Juristic Treatises

Despite their brevity, these treatises (rasa'il) reveal the profundity of al-Mufid's juristic wisdom. Although some of them, like al-Mash `ala al-rijlayn and Dhaba'ih ahl al-kirab are based on an argumentation of polemical and quasi-rational character, but some others, such as al-Mihr Jawabat ahl al-Mawsil fi al-ru'yah wa al-`adad and al-Masa'il al-Saghaniyyah truly possess a firm and structured juristic style. In the second risalah, which is devoted to the refutation of the belief, ascribed to al-Saduq and some other early jurists, concerning the month of Ramadan always consisting of thirty days, al-Shaykh al-Mufid, makes recourse to Qur'anic verses, advances etymological reasons, calls indubitable juristic rules as witness, offers a critical examination of the traditions that are advanced as evidence by the adversaries, scrutinizes the tradition's chain of transmission, mentions the biographical details concerning the narrators, as well as many points that help in understanding the traditions and making an inference from them, while utilizing them in the best and the most dexterous manner. One of the interesting things he does in this treatise is his treatment of a tradition advanced by the opposite side. After citing it, he shows the weakness of its isnad and, while advancing a firm argument, declares its content to be unreasonable, far from the wisdom of the Imam's statements, and the product of an ignorant fabricator. He mentions reasons that suggest the probability of discontinuity (irsal) in the chain of its narration, which show his profound knowledge and mastery of hadith (see p. 23 ff., the section relating to the riwayah of Ya'qub ibn Shu'ayb from al-'Imam al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him).

-Masa'il al-Saghaniyyah, written as a rejoinder to the objections of an Hanafi jurist of Saghan concerning some ten issues of fiqh, is another example of the powers of juristic reasoning and the vast and profound learning of the venerable Shaykh. Although this treatise is of a theological character-as it is intended to meet the allegations of a non-Shi'i opponent in a polemical encounter and responds by accusing him of engaging in slander and his imam of instituting bid'ah-but since the issues posed generally relate to law, in it al-Mufid's argumentative powers, his scientific spirit and ijtihad are clearly evident to any specialist in the field.

  treatise, along with al-`Adad wa al-ru'yah, is well indicative of al-Shaykh al-Mufid's originality and is another evidence of the fact that the juristic method observable in the approach of his disciples, as well as their pupils, is derived in its entirety from the method devised by him.