Introduction to Kitab al-Irshad

In his biography of ash-Shaykhu 'l-Mufīd, Dr. Howard, the translator of Kitãb al-Irshãd (The Book of Guidance), has reviewed the intellectual and social aspects of the author's life. On our part, we also have done so in the biographies of the Shī‘ah Imãmiyyah theologians in the introduction to the English translation of "Kitãbu 't-Tawhīd" of Usūl al-Kãfī. Therefore, we shall neither repeat anything here nor comment on what Dr. Howard has written – in spite of some points of disagreement that we have with him – because such differences can be seen by comparing the two discussions.

Here, however, we shall only comment on some important points related to the book, al-Irshãd, itself.

      The title of the book "al-Irshãd" has been mentioned without any genitive construction in both al-Fihrist of ash-Shaykhu 't-Tūsī and al-Fihrist of an-Najãshī as well as in most of the later sources who apparently followed the former two bibliographical works. This is how al-Irshãd became the famous title for the book.