It is not true that the Shíaʾh Muhammadans reject the Traditions of Muhammad, although the Sunnís arrogate to themselves the title of traditionists. They do not acknowledge the Siháh-i-Sita, or six correct books of the Sunnís and Wahhábís, but receive the five collections of Traditions, entitled: 1. Káfi; 2. Man-lá-yastabzirah-al-Faqíh; 3. Tahzíb; 4. Istibsár; 5. Nahaj-ul-Balághat.
The Shíaʾh school of law is called the Imámía,[1] and it is earlier than that of the Sunnís; for Abu Hanífa, the father of the Sunní code of law, received his first instructions in jurisprudence from Imám Jáfir Sádiq, the sixth Imám of the Shíaʾhs; but this learned doctor afterwards separated from his teacher, and established a school of his own.
The differences between the Shíaʾhs and Sunnís are very numerous, but we will enumerate a few of them:—
1. The discussion as to the office of Imám, already alluded to.
2. The Shíaʾhs have a profound veneration
- ↑ A Digest of the Imámía code has been published by Mr. N. B. E. Baillie. London, 1869.
