Publisher's Synopsis
This invaluable work sheds light into many aspects of Shia Hadith Sciences, the prevalent figures of the exaggerators (ghulat) and Non-Imami (Non-Twelver) Shia' sects they ascribed themselves to. This inevitably led to an equal and opposite reaction by Qum's Shia Scholars ('Ulama). They would enforce such strictness in hadith transmission that they would begin to banish people from the city of Qum where they resided, for narrating traditions that either exaggerated the status of the Imams or those who were extraordinarily careless and weak in their transmission. We also get a valuable glimpse into Ibn al-Ghadairi and the methods he employed to weaken and strengthen (al-Jarh wa Ta'dil) narrators. This work is one of the eight major Shia Rijal works that are studied today in the seminaries of Najaf and Qum for an individual to attain the highest levels of accreditation, which is to become a Marja al-Taqlid (a source of imitation) in matters of Fiqh (Jurisprudence).
About the Author: Abu al-Husayn, Ahmad bin al-Husain ibn 'Ubaydullah al-Ghada'iri (d. 450/1058 CE), was a contemporary to Shaykh Tusi (d.460 AH) and Najashi (d. 450 AH) and was their classmate at that time. They were also notable Imami (Twelver) Shia Scholars of Hadith and the Science of Rijal (narrators of hadith) who all studied together under ibn al-Ghada'iri's father. This work includes the Arabic alongwith the English translation with Annotated Commentary.
