Shaikh al-Tūsi, “AbūJa`far” Muhammed ibn al-Hassan (385 - 460 A.H./995 - 1068 A.D.), is one of the greatest literary figures in Islamic history, a scholar the scope of whose knowledge encompassed Islamic history, fiqh
and hadīth. He is called “Tūsi” after his birthplace, the city of Tūs, Khurasan, Iran.

After Tūsi’s demise, Tūs expanded in area, gradually becoming a center of knowledge and culture especially after Imām Ali ibn Mūsa al-Rida had resided in it. The Imām’s presence attracted scholars and seekers of knowledge from all the corner of the then Islamic world.

Imam Ali ibn Mosa al-Al-Rida is the eighth in the series of Infallible Imams. He was born in the holy city of Medina on the eleventh of Thul-Qa`da, 148 A.H./765 A.D. and was given the titled “Al-Rida" which means that Allh Almighty and His Holy Messenger are pleased with him. The Imam Ais also considered as the Greatest Learned and Erudite) of the Holy Ahlul Bayt Al-Ma’mūn (ruled from 198 – 218 A.H./813 – 833 A.D.) (younger son of caliph Haron “al-Rashīd” who ruled from 170 – 193 A.H./786 – 809 A.D.), the then Abbasid caliph, appointed him as his crown prince but later poisoned him in Sanabad, Tus, in the Iranian region of Khurasan on the last day of the month of Safar 203 A.H./August 818 A.D. where he was buried. After the burial of Imam
al-Rida ¡in this place, Sanabad was soon transformed into a metropolis.
The holy shrine of Im¡m al-Rida in the holy city of Mashhad is also one of the most extensively visited pilgrimage centers in the world: Annually, more than 25 millions pilgrims and lovers of Holy Ahl al-Bayt from all parts of the world visit it. Alhamdu-Lillāh, I translated a book about this great Imam which the late Sheikh Muhammed-Jawād Fadlallah, the famous Lebanese scholar, had written, and you can review my translation

Sheikh al-Tūsi was taught by the greatest scholars of his time who included Sheikh al-Mufīd, Sayyid al-Sahreef al-Murtada, brother of al-Sharīf ar-Radi, compiler of Nahjul-Balāgha, who kept company with Sheikh al-Tūsi for twenty-eight years, directing and helping the growth of his academic talents, so much so that Sheikh al-Tūsi became a candidate for leading the nation after the demise of his mentor, and this is exactly what took place.
Students and seekers of knowledge went in hordes to the residence of Sheikh al-Tūsi in order to learn from him, so his house in Baghdad embraced seekers of knowledge whose number was estimated to be no less than three hundred renown mujtahids from among the Shi`a faith in addition to countless Sunnis who attracted them with his own method and convincing style, presenting his evidence and treating everyone with the most lofty of Islamic ethical standards. The former rector of al-Azhar, the revered Shaikh Abdul-Majeed Saleem, has been quoted as saying that he very much admired Shaite fiqh after someone had given him a copy of the book
titled Al-Mabsoot by Sheikh al-Tūsi as a gift. He liked the book so much that he made statements saying that he reviewed this book prior to issuing any fatwa, binding religious edict; so, whenever he found in this book what convinced him that it was the best viewpoint, he adopted it without any hesitation, an open-mindedness
which has now become so rare…

Al-Qā’im bi Amrillāh was the ruler of his time. Recognizing the distinction of Sheikh al-Tūsi, he ordered a special chair to be designed and made for the scholar, a chair which came to be known as that of scholarship and tutorship, one of its kind at the time.

Sheikh al-Tūsi, therefore, used to sit on that chair and deliver his sermons and speeches. This went on till the year 447 A.H./1055 A.D. when the flames of sectarianism swept Baghdad brought by Turkish Saljukes who burnt the Sheikh’s house, library and chair.

The Sheikh’s library was known as the Shah-pur Library which is described by the great historian Yāqūt al-Hamawi as the greatest in the entire Islamic world. The Turks schemed to get the two main branches of Islam, the Sh¢`i and the Sunni, to be at each other’s throats. This forced Sheikh al-Tūsi to migrate to the city that houses the Shrine of the Commander of the Faithful Ali A, namely al-58 Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq, where he established a great university, turning this city into a capital for knowledge and a center for scholars, one which has ever since been attracting men of virtue and seekers of knowledge. Thousands of senior faqīhs, jurists, speakers, virtuous exegetes and historians have graduated from it and will always continue to do so, Inshā-Allāh.

After his death, the grave of Sheikh al-Tūsi turned into a lofty school for disseminating Islamic knowledge and a center for the scholarly hawza, theological seminary, and for its most prominent religious authorities.

The sectarian fire sparked by the Turks in Iraq in 447 A.H./1055 A.D. consumed most, if not all, the treasure of knowledge which Sheikh al-Tūsi had spent years researching and compiling. Despite that, the following list as been compiled from various sources, and it introduces us to a drop in the bucket of what Sheikh al-Tūsi had written:
١ ـ يسوطلا لاجر ّ، باتكلا اذھ ىمسيو ُ ) باوبلأا .

( Al-Abwāb: a book about narrators of hadith
٢ ـ نم بذھ ـ لاجرلا ةفرعم رايتخا ّباتك هللاخ) يشكلا لاجر ّ
.

( Ikhtiyār Ma`rifatal-Rijāl, a critique of the famous work Rijāl al-Kashi
٣ ـ هقفلا باوبأ ةيقب يف ثلاثلاو ،تادابعلا يف ناءزج ـ راصبتسلاا .

Al-Istibsār:Two Volumes about rituals and a third in the rest of aspects of fiqh
٤ اضيأ ىمسيو ،ثيدحلا يف ـ يلاملأا ـ ً ُ ) سلاجملا .

( Al-Amāli fil Hadīth(also called Al-Majālis): one of his most famous works
٥ نآرقلا ريسفت يف نايبتلا ـ .

Al-Tibyān fīTafsīr al-Qur’ān: a book of exegesis
٦ لصأو ،ةماملإا يف ـ يفاشلا صيخلت ـ ىضترملا فيرشلل ه ) يفاشلا .

( Talkhīs Al-Shāfi: a summary of the book titled Al-Shāfiby al-Sharīf al-Murtada, and it deals with the subject of imāmate.
٧ ىضترملا باتكل حرش ـ لوصلا ديھمت ـ ) لمعلاو ملعلا لمج َ

ُ .( Tamhīd al-Usūl: an explanation of the book titled Jumal al-`Ilm wal `Amalby al-Murtada
٨ ماѧكحلأا طابنتѧسا رادѧم اѧھيلع يѧتلا ةѧعبرلأا بتكلا نم ،تادلجم رشع ـ ماكحلأا بيذھت ـ

ّ
ةيعرشلا ّ . Tahthīb al-Ahkām:Ten Volumes and one of four books used as references for deriving rulings relevant to the Sharī`a, the Islamic legislative system

٩ ـ سلبارط يضاق نم بلطب هفلأ ،تادابعلا يف ـ دوقعلاو لمجلا ٍ
ّ
ُ . Al-Jumal wal `Uqūd: a book in rituals which he wrote after being requested by the judge of Tripoli of the time to do so
١٠ ـ نيفلاخملا هيف رظان ،ماكحلأا يف ـ فلاخلا َ
َ
. نيدلجم يف ﱠ . Al-Khilāf: a book in two volumes that deals with the ahkam, religious rulings, in which he debates those who dispute with his School of Thought
١١ ـ هباتكل حرش ـ لوقعلا ةضاير ) لوصلأا ملع يف ةمدقم ّ .

( Riyādat al-`Uqūl: an explanation of his own book titled Muqaddima fī`Ilm al-Usūl (Introduction in the Science of Principles)

١٢ هقفلا لوصأو نيدلا لوصأ يف ـ ةدعلا ـ ُّ . Al-`Udda: deals with the
principles ofthe creed and of those of fiqh

١٣ يدھملا ماملإا ةبيغ يف ـ ةبيغلا ـ ّ
َ ) هجرف ىلاعت ﷲ لجع َ َ .( Al-Ghaiba: deals with the occultation of Imām al-Mahdi (may Allāh Almighty hasten his ease)

١٤ او بتكلا باحصأ ركذ يف ـ تسرھفلا ـ لوصلأ . Al-Fihrist: a bibliography of major books and authors who wrote in the science of usul, principles of the Islamic faith
١٥ ملاكلا ملع يف ـ للعي لا امو للعي ام ـ

MāYu`allal wamālāYu`allal (what can be explained and what cannot): a book in the science of logic
١٦ هقفلا بتك لجأ نم ـ طوسبملا ـ
. لاصف نيعبس ىلع لمتشي ً .

 Al-Mabsoot(refer to the text above): one of the most prestigious books of fiqh; it contains seventy chapters.
١٧ لأا بѧѧتك لѧѧجأ نѧѧم وѧѧھو ،ةنسѧѧلا لاѧѧمعأ يѧѧف ـ دѧѧجھتملا حابصѧѧم ـ ﱠ ّ لاѧѧمعلأاو ةѧѧيعد .
Misbāh al-Mutahajjid: a book of recommended acts of the Sunnah, one of the greatest books of supplications and acts of worship
١٨ ةمھملا راثلآا نم وھو ،ةماملإا يف ـ حصفملا

. Al-Mufsih: deals with the subject of Imāmate, and it is one of the important sources in this topic.
١٩ ملاسلا هيلع نيسحلا ماملإا لتقم .

Maqtal al-Imām al-Hussain Alaihis-Salām: a narrative of the epicof heroism of Imam al-Hussain’s martyrdom
٢٠ نيدلا لوصأ يف ـ داشرلإا نم داجتسملا ـ ةسمخلا .

Al-Mustajād minal Irshād: deals with the five principles of the creed
٢١ لمعلا درجم يف ـ جحلا كسانم ـ

Manāsik al-Hajj: deals with pilgrimage-related rituals
٢٢ ىوتفلاو هقفلا يف ـ ةياھنلا ـ .. ىلع يوتحي ٢٢ و لاصف ً ٢١٤ اباب ً .

 Al-Nihāya: book about fiqhand issuing fatwas, edicts and contains 22 parts and 214 chapters
٢٣ تادابعلاو ةيعدلأا يف ـ دبعتملا ةريصبو دشرتسملا ةيادھ ـ ّ .

Hidāyat al-Mustarshid wa Basīrat al-Muta`abbid: a book of supplications and acts of adoration
From this list of precious books, we have selected these few works for the reader only because they are available at libraries, providing you with their place of publication; unfortunately, the name of publisher or press house is omitted from existing editions:

Kitāb al-Ghaiba, Al-Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq.
Misbāh al-Mutahajjid, Qum, Iran.
Al-Tibyān, Al-Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq.
Al-Amāli, Al-Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq, 1384 A.H./1964 A.D. (Iran, 1313A.H./1895 A.D.).
Al-Fihrist, Al-Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq.__.