| Author | Unknown (falsely attributed to Sulaym ibn Qays) |
|---|---|
| Language | Arabic |
| Subject | Hadith |
| Genre | Hadith collection |
Publication date | partly 8th century, with many later additions |
The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays (Arabic: كِتَاب سُلَيْم بن قَيْس, romanized: Kitāb Sulaym ibn Qays) is the oldest known Shia hadith collection. It was attributed to Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilali (died 678), who purportedly entrusted it to Aban ibn Abi Ayyash.[1]
Scholars consider the attribution of this work to Sulaym ibn Qays, who himself may have been a legendary figure, to be false.[2] The earliest known reference to the book was in the Kitāb al-Ghayba by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Nu'mani (tenth century).[3][better source needed]
The precise dating of the work is not clear. Hossein Modarressi dates the original core of this work to the final years of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik's reign (r. 723–743), which would make it one of the oldest Islamic books that are still extant.[4] However, it contains many later additions and alterations of unknown date, which may render it impossible to reconstruct the original text.[5] Two individual passages which have been the subject of a case study have been dated to c. 762-780 and to the late 8th/early 9th century, respectively.[6]
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- ^ Modaressi 2003, p. 85.
- ^ According to Djebli 1960–2007, "the very existence of this man, and of his work, should be regarded with caution". Modaressi 2003, pp. 82–83 calls it "obvious that such a person never existed and that the name is only a pen name". Other scholars, such as Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, have been more cautious in rejecting Sulaym ibn Qays' historicity, but do agree that the attribution of the work to him is false (see Gleave 2015, pp. 85–86).
- ^ Khetia (2013, p. 61–62).
- ^ Modaressi 2003, p. 83.
- ^ Gleave 2015, p. 86, citing Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi.
- ^ Gleave 2015, pp. 86, 102.