to them, as well as the Muṣḥafs free of dots attributed to the Infallibles (A.S) in the first/seventh century, non-application of the (term) "dot” in its technical meaning in the traditions and finally, the fact that the narrative supporters (of this attribution) are weak and fail to denote the above claim, all of these make one question the attribution of this tradition to the Commander of the Faithful (A.S). All of these issues are examined in this article.

Keywords: Imam Ali (A.S), Shiblī, mystical transmitted traditions, and the dot under the letter bā’.

******

Recognition of the thinking system of early text-inclined scholars and traditionists

(The thought of Ṣaffār in his Baṣā’ir al-Darajāt from Imamate scholarship aspect)

Rouhollah Shahidi Muhammad Kazem Rahman Setayesh

The hadith of the Infallibles has constantly been one of major sources in inferring the religious knowledge and teachings in various ranges. Attention to this category has preoccupied certain Twelver Shi‘a scholars, namely the traditionists and text-inclined scholars who were committed not to transgress the specified limits of the traditions. Based on this, they just attempted in such different fields as theology, exegesis, jurisprudence, etc. to present their system of thought through transmitting and classifying the text of hadiths. Presenting the thought within the narrative texts in an implicit way and failure in specifying it has caused difficulty in its recognition.

Muhammad b. Hasan Ṣaffār, the compiler of the book Baṣā’ir al-Darajāt, is one of text-inclined scholars who has attempted to expose his approach in the realm of doctrines, and Imamate in particular to the public view in his book.

An analysis on his way in dividing the book in chapters and putting similar narrative texts together shows that his basic concerns in the field of Imamate scholarship was the necessity of existence of the Imam, as well as his characteristics. Among these characteristics Ṣaffār highly emphasizes on the knowledge of the Imam and the relevant issues like the sources, obtaining mediums, and scope of his knowledge along with the Imam’s power.

Keywords: text-inclination, Baṣā’ir al-Darajāt, Ṣaffār, the Imam, knowledge, power.

******