Investigating Hadith Sources of Mulla Sadra's al-Asfar al-Arba‘a

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Abstract

Over 1100 Quranic verses as well as 250hadiths attributed to the holy Prophet, holy Imams, and Companions can be found in Mulla Sadra’s Asfar. Although Mulla Sadra is known as a philosopher, his unfinished commentary on al-Kafi evidences that he has been familiar with hadith and other respective sciences as well. However, he has appeared more in a mystical persuasion in choosing hadiths in Asfar; that is why over two thirds of hadiths found in this book are taken from mystics’ books, which are in turn taken from Sunni hadith sources or books peculiar to mystics, and less than one thirds of them can be found in Shiite hadith sources of earlier than sixths century. The present essay deals with recognition of sources of hadiths narrated in Asfar and their validity in hadith-narrators’ opinions.

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