Bihar al-Anwar

Bihar al-Anwar (Arabic: بِحَار ٱلْأَنْوَار‎, meaning "Seas of Lights") is a comprehensive collection of traditions (ahadith) compiled by Shia scholar Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi (d. 1110/1698), known as Allama Majlisi.

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Prophets . Meaning . Hadith . Bihar al-Anwar

Is the narration in Bihar al-Anwar volume 19, page 271, where the Prophet allegedly referred to some well-known Companions as the brothers of the earlier prophets, considered weak? If not, what is its actual meaning?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

After transcribing this narration (in which the Prophet praises certain historical personalities as brethren of the ancient prophets) on volume 19, pp. 271-272 of Bihar al-Anwar, 'Allamah al-Majlisi expresses a very dim view of its authenticity and describes it as having "signs of fabrication". Apparently, he included it to discuss it, not to preach that it is correct.

If one's goal is to determine Shi'i belief, one can note that this narration arises through Sunni narrators, including some who were identified as fabricators of hadith, and so it is not the correct sort of narration to look at to determine what Shi'is believe.

Insofar as this is a very specific question, one assumes that it was mentioned on some sort of polemical website (like a website aiming to prove Shi'ism is wrong), and one wonders what the point is. Was the author of that material aiming to prove Shi'ism is wrong because 'Allamah al-Majlisi included a narration saying that the Prophet praised this or that person? Obviously, the view espoused in this narration is not a normal Shi'i belief, and there are ample parts of Bihar al-Anwar to demonstrate that. So it seems that whatever might have been calling attention this is taking it out of context, and this is disingenous.

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Bihar al-Anwar . Ghayba (Occultation) . Imam al-Mahdi

Is it true that Ayatollah Muhammad Asif Mohseni has written in his book "Mashra'at Bihar al-Anwar" that the people cannot benefit from Imam Mehdi (ajtf) in religious matters during his occultation and that those who believe in such things are wrong?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

No. Nothing like that has been written by Ayatullah Shaikh Aasif Mohsini. It is an anti Shia propaganda claiming things which were never stated by him or any any other Shia Aalim.

Wassalam.

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Arsh . Bihar al-Anwar . God (Allah) . Karbala

What is the meaning behind the Hadith mentioned in Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 98, Ch. 14, Hadith 11, that says visiting Imam Husain's grave is equivalent to visiting Allah on His Arsh?

The Arsh is The Knowledge which is carried by eight most humble servants of Allah; Noah, Ebraheem, Musa, Easa, Muhammad, Ali, Hasan and Husain. The eight who carry the Arsh (Knowdge) are mentioned in Quran, Sura 69, verse 17 and explained in authentic narration from Muhammad ibn Muslim from Imam Al-Baqir (AS) in Kanz Al-Fawaa'id quoted by Biharul Anwaar V.24, P. 90 and V.55, P.35 and in Tafseer Al-Borhani , V. 4 , P. 377.

Visiting the shrine of Imam Husain (AS) is like visiting the Arsh of Allah (Eight greatest servants of Allah who carry the Arsh).

This shows the great importance of visiting Imam Husain (AS).

Wassalam.

Arsh . Bihar al-Anwar . God (Allah) . Karbala

What is the meaning behind the Hadith mentioned in Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 98, Ch. 14, Hadith 11, that says visiting Imam Husain's grave is equivalent to visiting Allah on His Arsh?

Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb, Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He used to be a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa... Answered 1 year ago

What reward does the Almighty bestow upon Imam Hussain that is both befitting to his sufferings and reflects the justice, generosity, and mercy of God? Based on this, God has granted him many rewards, one of which is the honor and grandeur in this world to the extent that encourages and motivates all people to visit the sacred shrine of Imam Hussain and promises great rewards to the visitors. One of these divine promises is a hadith that Sheikh Mufid and others have repeatedly narrated. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq said: "... And whoever visits the grave of Imam Hussain on the day of Ashura is as if meeting God on His throne." Of course, this is not strange, as we have similar narrations regarding visiting the Prophet's grave as well. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq said: "Whoever visits the Messenger of God is as if meeting God on His throne." Imam Ridā said about the significance of visiting God: Since visiting Him is not possible, God has equated visiting the Prophet as visiting Himself. It should be noted that visiting Imam Hussain keeps alive the lofty goals of that noble Imam, which is indeed to safeguard the religion of God and the commandments of the Quran.

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Hadith . Bihar al-Anwar . Muhammad Baqir Majlisi

Some Shia folks claim that not all the Hadith mentioned in Biharul Anwar by Allama Baqir Majlisi are authentic. Is this true? If so, what proportion is inauthentic?

Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 2 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

Other than the holy Quran, we do not have a book that is completely authentic, from cover to cover. Even our early hadith books like al-Kafi, etc, are to be individually evaluated and scrutinised by experts of hadith grading.

The great book Bihar al-Anwar, by al-'Allamah al-Majlisi (q.s.) is no exemption as well. As for percentage or proportion, that cannot be defined as a whole, because each scholar could have different methodology of grading authenticity, and other related issues to hadith grading.

And Allah knows best

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Hadith . Usul al-Kafi . Bihar al-Anwar . Al-Istibsar

I can see only very few Shia Hadith books that are available online in English translation. Are books such as al-Kafi, al-Istibsar, Bihar al-Anwar not yet translated?

Many Shia books of Hadeeth are already translated including all-Kafi. Many books are under translation. You can check on www.shiasearch.org

Wassalam.

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Sunni-Shi'a . Qur'an . Bihar al-Anwar . Tahrif

Are there traditions in Shia books such as Bihar Al Anwar that suggest that the Quran is distorted? If so, how can their presence in those books be explained?

There are some hadith along those lines. It has been suggested that these are forged hadith. In some cases, when the ayah is presented differently, with insertions, it has been suggested that this may have been an explanation or gloss by the speaker which was later misunderstood as a quotation of the entire ayah.

It is true that there are a few hadith along these lines both in Sunni and Shi'i texts.

Sunni-Shi'a . Qur'an . Bihar al-Anwar . Tahrif

Are there traditions in Shia books such as Bihar Al Anwar that suggest that the Quran is distorted? If so, how can their presence in those books be explained?

Quran is intact with out any distortion whatsoever. There are narrations in Sunni books like Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Tirmithi, Al-Nasaa'ee, Ibn Maajah, Muwatta' Malik, Musnad Ibn Hanbal and other well known books claiming stories about distortion in some Suras of Quran. Our authentic evidence that Quran is intact, made our leading Ulama reject any narration contradicts with the fact that Quran is intact even if it the narration is mentioned in a Shia book. Such narrations in Shia books are much less than in Sunni books and some of them were copied from Sunni books. Such narrations are either fabricated or misunderstood.
Bukhari in Hadeeth number 4608 narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab different words in Quran which never recited by the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). Bukhari narrated in Hadeeth number 6327 and 6328 from Umar ibn al-Khattab a claimed verse on stoning the old man and old woman. Such verse is not in Quran but Umar said it is. These are just few examples of long list of such rejected Sunni narrations on this matter.

'The fact which we believe in according to most authentic evidence from Ahlul Bayt (AS) is: Quran is intact and preserved and protected by Allah (SWT) from distortion.

Wassalam.

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Narrations . Usul al-Kafi . Bihar al-Anwar

Are there any false narrations in Shia books such as Biharul Anwar and Usul al-Kafi? If so, what is the reason their authors reported such narrations?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 5 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Different authors had different purposes and differing criteria when compiling their books. Sometimes, it is not the author's criteria, but the version of the book that has reached us that may be problematic, as Shii hadith history is a history of textual transmission.

Bihar al-anwar is a book that was written in the 17th Century which tried to preserve as much of the Shii tradition as possible. The author was therefore not concerned with sifting reports and left that to later hadith scholars, as hadith scholars also use different criteria when analyzing the reports in various books.

Usul al-Kafi on the other hand was an attempt to produce a book of reliable reports, but at the same time, not everybody agrees with what the author of al-Kafi (al-Kulayni) considered reliable. In short, hadith scholarship is a complex field where there are many aspects to weigh up and that is why it takes expertise. The natural outcome of that is that not everyone will agree with a specific scholar's assessment if they are trying to produce a reliable work.

May you always be successful