An Introduction to

Al-Dhar? ah

Muhammad Isfandiari

MuEammad MuEsin, or MuEsin, R?z?, or Munzaw?, known as Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg1, was born on the Thursday night of the 11th of Rab?` al-Awwal, 1293 A.H., in Tehran. He passed the early stages of his education in his native town, and left for Najaf Seminary in 1315 A.H. In 1329, after the death of ƒkh?nd Khuras?n?, he went to K??imayn and then to S?marr?’, where he stayed until 1354. In that year, he returned to Najaf, where he died on the Friday morning of the 13th of Dh? Œajjah, 1389 (March, 1969). He was buried in his library in Najaf, as he had requested in his testament. Thus, a man who spent a lifetime among books, was buried in their midst.

Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg Tihr?n? sat at the feet of such masters as Œ?jj M?rz? Œusayn N?r?, ƒkh?nd Khur?s?n?, M?rz? MuEammad Taq? Sh?r?z?, and Sayyid K??im Yazd?. In fiqh, he reached the level of istinb?ï (deduction), but he shunned teaching and, instead, turned to writing, at which he exerted much effort. The majority of the scholars of his time were devoted to teaching, with a few who wrote as well, but Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg set his heart solely on writing, a momentous decision that was later shown to have been the most auspicious.

Fiqh, hadith, biography, and bibliography were his main areas of expertise, the last two of which occupied the bulk of his research. Although, there were those who excelled him in fiqh and hadith, in rij?l (the science of the biographies of hadith transmitters) and bibliography, he was the undisputed master of his time. His corpus includes thirty titles, which add up to some seventy volumes. Among them two are the most important and voluminous. One is an eleven-volume book on rij?l entitled, “£abaq?t A`l?m al-Sh?`ah’’, which contains the biographies of Sh?`ah scholars from the 10th-20th centuries. The other, in 29 volumes, is a bibliography of Sh?`ah writings from the 7th-20th centuries entitled, “al-Dhar?`ah il? Taê?n?f al-Sh?`ah”. The latter is the more important of the two and is the one with which the name of ƒq? Buzurg is associated.

“Al-Dhar?`ah’’ comprises 26 parts, with the last part consisting of four volumes. The entire corpus adds up to some 12,000 vaz?r? pages (24.5 x 17 centimeters), and contains the accounts of more than 55,000 books. It is the opinion of this author that there are two to three times as much Shi`ite works that are not included in “al-Dhar?`ah’’2. The starting date of the composition of “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is the 25th of Dh? Qa`da, 1329 A.H., and it was completed a little before the author’s death (1389 A.H.)3. The first volume was published in 1355, the 25th volume in 1398, and the 26th volume (supplements) in 1405 A.H. ƒq? Buzurg’s death occurred while the 20th volume was in the press.

“Al-Dhar?`ah’’ is written in Arabic, and lists books that are originally in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and Gujarati4. The terminus a quo of the books introduced in “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is the first century A.H., and their terminus ad quem is 1370 A.H. The author’s method has been both direct and indirect, namely, he has had direct access to some of the books, and he has collected information about the rest orally or through the use of other indices and bibliographies. The style of “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is mainly descriptive, although there are cases where the author suffices by the mere indication of the bibliographical data. There also are occasions where he engages in direct evaluation, and this usually applies to the books whose contents are given in more detail. In sum, “al-Dhar?`ah’’ should be considered as a descriptive bibliography.

It seems necessary to discuss the subject of “al-Dhar?`ah’’ in more detail, since its clarity has somehow managed to conceal its real import. Everyone suffices by calling “al-Dhar?`ah’’ a work of bibliography, which of course is true, but which, nonetheless, creates the impression of a heap of piled up bibliographical data. This is not the whole truth, neither is it the most important part.

Before we get to the proof of the above statement, let us clarify a number of preliminary definitions. “Book’’ is a name applied to printed pages that are “bayn al-daffatayn” (between two covers). “Manuscript’’ is used for hand-written material that are bayn al-daffatayn, and “ris?lah’’ (treatise) is a printed or hand-written piece that is shorter than a “book’’ or “manuscript’’, and is not , and is not bayn al-daffatayn5. Based on this classification, “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is first a study of “book”s (bibliography), and then is a study of “manuscripts”, “treatises”, and “rij?l” (biographies).

First, the fact of its being a bibliography is a matter of wide consensus, since it contains a list of printed books.

Second, and the most important of all, it is a study of manuscripts, because it contains the list of the (hand-written) manuscripts of printed books, and it deals with manuscripts (hand-written books). In other words, the author, in the course of discussion of published books, also examines their manuscripts, and he includes hand-written books (manuscripts) in his study. So “al-Dhar?`ah’’ can be considered a study of manuscripts from two different perspectives.

Third, it is a study of treatises, owing to its examination of texts that are shorter than books and manuscripts and are not bayn al-daffanayn (In the old days, a “treatise” was the equivalent of what today is called an “article”. They both possess the same structure, since they are shorter than a book and are not covered). Thus, “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is both a study of books and a study of treatises.

Finally, it is an implicit study of rij?l, owing to the discussions of every author’s masters and pupils, other works, and those from whom he has received license for the transmission of hadiths, or those to whom he has bestowed such permission6. Although, such information is not usually part of a book on bibliography, nonetheless, its inclusion makes “al-Dhar?`ah’’ a quasi-rij?l? book7.

In sum, “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is a study of books, ris?las, manuscripts, and rij?l. This point is well reflected in the author’s own choice of title, for the book is called “al-Dhar?`ah il? “Taê?n?f” al-Sh?`a’’ and not “al-Dhar?`ah il? “Kutub” al-Sh?`ah’’. Thus, an appropriate rendition of the Arabic title would be: “A Dictionary of the Shi`ite Works”. It is a “dictionary”, owing to its alphabetical arrangement. It is a dictionary of “works”, because the term is applied to various forms of writing, such as printed or hand-written books, treatises, and the like8. It must be noted that “al-Dhar?`ah’’ also includes daily newspapers on the list of its works. So, “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is more than a study of the Shi`ite “books”, it is a study of the entire corpus of Shi`ite “writings”.

Of course, if “bibliography” is considered in its wider connotation to mean any form of writing, just as when, at times, “book” is taken to include hand-written books and treatises, then the appellation, “bibliography”, is to be accepted as appropriate for “al-Dhar?`ah’’. And it is likely that a lot of the people who consider “al-Dhar?`ah’’ to be a bibliographical work, just as the present author, take the word in its wider meaning. But this should not in any way become the base for a public misunderstanding, where “al-Dhar?`ah’’ is looked at as a mere list of printed works, and the most significant aspect of the work, namely, its study of manuscripts, is overlooked altogether.

The juxtaposition of the starting and finishing dates of composition of “al-Dhar?`ah’’ (1329-1389), brings to view the enormity of a task whose accomplishment took what, in effect, was an entire lifetime. Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg spent sixty years of his life on “al-Dhar?`ah’’9. He examined thousands of books and manuscripts in some sixty libraries, and he embarked on several trips to various countries, in order to bring into existence a masterpiece whose creation at first seemed to be an impossible undertaking. But it looks as if “impossible” was not one the words in ƒq? Buzurg’s lexicon.

The elaboration on the various dimensions of “al-Dhar?`ah’’ would take a lot more than the space of the present article allows. In brief, “al-Dhar?`ah il? Taê?n?f al-Sh?`ah’’ is the most important and comprehensive bibliographical work of the Shi`ite, or, one dares say, the entire Muslim world. Were it not for “al-Dhar?`ah’’, many a Shi`ite work would have been consigned to oblivion. By his composition of “al-Dhar?`ah’’, ƒq? Buzurg superseded all of his antecedent bibliographers and made difficult the task of those to come by leaving behind the most taxing of standards. “Al-Dhar?`ah’’ is not the work of a single era, but is a book for all times, and its author, though having lived a long physical life, would live a much longer life through his masterpiece10.

Notes

1. The following points are worth noting about the name of ƒq? Buzurg Tehr?n?: I- His first name was MuEsin, and he himself uses that or MuEammad-MuEsin, although he did not consider MuEammad to be part of his name, and used to inscribe it as a means of blessing. II- R?z? is an appellation used for the inhabitants of Rey (a city near Tehran), and since he was born in that city, for a time he used R?z? as his last name. He also has a book entitled, Hadiyyat al-R?z? il? Mujaddid al-Sh?r?z?, which he makes a mention of in his al-Dhar?`ah (vol. 25, pp. 207-8). III- His last name in his birth certificate is registered as Munzaw?, a point that he attests to in al-Dhar?`ah (vol. 15, p. 128). IV- The origin of his title of “ƒq? Buzurg”, is that he had the same first name as his grandfather (MuEsin), and, in the old days, such a child used to be called ƒq? Buzurg by the Tehr?n?s.

2. It seems that two thirds of the Shi`ite works have not been included in al-Dhar?`ah, namely, 100-150 thousand works. But, ƒq? Buzurg’s son, `Al?-Naq? Munzaw?, estimates the number of works not included in al-Dhar?`ah to be lower. In his article in the ƒyandih (# 7&8, Sep-Oct, 1980.) entitled, “Al-Dhar?`ah and ƒq? Buzurg-i Tihr?n?”, he say the following: “In my opinion, if we were to divide the Shi`ite literature (works) into the two main branches of Arabic and non-Arabic, we have to admit that my late father has included 97 percent of the former in his encyclopedia (al-Dhar?`ah), a shortfall of no more than 3 percent. But, as regards the non-Arabic works, he has frankly missed the mark by some 50 percent.”

3. Al-Dhar?`ah, vol.10, p. 26. It is worth noting that in the tenth volume of al-Dhar?`ah, ƒqa Buzurg gives a brief account of his work under the entry for “al-Dhar?`ah il? Taê?n?f al-Sh?`ah”, and mentions the assistance of his son (`Al?-Naq? Munzaw?) in the publication and addition of supplementary material to the work. Unfortunately, the scholarly community not only failed to acknowledge Munzaw?’s services, but laid the blame for some of the work’s errors on him. It is clear that some of al-Dhar?`ah’s inaccuracies must have undoubtedly originated from the pen of ƒq? Buzurg. Of course, this in no way casts a shadow on the greatness of his work

4. AL-Dhar?`ah, vol.8, p. 296.

5. The book of “The Terminology of Library Science’’ gives the following definition for the “manuscript’’: “It is a hand-written book that precedes or is contemporaneous with the invention of printing and is distinguished from a document, letter, or a hand-written research treatise.” The same source contains the following under the entry for “book”: “According to the UNESCO, a book usually comprises 48 pages or more and is independently bound. Any publication of less pages is called a treatise.”; P?r? ?ult?n? & Farvard?n R?st?n, “The Terminology of Library Science”, pp. 228,304 (2nd ed., Tehran: National Iranian Library, 1977).

6. For example, look at al-Dhar?`ah’s biographical information on the following: ƒli Nubakht (V.1, pp. 69-70); Sayyid `Al? Taqaw? Naê?r?b?d? (V.1, p.84); Ab? al- Mu?affar MuEammad Ab?ward? (V.4, p. 220); Ab? al-Œasan `Ib?d b. `Abb?s £aliq?n? (V.4, pp.235-6); Naê?r? £?s? (V.4, pp.236-7); Ibn Gha»?’ir? (V.4, pp. 285-91); Ibr?h?m

b. Œakam b. §ah?r Faz?r? (V.7, pp. 187-8); Ja`far Sh?shtar? (V.7, pp. 166-7); Sayyid Bah?’ al-D?n Œusayn? N?l? Najaf? (V.8, pp. 81-2); and Ibn `Am?d Qum? (V.10, pp. 240-1).

7. It is worth noting that “£abaq?t A`l?m al-Sh?`ah” grew out of “al-Dhar?`ah”, since when he was collecting information for his al-Dhar?`ah, Aq? Buzurg gathered enough biographical data for the compilation of a book on rij?l. That book turned out to be “£abaq?t A`l?m al-Sh?`ah”.

8. Dr MuEammad Mu`?n in his Persian Dictionary (V.1, p.141) has the following under the entry for “work” (athar): “Some consider work to mean a book or a non-literary piece of writing. But the old usages are sufficient license for its usage.” According to Ad?b Sulï?n? “work is a general concept and is applied to any form of writing, be it a voluminous book, or a short article.”, M?r Shams al-D?n Ad?b Sulï?n?, “The Guide for Book Preparation”, p. 3 (1st ed., Tehran: The Islamic Revolution Publication and Education Organization, 1986).

9. Throughout the history, we are hard put to find a writer having devoted sixty years of his life to the compilation of a single book. “Agh?n?” is the result of fifty years of research by Ab? al-Faraj Isfah?n?, and the same goes for Will Durant and his “The History of Civilization”. Ibn al-`Arab? spent forty years on his “al-Fut?h?t al-Makkiyyah”. Shaykh MuEammad Œasan Najaf? devoted over forty years to “Jaw?hir al-Kal?m”. Twenty years of research by Thiqat al-Isl?m Kulayn? went into the writing of “K?f?”. The supreme example is Goethe, who spent over sixty years on his masterpiece, “Faust”. See MuEammad Isfandiy?r?, “Bibliography: Studies on Books and Criticism”, pp. 13-48 (1st ed., Qum: Nashr-i Khurram, 1996).

10. There are a great number of books and articles on the life and works of ƒq? Buzurg the most important of which are the following: Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg Tihr?n?, “My Life”, in Contemporary History & Culture, pp. 303-16 (#1&2, Fall and Summer, 1995); Sayyid AEmad Œusayn? Ishkivar?, “The Autobiography of Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg Tihr?n?”, in Mahd? Mihr?z? and `Al? ?adr?’? Khu’?, “The Shi`ite Œad?th Heritage”, V.1, pp. 401-28 (Qum: D?r al-Œad?th, 1998); MuEammad `Al? Œaqshin?s, “ƒq? Buzurg Tihr?n?, the Leading Shi`ite Historian”, in Kar?nih, pp. 106-21 (#3&4, Fall and Winter, 1994), it also includes the autobiography of ƒq? Buzurg; al-Dhar?`ah, (V.1, pp. 1-ï), (V.20, pp. j-yb), (V.25, pp. 309-10 & 347-50); £abaq?t A`l?m al-Sh?`a:al-qarn al-r?bi`, naw?bigh al-ruw?t f? r?bi`a al-mi’?t, pp. ï-lb (1st ed., Beirut: D?r al-Kutub al-`Arab?, 1390 A.H.); `Abd al-RaE?m MuEammad Al?, “Shaykh al-b?Eith?n ƒgh? Buzurg al-£ihr?n?, Eay?tah? wa ?th?rah” (1st ed., Najaf: Maïba`at al-Nu`m?n, 1390 A.H.); MuEammad Ri»? Œak?m?, “Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg-i Tehr?n?”, pp. 1-65 (Daftar-i Nashr-i Farhang-i Isl?m?); `Al? Naq? Munzav?, “Al-Dhar?`ah and ƒq? Buzurg-i Tihr?n?”, in ƒyandih, pp. 247-53 (#3&4, May-June, 1980), pp. 588-96 (#7&8, Sep-Oct, 1980); AEmad Munzav?, “An Introduction to al-Dhar?`ah il? Taê?n?f al-Sh?`ah”, in Kit?bd?r?, ed. •raj Afsh?r, pp. 22-5 (Tehran: The Publications of the Central Library and the Center for Documents, 1973); MuEammad ?iEEat? Sardr?d?, “ƒq? Buzurg, the Ocean of Research” (1st ed., Qum: The Islamic Propagation Office, 1997); Sayyid Jal?l Qiy?m? M?rEusayn?, “Ten Faces, Ten Glimpses”, V.1, pp. 320-55 (1st ed., Mashhad: Khaniy-i ƒb? Publications, 1998), includes an interview with AEmad Munzav?; Sa`?d Naf?s?, “The Book of al-Dhar?`ah and Its Author”, in Sukhan, pp. 887-9 (#11&12, Jan-Feb, 1945); MuEammad `Al? Œaqshin?s, “Al-Dhar?`ah and £abaq?t, the Great Shi`ite Encyclopedias”, in Fasln?miy-i Kit?b, pp. 7-33 (#3&4, Fall and winter, 1998); Naêir al-D?n Anê?r? Qum?, “A Look at the Life of `All?mih Tihr?n?”, in Mishk?t, pp. 75-97 (#32, Fall, 1991); the same author, “the Life and Works of Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg Tihr?n?” and “The Best Shi`ite Bibliography: A Look at al-Dhar?`ah” in ƒyiniy-i Pazh?hish, pp. 41-5 & pp. 53-61 (#5&6, Jan-Feb, 1995); Ri»? Mukht?r?, “The Plan for the Compilation of the Great Shi`ite Bibliography”, pp. 40-90 (1st ed., Al-Ghad?r li al-Dir?s?t al-Isl?miyyah Center, 1997); N?êir B?qir? B?dhind?, “The Stars of the Ummah: ƒyatull?h Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg Tihran?”, in N?r-i `Ilm, pp. 34-59,153 (#2, Feb, 1991); “Al-MuEaqqiq al-£ab?ïab?’? f? Dhikr?h al-Sanawiyyat al-¤l?”, V.3, pp. 1051-5, 1199-1205, 1228-30 (1st ed., Qum: ƒl al-Bayt Institute, 1417 A.H.); Sayyid MaEm?d Mar`ash? Najaf?, “Al-Musalsal?t fi ‘l-Ij?z?t”, V.2, pp. 76-80 (Qum: The Library of the Grand-Ayatollah Mar`ash?, 1416 A.H.); N?r All?h Mur?d?, “Shaykh ƒq? Buzurg, the Guardian of the Epic of the Sun”, in Kiyh?n-i Farhang?, pp. 25-8 (#11, Jan 1987); `Abd al-Kar?m ƒli Najaf, “ The Great Researcher, ƒq? Buzurg Tihr?n?”, in Al-TawE?d, pp. 65-72 (#62, Jam?di al-Awwal - Th?n? 1413 A.H.); MuEammad ƒêif Fikrat, “The Shi`ite Writings: A Translation and Summary of al-Dhar?`ah il? Taê?n?f al-Sh?`ah”, V.1, pp. 1-9 (1st ed., Mashhad: The Islamic Research Foundation of the ƒst?n-i Quds-i Ra»aw?, 1993), for more details look at Ri»? Mukht?r?, ibid, pp. 48-54; N?êir al-D?n Anê?r? Qum?, “The Best Shi`ite Bibliography: A Look at the Book of al-Dhar?`ah”, pp. 58-60.