Shaykh Mufid: An Annotated Bibliography

October 10, 2022

Published by Mufid Academic Press

About this book:

Abu ʿAbd Allah Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Nuʿmān al-ʿUkbarī al-Baghdādī, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufīd and Ibn al-Muʿallim (336–413 AH/948–1022 CE) was one of the most prominent Muslim theologians and jurists in the fourth century AH (tenth centuries CE). 254 works have been attributed to him, of which only 69 works are available and 185 works are missing. His works are mainly concerned with the following six topics: theology, jurisprudence, hadith, history, Quranic studies, and principles of jurisprudence.

The present research includes two parts: first, a descriptive bibliography of primary works by Mufīd (i.e., written by Mufīd himself, dictated by him, or selected from his works); and second, a bibliography of contemporary secondary literature on Mufīd and his works.

The book begins with the methodology of this research, followed by four parts. In the Methodology part, we elaborate on the details of how the research into primary and secondary sources was carried out and cite the references for the research. We also introduce earlier bibliographies of Mufīd’s works by other researchers.

Parts 1-4

Part One includes an introduction recounting Mufīd’s life—from childhood to his education and teachers; the political circumstances of Baghdad in his time; and his teachings and writings. We also present a chronology of the most significant events in Mufīd’s life in this part. Finally, we have provided a list of classical bibliographies of Mufīd.

Part Two provides three lists: Mufīd in classical generations (ṭabaqāt); Mufīd in modern studies (1970–2020); and Mufīd in encyclopedia and dictionary entries.

Part Three is a descriptive bibliography of Mufīd’s works and is the major part of the book. There are seven general sections to this part, dealing with Mufīd’s works in theology, jurisprudence, hadith, history, Quranic studies, principles of jurisprudence, and other works. Each of these sections ends with a list of Mufīd’s missing works.

Part Four is a bibliography of secondary sources concerning Mufīd and his works. We have focused on sources written from 1970 to 2020. This part includes three general sections: a list of works in European languages (English, German, and French), where articles and dissertations on Mufīd are cited; secondary sources in Arabic; and secondary sources in Persian, which are richer than the other two. In this last part, we have listed 328 books and articles on Mufīd. For more about the primary and secondary works, see the Methodology section.

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