled الرسائل الحكمية al-Rasa'il al-Hikmiyya (within  Jawāmi` al-kalim ["The Compendium of Discourse"],  2nd Revised and expanded Basra ed. in 9 vols.), vol. 2 pages 6-117.

This 4 volume commentary upon a visitation text traditionally derived from the 10th Imam are widely recognized as one of the most important expressions of the work of al-Ahsa'i. It is an important phrase or word by word commentary of Shaykh Aḥmad upon the  weighty visitation prayer for  the (twelver)  Imams collectively by the tenth Imam `Alī al-Hadi (d. 214 [254] /829 [868]). It is found, for example, in the following two important legalistic works of Ibn Babūya/ Babuwayh al-Qummī (d.381/991):

  • [1], Man lā yahḍuru-hu al-faqīḥ ("For whomsoever is without access to a lawyer") and the
  • [2] Tahdhīb al-aḥkām  (The Rectification of Judgments)...

The Lambden translation of Imam `Alī al-Hadi's al-Ziyāra al-jāmi`a al-kabīra is in progress on this Website along with an index and notes on al-Ahsa'i's شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة commentary. See :

Lithograph and printed editions :

  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra.  Ramaḍan 1256 / Oct-Nov. 1840.... (?)
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra. Tehran Lithograph ed. Mullā Muhammad Nizam al-`Ulamā. 4 vols. in 1. Ramadan, 1267 / July 1851 Camb. Univ. Lib. S828.a.85.2 (Momen, BSBM1).
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra. Tehran 1267/1850-51
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-Ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra. Lithograph ed. Tabriz: Dar al-Taba`at... Ustad Hajji Mashhadi Aqa ibn Aqa Ahmad Tabrizi + Muhammad Taqi ibn Rida' al-Nakhjavani; Calligraphed by Mirza Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Shafi` Khūshnavīs  2 vols. in one. n. p. [= Tabriz], 1276/1859-60. 458pp.
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-Ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra. Tabriz Lithograph, n.d.  Calligraphed by Ibn Muhammad Shafi` Khūshnavīs Muhammad `Alī al-Tabrizi (459pp. ). See Brockelmann, GAL Supp. II:845; Tehrani, al-Dhari`ah, 13:1116;  Gacek 1996 No. 330, p.182.
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra. [4 Vols.] 3rd. ed. with prolegomenon by ʻAbd al-Rasūl al-Iḥqāqī Tehran : Maṭbaʻat al-Islāmī, 1349/1970.
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra. Tehran [1267/1850-51]; 4th ed., 4 vols. Kirmān, 1355-6/1976-7.
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi'a al-kabīra. 4 Vol ed. Kirmān: Maṭba'at al-Sa'ādat, 1355-6 Sh./1976-7. The (reprinted?) 4th ed. I have seen is paginated as follows: Vol. 1 has Introd. pp.1-26 dated 29th Sha`ban, 1398/ 4th August 1978 + Image of Shaykh Aḥmad + Index pp. 28-34 + text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-421. Vol.2 Index alif-ha+ Text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-366; Vol.3 Index alif-ha+ Text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-374; Vol. 4 Index alif-zein+ text of Sh-Ziyāra, pp.1-335+ 2 pages of errata + Index to all 4 vols. in 3 parts spanning 71pp. In this printing of the 4th ed. Shaykh Aḥmad's extensive commentary on the Sharḥ al-ziyāra consists of 421+ 366 +374+335 pages = total of 1456 pp.
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi`a al-kabīra  4 vols. Kirmān : Maṭbaʻat al-Saʻāda, c.1980.
  • شرح الزيارة الجامعة الكبيرة Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi`a al-kabīra  4 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1420/1999. These seminal vols. can be obtained, for example, from the USA located Fadak bks: http://fadakbooks.com/shalal1.html
  • Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi`a al-kabīra. 4 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1424/2003.
  • PDf. Vol.1
  • PDf. Vol. 2
  • PDf. Vol. 3
  • PDf. Vol. 4
  • JK-Turath (2011) : شرح الزيارة الجامعة = Sharḥ al-ziyāra al-jāmi`a al-kabīra  can be found and downloaded in PDf as the first four vols. [vol. 5 is actually the Sharh al-Fawa'id - see above] of the compilation Turath al-Shaykh al-Awhad [see above] : PDf. as vols. 1-4 [5] : http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=3065

Shams Ḥajar

شمس حجر

  • Shams ḥajar. ed. Aḥmad ʻAbd al-Wahhāb Būshafīʻ. Beirut : Lajnat Iḥyāʼ Turāth Madrasat al-Shaykh al-Awḥad, 2003. 256 pp.
  • شمس حجر =  Shams ḥajar by Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn Aḥsāʼī , ʻAbd Allāh Aḥsāʼī; (ed) Aḥmad ʻAbd al-Wahhāb Būshafīʻ     Beirut: Lajnat Iḥyāʼ Turāth Madrasat al-Shaykh al-Awḥad, 2003. 256pp.

Sirāt al-yaqīn (The Path of Certitude).

  • Sirāt al-yaqīn. In Jawämi' al-kalim, vol. I, iii, 1-84.

Tafsir - Qur'an Commentary

Tafsīr Sūrat al-tawhīd

The Recent Kuwaiti reprint.

  • Tafsīr Sūrat al-tawhīd wa āyat al-nūr in Jawāmi` al-Kalim  vol.

This commentary was originally written in reply to Sayyid Muhammad Bakā'  and printed within vol.1 of the Jawāmi` al-kalim   as part of the Tafsīr Sūrat al-tawhīd wa āyat al-nūr. Its first part, the Tafsīr Sūrat al-tawḥīd  (Commentary upon the Surah of the Divine Unity) is printed in a  2nd. ed. in the composite volume of collected Shaykhī  Tafsir works  entitled Majmū`a al-rasa'il al-hikma'  (Kirmān: Maṭba`at al-Sa`ada. Shawal, 1379/ March-April 1959-60). pp. 1-16. A recent Kuwait reprint is :

  • Tafsīr sūrat al-tawḥīd.  2nd ed. Kirmān: Maṭba`at al-Sa`āda. 1379/1959-60.
  • Risalat al-tawḥīd (The Treatise upon the Divine Unity).  Jāmi` al-Imam al-Sādiq, Dawlat al-Kuwait, 1422/2001.
  • PDf.
  • Trans. Lambden (ongoing) : See opening Shaykhism page on this site.

Tafsīr al-Shaykh al-Awḥad al-Aḥsāʼī

 Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn Aḥsāʼī- collected and ed.  Rāḍī Nāṣir Salmān

  • Tafsīr al-Shaykh al-Awḥad al-Aḥsāʼī : jamʻ lil-āyāt al-mufassarah fī kutub al-Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī.  [Damascus?] : Muʼassasat Fikr al-Awḥad, 2003-XX. Several projected vols. ?? 

II. Lithograph and printed Compilations

 

Jawāmi` al-Kalim [Kalam] ("The Compendium of Discourse").

 The volumes with the above title have long been the major compendium of the writings Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsā'ī. The title  جوامع الكلم Jawāmi` al-Kalim means something like "The Compendium of Discourse" or "The Comprehensive Discourse".  They constitute a massive collection of Shaykh Aḥmad's writings first made available in several lithographed volumes in mid 19th century Persia. Many volumes or booklets have been published which draw wholly or partly upon the massive amount of Shaykh Aḥmad's writings found  in the  Jawāmi` al-kalim. For some details see Hajji Mirza `Abd al-Rasūl al-Hā`iri al-Iḥqāqī al-Taḥqīq fi madarisa al-awḥad  (3rd printing) (1424/2003), pp.229-266. Examples include the Tafsīr sūrat al-tawḥīd (Commentary on the Surah of the Divine Unity) and the Kitab al-`Isma  (Book of Infallibility), on which see below.

جوامع الكلم

  • Jawāmi` al-kalim.  Vol. 1 (= JK 1) Pts. i, ii [and iii]. Tabrīz: Muhammad Tāqī Nakhjavānī, 1273/1856-7. Volume 1 is in 3 parts and is dated 1273/ 1856-7. It contains  40 often composite works and was written by a certain  `Abd al-Ḥamīd Rawḍa-khān.
  • Jawāmi` al-kalim.  Vol. 2 (= JK 2) Pts. i, ii. Tabrīz: Muhammad Tāqī Nakhjavānī, 1276/1859-60.
  • Jawāmi` al-kilam.  2 vols. Tabrīz: Muhammad Tāqī Nakhjavānī, Vol.1 Pts. i, ii [and iii] and Vol. 2 . Pts i and ii 1273-76/ 1856-7 -1859-60.  

While vol.1 of the  Jawāmi` al-kilam   contains around 40 treatises (Rasa'il) Vol. 2 has 52  often composite, multi-faceted works written  in the script of  `Abd al-Ḥamīd Rawḍa-Khān. A print run of 500 copies was made at  the  Tabriz located  press  of Muhammad Tāqī Nakhjavānī. These two large multi-part volumes  are doubtless the most significant (though until recently out of print) compilation of Shaykh Aḥmad's writings.  Volume 1 is in 3 parts and is dated 1273/1856-7. It contains  40 often composite works and was written by  a certain  `Abd al-Ḥamīd Rawḍa-khān.  Momen's useful note about the confused pagination and arrangement of the first volume is worth citing: "There is a note at the end of the book written by Aḥmad ibn Muhammad Khushnivis Tabrizi. It is in three parts and one suspects that it was originally intended to be published as three separate volumes. What appears to have occurred is that, at an advanced stage of preparation of the volume for publication, a large treatise, the Risāla fī mabahith al-alfaz, No.  ADD , was taken from Part One and attached to the end of Part Three (it still has "Fascicle One" on the running heads), while two small treatises (in reply to Shaykh Ramaḍan and Mullā Ḥusayn Kirmānī, Nos.   ADD  and ADD ) were removed from Part Three and placed at the end of Part One (these two still have "Fascicle Three" on the running heads).This section that was added to the end of Part One has no pagination and therefore I have called it Part One Addendum and added pagination pp. 1-10. The rest of Part One and the whole of Part Two are paginated. Part Three has no page numbers and I have paginated this part pp. 1-187" (Momen BSBM1).

Many of the Rasa'il (Treatises) in reply to questions, etc will be listed below under Risala (Treatise).

  • Ongoing on this site (see main Shaykhism page) will be a reprint of the original lithograph  Jawāmi` al-kalim of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsā'ī.  For  Pdfs. see the opening Shaykhism Page on this Website.
  • PDf.
  • PDf.

Jawāmi` al-kalim ("The Compendium of Discourse").  2nd Revised and expanded Basra Ed. in 9 vols.

Similarly titled Jawāmi` al-kalim ("The Compendium of Discourse") is the massive multi volume Jawāmi` al-kalim min musanafat al-`alim al-rabbani wa hakim samadani mawlana al-marhum al-ajal al-awhad al-Shaykh Ahmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Ahsa'i  printed at the Matba`at al-Ghadir Press in Basra (Iraq) in 9 vols. between Rabi al-Akhir 1430 / March 2009 and Muharram 1431 /Dec-Jan. 2009-10. This is not simply a reprint of the 19th cent. lithograph edition but incorporates many of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Aḥsā'ī's most important books and treatises. The above image of vol. III is entitled Sharḥ al-Mashā`ir (Basra : Matba`at al-Ghadir, Jamadi al-Awwal 1430/April May 2009, see below) and spans 668pp.

The nine vols. are entitled as follows :

[1] al-Rasāʼil al-ḥikmiyya, [2] al-Rasāʼil al-ḥikmīyah, [3] Sharḥ al-mashāʻir; [4] Sharḥ al-ʻarshiyya; [5] Kutub al-iʻtiqādāt wa-radd al-īrādāt; [6] al-Kutub al-uṣūlīyah wa'l-fiqhiyya; [7] Mukhtaṣar al-risālah al-ḥaydariyya fī fiqh al-ṣalwah al-yawmiyya; [8] al-Mawḍūʻāt al-mutafarriqa; [9] al-Mawḍūʻāt al-mutafarriqa.

  • ج1 - الرسائل الحكمية
  • ج2 - الرسائل الحكمية
  • ج3 - شرح المشاعر
  • ج4 - شرح العرشية
  • ج5 - كتب الاعتقادات ورد الايرادات
  • ج6 - الكتب الأصولية والفقهية
  • ج7 - مختصر الرسالة الحيدرية في فقه الصلوات اليومية
  • ج8 - الموضوعات المتفرقة
  •  ج9 - الموضوعات المتفرقة
  • PDf. Fortunately, excellent Pdfs of these volumes can be downloaded at :  http://alfeker.net/library.php?id=1529.

Turath al-Shaykh al-Awhad ("The Heritage of the Most Unique Shaykh").

This massive select compendium of many of the better known Arabic writings of  Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī in twenty-two volumes, includes a new Arabic printing of the شرح الزيارة الجامعة Sharh al-Ziyara al-Jami`a al-kabira (vols. 1-5), the  شرح العرشية Sharh al-`arshiyya (vols. 6-8), شرح المشاعر Sharh al-masha'ir (vols. 9-10), and the massive جوامع الكلم Jawami` al-kalim (vols 11-21) as well as an index volume (vol. 22).  All of these 22 vols. are Pdf. downloadable from  AL-FEKER.NET (2010-2015) :

The opening volume 1 (in 605pp.) commences with a seventy eight page preface about the life and writings of Shaykh Ahmad, followed (page 79ff) by the first portion of the new Arabic printing of the شرح الزيارة الجامعة Sharh al-Ziyara al-Jami`a al-kabira (vols. 1-5). It was printed in Beirut/ Iraq (?) by Mu`assat al-Ihqaqi li'l-Tahqiq wa'l-Taba`at wa'l-Nashr, being produced and/ or edited and introduced by Tawfiq Nasir Abu-`Ali, and dated 2nd of  Rajab 1432/June 6th 2011. The final volume 22 entitled Jawami` al-kalim ( 317pp.) is an Index volume and is also dated 1432/2011.

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III. Further Mss. Compilations and Miscellany.

Princeton University Library ms.

Ms. codex.
Title supplied by cataloger.
Physical description: 17-18 lines per page. Written in medium small naskh in black ink with use of red. European paper with watermark ; the leaves are dyed in blue. Small pieces of paper with prayer placed between fol. 85 and 86. Foliation in pencil using Western numerals (omits the first fol.; this record follows this foliation, hence the discrepancy with Mach, R. and E. Ormsby. Handlist). Chiefly quaternions. Catchword on the verso of each leaf.
Handmade label on upper cover, with inscription in Arabic numerals reading: "344."
Origin: According to colophons, copied by Mahdī ibn Ibrāhīm, or Muḥammad Mahdī Ibn Ibrāhīm, al-Kahdamī (fol. 75b) al-Rashtī (fol. 185a), from Ramaḍān to Dhū al-Qaʻdah 1236 [June-Aug. 1821] (fol. 45a, 49a, 52b, 75b, 79a, 82b, 87a, 93a, 112a, 132a, 177b, 185a). One colophon mentions the Ribāt Pusht-i Bādām (fol. 49a). The Kitāb al-Fawāʼid al-Riḍāwīyah was written on the margin of fol. 126b-142a by Murtaḍá Ibn Muḥammad Ṣādiq al-Ṭ---, known as Farhang, Tehran, 1313 H. sh. [1935] (fol. 142a).

Description:
188 leaves : paper ; 214 x 153 (135 x 80) mm. bound to 220 x 155 mm.

Contents:
1. fol. 1b-32b: [Treatise on divine science or metaphysics (ilāhiyāt), in twelve fāʼidah] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 2. fol. 33b-37b: [Answers to eight questions, on exegesis of some Qurʼanic verses and hadiths, on the saying of the Ishrāqīyūn that what is simple is everything, on the vision of God, and on the afterlife] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 3. fol. 38a-45a: [Answers to five questions, on intelligence, soul, and spirit] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 4. fol. 45b-49a: [Risālah khiṭābīyah] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 5. fol. 49b-52b: [Answer to three questions from Kāẓim ibn ʻAlī Naqī al-Simnānī, on creation, the miʻrāj, and the ʻālam al-mithāl] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 6. fol. 53a-75b: Risālah [Precisions on three questions by Mullā Kāẓim ibn ʻAlī Naqī al-Simnānī] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 7. fol. 76a-79a: Risālah [Answer to a letter from Ḥusayn ibn ʻAbd al-Qāhir al-Baḥrānī] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 8. fol. 79b-82b: Risālah [on visions] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 9. fol. 83a-87a: Risālah [on visions] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 10. fol. 87b-93a: [Commentary on the hadīth "Allāh ... khalaqa isman"] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 12. fol. 93a-96a: [On impeccability] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 13. fol. 96b-112a:Risālah [Jawāb sayyid Muḥammad Bakkāʼ] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 14. fol. 112b-113a: Jawāb maktūb kataba mawlānā ʻAlī al-Rashtī al-Jīlānī ilayh / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 15. fol. 113a-125b: [On afterlife] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 16. fol. 126b-132a: [Sharḥ ḥadīth Raʼs al-jālūt] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 17. fol. 126b(margin): Ḥadīth Raʼs al-jālūt. 18. fol. 126b-142a (margin): Kitāb al-Fawāʼid al-Riḍāwīyah / Saʻīd al-Qummī. 19. fol. 133a-136b: Risālah / [Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī]. 20. fol. 136b-137b: [Letter to Mullā ʻAlī Akbar, on intention] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 21. fol. 138b-141a: al-Risālah al-Rashīdīyah / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 22. fol. 141b-142b: [Fī bayān mā yumkinu al-ʻibārah ʻanhu min ṣifat taʻalluq ʻilm Allāh bi-al-maʻlūmāt] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 23. fol. 142b-162a: [Answer to Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Futūḥ] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 24. fol. 162a-163b: Min suʼālāt Ḥusayn ibn ʻAbd al-Qāhir / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 25. fol. 164a-165b: Min Risālat rafʻ al-nizāʻ bayn al-shaykh Aḥmad wa-al-sayyid ʻAbd al-Ṣamad / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 26. fol. 165b-167a: [Commentary on the ḥadīth qudsī "Law lā-ka la-mā khalaqtu al-aflāk wa-law lā ʻAlī la-mā khalaqtuka"] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī. 27. fol. 167b-178a: al-Risālah al-dhahabīyah / ʻAlī ibn Mūsá al-Riḍā [with preface by Muḥammad Bāqir Majlisī]. 28. fol. 179a-185a: [Answer to al-sayyid Ismaʻīl] / Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-Aḥsāʼī.

Other Titles: Ḥadīth Raʼs al-jālūt. See World Cat.  https://www.worldcat.org/title/rasail/oclc/234201996&referer=brief_resul... OCLC Number: 234201996

Add further mss. details

PDf.

 

Select Shi`i Rijal (bio-bibliographical) books which pertain to persons for whom al-Ahsa'i wrote treatises or books.

Tunukābunī, Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān (c. 1234-1302 AH =1819-1884 CE).

  • Qisas = Qiṣas al‑`ulamā. 1st ed.  [Tehran] n.p.n.d.

Mīrzā Muhammad Bāqir al-Mūsawī Chaharsuqi  al-Khwānsārī (1811-1895).

  • Rawḍāt al-jannat = Rawḍāt al-jannat fī aḥwāl al-`ulamā' wa'l-sādāt.  8 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Islamiyya. 1411/1991.  In this recent Beirut edition the section on Shaykh  Aḥmad ibn Shaykh Zayn al-Dīn ibn Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Aḥsā'ī'  is in vol.1 section 22, spanning pp. 97-103.  

  • Add

al-'Āmilī, Muḥsin al-Amīn (add),

  • A`yān = A'yan al-shī'a, 56 parts, Damascus 1935-63*
  • ADD 11 vols., Beirut 1986*
  • CD - VERSION

 Hajji Mirza Husayn ibn Muhammad Taqī al-Nūri al-Tabrisi [al-Tabarsi] (d. 1320/1908).

  • Mustadrak = Mustadrak al-Wasā'il wa Mustanbaṭ al-Masā'il. Mu`assasat Āl-al-Bayt li'l-Iḥya al-Turath, 18 vols. [3rd printing] 1411/1991.

Muhammad Muḥsin ,Shaykh Āqā Buzurg al-Tihrānī (d. 1389/1969).

  • Tabaqat = Tabaqat a`lam al-shi`a al-kiram al-barrara fi'l-qarn al-thalith ba`d al-ash`ar) [13th Islamic Century AH], 6 vols. Mashhad: Dar al-Murtada 1404/1984. + 17 vols.  Beirut : Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī lil-Ṭibā‘ah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘, 2009. 

Bāmdād, Mehdī.

  • Tārīkh-i rijāl-i Īrān dar qarn-i 12, 13, 14 Ḥijrī. 6 vols. Tehran, 1347 Sh. / 1968-9 + 1351 Sh/ 1971-2.
  • Sharḥ-i ḥāl-i- Rijāl-i Īrān dar qarn-i 12, 13, 14 Ḥijrī., 6 vols. (5th printing) [Tehran:] Intishārāt-i  Zavvār,   1378/ 1999

 

 

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