Usul al-Kafi

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

As noted, the Usul al-Kafi is part of the Kitab al-Kafi. The Arabic word kitab means “book,” and al-kafi means “the necessary and sufficient.” Thus, the title Kitab al-Kafi can be translated as “the book containing that which is necessary and sufficient.” This has been used for various puns, including one by Ayatollah Khomeini, the late Iranian political and religious leader, to the effect that merely having the al-Kafi was not sufficient, one has to follow the precepts therein as well.

The Usul is one of the three volumes of the Kitab al-Kafi, the other two being the Furu and Rawda. Usul means “roots” or “fundamentals.” Usul al-Kafi can be translated “sufficing fundamentals,” the implication being that it provides the believer with a sufficient background (outside of the Qur’an) in the Islamic fundamentals of faith. The Usul al-Kafi includes eight books of traditions that speak to the heart of Shia belief and practice. These eight books include Hadith relating to reason, knowledge, divine unity, faith, prayer, the Qur’an, and social ethics. The text included in this volume is the introduction to the Usul al-Kafi. The brief introduction to the Usul al-Kafi contains the fundamental precepts that separate Sunni and Shia Islam and provides a justification for producing the work. Al-Kulayni quickly builds the structure of an argument that legitimizes Shia doctrine and raises it from a political dispute to a religious and philosophical position.

All Praise Be to Allah. . .

The first paragraphs of the Usul al-Kafi speak to the unknowability and omniscience of Allah. Allah’s power is so great that humans cannot possibly understand him. Ultimately he transcends our ability to reason, to imagine, to calculate, and to physically perceive. According to the Usul, this unknowability does not relieve humankind from a duty to try to understand Allah and what Allah wants. Realizing that humans were incapable of understanding him, Allah sent messengers as intermediaries. Al-Kulayni writes, “He has sent His messengers with glad tidings and due warnings. So that, if, thereafter one comes to grief it will be on his own account and if he comes to success it will also be on his own account.” Ultimately, the responsibility of heeding Allah’s message lies with humankind.

Since Allah is unknowable, it is only through Muhammad and the Qur’an that humankind can understand him. Al-Kulayni notes that the prophet Muhammad lived during a time of enormous ignorance, when most people were lacking any consciousness of God. According to al-Kulayni, Muhammad’s transcription of the Qur’an provided a path out of this ignorance. Through the Qur’an, Allah stated very specifically what he wanted from people. By following the prescriptions in the Qur’an, people could be assured of salvation.

In these first paragraphs, al-Kulayni’s argument is consistent with most Sunni doctrine. However, the text then quickly moves from establishing Muhammad and the Qur’an as being sent by Allah for the enlightenment of humanity to establishing Muhammad’s son-in-law ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib as Muhammad’s “nominated executor”— that is, asserting that Allah declared through Muhammad that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib was Muhammad’s successor. Moreover, says al-Kulayni, ‘Ali likewise had the authority to name a divinely approved successor.

This leap is important in establishing the Kitab al-Kafi as a particularly Shia text, undergirding the legitimacy of the Shia imamate and the infallibility of the first twelve imams. Whereas the Sunni refer to the first four successors to Muhammad (Abu Bakr, ‘Uthman, ‘Umar, and ‘Ali) as the “four rightly guided caliphs,” the Shia believe that succession should have run directly to Muhammad’s son-in-law ‘Ali, bypassing Abu Bakr, ‘Uthman, and ‘Umar. This essentially political struggle was the genesis of the Sunni-Shia split. Al-Kulayni’s reference to ‘Ali as Muhammad’s nominated executor rests upon a long series of Hadith that are unique to the Shia. Al-Kulayni confirms the Shia position that Muhammad’s successor should be the progeny of Muhammad himself, because only these progeny had the received word of Allah. Al-Kulayni reframes this problem of succession as a religious one, saying that “God the Almighty explained His religion” to his progeny and gave them “the deep springs of divine knowledge” of which others were ignorant.

Whoever among the Imams Died. . .

Al-Kulayni uses the legitimacy of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib as a springboard to his next argument about the infallibility of the imams. He points to a pattern of imamic succession wherein each imam was divinely inspired to nominate his own successor. Although these imams were mortal, al-Kulayni asserts that God designated them as leaders and invested them with unique knowledge so that they could inspire their followers. This idea is similar to the concept of papal infallibility. Here, al-Kulayni is referring to ‘Ali and each of the eleven imams who followed him. Once again, this is a uniquely Shia—and, more narrowly, a Twelver Shia—concept. Al-Kulayni’s repeated exhortation, “peace be upon him and his progeny” (sometimes rendered only as “p.b.u.h.a.h.p.”), after invoking the name of Muhammad reveals that the deference al-Kulayni shows to Muhammad is extended to Muhammad’s lawful successors. By declaring that this pattern of succession came from Allah by way of his messenger Muhammad, al-Kulayni legitimizes the Shia position.

Having established the basis of Shia epistemology, al-Kulayni begins to explain why he has undertaken the project of compiling Hadith. He speaks about the ignorance of people and how they “assist and help each other” and get farther away “from learnings and from the men of learning.” He suggests that blind adoption of religion without true understanding is a shallow act from which individuals can be spared. Al-Kulayni asserts that Allah has created two kinds of humans—those who are healthy and sound and those who are unhealthy and unsound. It is the religious duty of those who are in the first category to bring others toward Allah so that humankind may be unified in its faith. Al-Kulayni states that this elevated category of humans has been singled out by God. Unless this educated class honors its religious duty, “the entire structure of divine books, prophet and education falls to the ground.” Al-Kulayni claims that this duty arises because Allah “deemed ignorance about Him and the denial of His religion highly improper.” Unlike the text’s earlier propositions, this assertion is so important that al-Kulayni bolsters it with Qur’anic support by quoting sura (verses) from four Qur’anic chapters: al-A’raf, Yunus, at-Tawbah, and ah-Nahl (translated as “the Heights,” “Jonah,” “the Repentance,” and “the Bees,” respectively).

In the passages that follow, al-Kulayni asserts that God ordered healthy people to be “interrogative,” meaning that they should ask questions and think deeply. This ability to question, more than any other, is what separates humans from animals. Al-Kulayni uses this point to cycle back to his initial premise—that blind adoption of religion without true understanding is a shallow act. Like the Old Testament prophet who says that “wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom and with all the getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7), al-Kulayni reminds the reader that knowledge and understanding are the a priori values of religious worship and that it is incumbent on every thinking person to have a teacher or some other means by which to study and learn. Acquiring the knowledge of “religion and God consciousness” separates those who merely go through the motions of religious observance from those with true knowledge and insight.

At this point, al-Kulayni diverts from the subject ever so slightly to introduce an idea that he will come back to regarding how to distinguish a reliable Hadith from an unreliable one. Al-Kulayni states that “evidence without the knowledge of what is witnessed is not at all acceptable.” Thus, Kulayni rules out hearsay evidence in support of a Hadith. This is the foundation for what Shia scholars refer to as a scientific approach to the study of Hadith; a Hadith is considered reliable only if its transmission from Muhammad or one of the imams can be documented and traced. Al-Kulayni will return to the issue of reliability later in the introduction. However, in the meantime, he reverts to his discussion regarding distinguishing rote observation from true knowledge. He quotes the words of an imam who proposes that true knowledge and understanding have the effect of deepening faith and making the believer more steadfast. That is, says al-Kulayni, if knowledge is derived from authentic sources such as the Qur’an, or Muhammad, or (most pointedly) Muhammad’s progeny (the successor imams), then faith will be as unmovable as mountains. However, those who do not recognize the legitimacy of the imams, he continues—here drawing the proverbial line in the sand between the Shia and Sunni—will not be able to distinguish religious truths from errors. In this way, al-Kulayni repudiates the entire canon of Sunni scholarship.

You (the Interrogator) Have Spoken. . .

Al-Kulayni now returns to the idea he began to develop earlier: the importance of distinguishing reliable Hadith from unreliable Hadith. He recognizes that there are many conflicting versions of particular traditions (quotes from Muhammad and the imams are called traditions) that amount to hearsay. He recognizes that the lack of expertise about conflicting versions of a particular tradition has created enormous demand for a text so that people “could act thereon with genuine traditions from the truthful Imams.” Al-Kulayni claims that there is no place for individual discrimination between these versions. Instead, the correct approach is to retain those Hadith that are consistent with the Qur’an and reject those that are not consistent with it. Hadith that were repeated with the intention of obeying the imam are more likely to be reliable that those that were circulated for other reasons.

Al-Kulayni brings his introduction to a close by thanking Allah for enabling him to compile these Hadith. He notes that the collection intentionally begins with a chapter on the human being’s ability to reason because it is upon reason that all argument rests. This attribute is particularly important because whereas Sunni Sharia law relies upon analogy, Shia jurisprudence is based upon reason. Philosophically, this is important because in pre-Islamic times the opposite of ignorance was considered to be understanding and self-control. As Shia philosophy evolved, the opposite of ignorance was held to be reason. Thus, al-Kulayni returns once again to his earlier theme of rectifying ignorance and provides the justification of his book.