without adding any suffix or prefix to it. Most researchers in the field of Hadith and some rijal scholars have identified him to be Muhammad ibn Isma'il Bunduqi Neishabouri. Opinions of two contemporary jurists Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khoi on his trustworthiness and reliability differ a lot. Though he has not been accredited by rijal scholars such as Tusi and Najashi, Imam Khomeini, at least in four cases, has accredited him. However, considering the existing evidences, we face with his supreme status. The abundance of hadiths narrated from him by Kulayni, on the one hand, and their content certainty on the other hand are more important than the rijal scholars’ tawthiq (accreditation). Moreover, a lot of his traditions have been transmitted in other ways that are accurate or reliable or valid without any addition or omission. Ayatollah Khoei, on the contrary, does not regard the abundance of hadiths narrated from him by Kulayni as a guarantee of his tawthiq (accreditation). He stipulates that there is no obvious indication that Kulayni has given his fatwa or religious obligations concerning lawful and unlawful things according to Muhammad ibn Isma'il’s traditions. Finally, with the assumption of such a fatwa, it does not imply tawthiq. Exploring evidences like the character of Kulayni as a narrator from Muhammad ibn Isma'il, licensed by him to narrate hadiths and accredited by famous scholars like Allameh Helli, the First Martyr, the author of Ma`alim, Vahid Behbahani, Mir Damad, Hurr Amili, etc. result in consistency of Imam Khomeini's approach. Of course, it is not reasonable to be satisfied with tawthiq and tadif (accrediting and discrediting) as the only agent and ignore other indications.
Key Words: Muhammad ibn Isma'il Neishabouri, Kulayni, Imam Khomeini, Ayatollah Khoei, Tawthiq and Tadif (Accrediting and Discrediting).
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Essay on Hadith Terminology: Hadith-e Qawi (Strong Hadith)

Ellieh Rezadad

Sayyed Kazim Tabatabai

Detailed analysis of meanings of terms and finding examples is of the issues that are of importance in the field of hadith studies. Since one word in different eras and schools has different meanings, finding the exact meaning of the term and its history can be of great help to researchers. The authors of this paper try to examine the term "qawi (strong)" in `Ilm al-Hadith (Hadith Science) through the above mentioned approach. There are approximately 16 meanings for this technical term in fiqhi (jurisprudential) and hadith books. They first give and account of the term: its origin and development, its early