Al-’Amālī of Shaykh al-Ṣadūq

Al-’Amālī (lit. dictations) of Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad b. ‘Alī b. Ḥusain b. Mūsā b. Bābawayh Qomī (known more famously as Shaykh al-Ṣadūq (the truthful Shaykh)) (d. ~ 991) is one of the earliest sources of ahadith from the Aimmah and the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon them). The book contains the transcripts of al-Shaykh al- Ṣadūq’s classes which were held twice a week on Tuesday and Friday from Rajab 18, 367/March 1, 978 until Sha’bān 11, 368/March 14, 979 in Mashhad and other areas in modern-day Iran.
Shaykh al-Ṣadūq quotes 1021 ahadith with their sources in 97 sessions (or assemblies) on various topics in theology (and ideology), ethics, tafsīr of the Holy Quran, Islamic history, jurisprudence and more. These sessions and the choice of hadith seem to be primarily aimed at a general audience, with most narrations not being of a general nature and often following a theme based on the Islamic occasion occurring at the time. A great deal of Ahadith (almost at-least one in every assembly) is extolling the virtues of Imam ‘Alī b. Abi Talib (as).

The Author
Shaykh al-Ṣadūq was one of the most outstanding Shi’ā hadith scholars of the 4th/10th century and the most prominent hadith scholar and faqih of the hadith school of Qom. Born to another prominent scholar during the minor occultation of Imam Al-Mahdi (aj) in the holy city of Qom, it is reported that al-Ṣadūq’s birth was a result of a supplication made by Imam Mahdi (aj). Al-Ṣadūq authored some of Shiism’s most seminal works, including Man La Yahduruhul Faqih, Kamāl al-Din, al-I`tiqadāt al-Imamiyya, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, Ma`ani al-Akhbar, `Ilal al- Shara’i`, `Uyun al-Akhbār al-Rida, al-Khisāl, Thawab al-A`māl, and over 300 others.