Bahar ul Anwar volume 12
Bihār al-Anwār (Arabic: بحار الأنوار,
meaning "Seas of Lights") is a comprehensive collection of traditions
(ahadith) compiled by the Shi'i scholar Mulla Muhammad Baqir, known as
'Allama Majlisi (d. 1110/1698). It is a hadith collection, the second
source of inspiration in Shia Islam.
Probably completed between 1106 AH (1694 AD) and 1110 AH (1698 AD), it is a compendium of ahadith (Hadith), historical subjects and commentaries on many Qur'anic verses.
Bihar al-Anwar has 110 volumes. Majlisi compiled it to gather all
the ahadith he could access. His primary goal was to preserve the
available knowledge for future generations. Majlisi has acknowledged
this issue in the preface of Bihar al-Anwar, emphasizing that the
traditions collected where not included without being subjected to
scrutiny, a task in itself that was a major undertaking. Majlisi says,
"Then I chose to examine the traditions of the infallible, righteous
Imams, started exploring them and investigated them as was their right
and I acquired its skill as was its due.". Despite Majlisi
acknowledgement, criticism has remained about his approach with some
critics suggesting that he has gathered both "pearls" and "pebbles".
The full name of the book Bihar al-Anwar in itself suggests that
Majlisi did not collect anything he had access to in this book. The full
name of the book is "Oceans of Light an encyclopedia for Pearls of
traditions of the Pure Aimmah" بحار الأنوار الجامعة لدرر أخبار الأءمة
الأطهار
The collection is the most comprehensive (as a single collection) among all Islamic ahadith collections. The author collected narrations related from Muhammad, including statements by Fatimah (the daughter of Muhammad) and the Shi'i Imams (Twelver), using both Shi'i Shia Islam and Sunni Sunni Islam sources. The collection also includes his commentary on these narrations.
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