A Valuable Manuscript of Qawaʿid al-Ahkam: A Descriptive and Analytical Study

Abstract

This study examines a valuable manuscript copy of Qawaʿid al-Ahkam by Allama al-Hilli, a work that has attracted the attention of jurists and scholars since the time of its composition due to its significance in Shiʿi jurisprudence. This scholarly interest resulted in the production and circulation of numerous manuscript copies of the work.
The significance of the manuscript examined in this study derives from several factors, most notably its early date of transcription. The first volume was copied by Sayyid Sultan ibn al-Hasan al-Shajari al-Qummi in 822 AH, while the second volume was copied in the following year, in the vicinity of the Shrine of Imam Ali.
The manuscript's importance is further enhanced by the presence of valuable marginal annotations and glosses, including a gloss on the commentary Kanz al-Fawa'id, written by the same copyist. The manuscript is also documented through multiple records of ijazahs (scholarly licenses) and reading certificates granted by prominent scholars who studied and authenticated the text.
Over the centuries, the manuscript passed into the possession of several distinguished figures, including al-Fayd al-Kashani in Isfahan and later Ishaq ibn Muhammad ʿAlam al-Huda in Kashan. It remained in the possession and under the supervision of scholars and teachers for more than 625 years.