Tahdhīb al-AḥkāmThe Refinement of Laws

Cover of Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām

Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām

The Refinement of Laws

Shaykh Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī

Translated by
Haydar Ali Shaykh ibn Muhammad
Compiled 410–448 AH
Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, compiled by Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (d. 460 AH), is the third of the Four Main Shīʿī Ḥadīth collections. Conceived as a Ḥadīth-based commentary on al-Muqniʿa, the legal work of his teacher Shaykh al-Mufīd, it concentrates on al-furūʿ—the practical rulings of Islamic law—rather than questions of doctrine. Beginning with ritual purity, it proceeds through prayer, alms, fasting, pilgrimage, commerce, marriage, divorce, inheritance, legal penalties, and related subjects; modern editions are generally printed in ten volumes. Its importance lies not only in the breadth of the reports it preserves, but also in al-Ṭūsī’s method: he places narrations within juristic discussions, examines their evidence, and seeks to reconcile reports that appear to conflict. Tahdhīb is therefore both a major repository of Imāmī Ḥadīth and a foundational work in the development of Shīʿī jurisprudence.

Chapter 0

1 commentary
Prelude

Chapter 1

22 commentaries, 61 hadiths
Chapter on Causes Requiring Purification

Chapter 2

1 commentary
Chapter on Purification From Impurities

Chapter 3

47 commentaries, 90 hadiths
Chapter on Etiquettes of Causes Requiring Purification

Chapter 4

55 commentaries, 117 hadiths
Chapter on the Description of Ablution (Wudu)

Chapter 5

19 commentaries, 41 hadiths
Chapter on Obligatory and Recommended Ritual Washing

Chapter 6

46 commentaries, 119 hadiths
Chapter on Rules of Janabah and Methods of Purification

Chapter 7

34 commentaries, 98 hadiths
Chapter on the Rules of Menstruation, Istihadah, and Nifas, and Purification From Them

Chapter 8

30 commentaries, 71 hadiths
Chapter on Tayammum and Its Rules

Chapter 9

7 commentaries, 20 hadiths
Chapter on Description of Tayammum, Its Rules for Those in a State of Impurity, and What They Should Observe About Istibra and Istizhar

Chapter 10

22 commentaries, 52 hadiths
Chapter on Water and Its Rules, and What is Permissible and Impermissible for Purification

Chapter 11

20 commentaries, 44 hadiths
Chapter on Purifying Water From Impurities

Chapter 12

43 commentaries, 119 hadiths
Chapter on Purifying Clothes and Other Items From Impurities

Chapter 13

50 commentaries, 176 hadiths
Chapter on Guiding the Dying, Positioning Them at Death, Procedures for Their Final Moments, Washing Them, and Placing Them in Shrouds

Chapter 14

3 commentaries, 29 hadiths
Chapter on Acts That Necessitate Purification

Chapter 15

33 hadiths
Chapter on Etiquettes of Acts That Require Purification

Chapter 16

6 commentaries, 37 hadiths
Chapter on the Description of Ablution and Its Obligations

Chapter 17

4 commentaries, 35 hadiths
Chapter on Ritual Washings (Ghusl) and the Method of Performing Ghusl for Janabah (major impurity)

Chapter 18

1 commentary, 35 hadiths
Chapter on Entering the Bathhouse, Its Etiquettes, and Recommended Practices

Chapter 19

10 commentaries, 85 hadiths
Chapter on Menstruation, Istihada (abnormal bleeding), and Nifas (postpartum bleeding)

Chapter 20

4 commentaries, 19 hadiths
Chapter on Tayammum (dry ablution) and Its Rules

Chapter 21

16 commentaries, 46 hadiths
Chapter on Water and Its Rules

Chapter 22

5 commentaries, 28 hadiths
Chapter on Purification of the Body and Clothes From Impurities

Chapter 23

18 commentaries, 186 hadiths
Chapter on Instructing the Dying (Talqin al-Muhtadarin)