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Al-Makasib al-muharrama (book)

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Al-Makasib al-Muharramah is a book in argumentative jurisprudence about haram revenues written by Imam Khomeini in Arabic.

One of the most important books of argumentative jurisprudence in seminaries is Kitab al-Makasib by Sheikh Murtada Ansari. This book, which includes the topics of forbidden revenues, sale, and options (khiyar), was introduced as a textbook for advanced levels of the seminary due to its innovative structure in argumentative jurisprudence.

Imam Khomeini began teaching the topics of Makasib and sale in 1958. Kitab al-Makasib al-Muharramah is the result of his teaching in the Qom Seminary, where he simultaneously wrote down the taught topics. However, with the beginning of Imam Khomeini's political struggles, the continuation of the topics on sale and options was finalized in the Najaf Seminary, and the writing of the book was completed on October 29, 1960.

The topics of Al-Makasib al-Muharramah are organized in two volumes and are written based on the sequence of topics in the forbidden revenues section of Sheikh Ansari's Makasib.

This book was first researched by Mujtaba Tehrani and published in 1962 by Mihr Publications. The Institute for Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works published it in two volumes (494 + 543 pages) in 1994–1995.

This book was also published in volumes 13 and 14 of Mawsu'at al-Imam al-Khomeini in 2013.

Status

One of the most important books of argumentative jurisprudence in Shi'a seminaries from the second half of the 13th century AH until now is Kitab al-Makasib by Sheikh Murtada Ansari (1214/1799-1800 – 1281/1864-65). This book, which comprises the topics of forbidden revenues, sale, and options, has been widely accepted and welcomed as a textbook for the advanced levels of the seminary by presenting a new structure in argumentative jurisprudence.[1] Since the composition of Kitab al-Makasib, the students of Sheikh Ansari have analyzed, interpreted, and criticized his views by writing glosses (hashiyah) on it; hence, numerous valuable books have emerged on this subject, among which one can mention the glosses of Makasib by Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Shirazi, Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Yazdi Tabataba'i, and Muhammad Husayn Isfahani.[2] In addition, some jurists have authored books on this topic through teaching it, either written by themselves or in the form of transcripts (taqrirat) written by their students.

About the Book

After Imam Khomeini finished teaching and simultaneously compiling Kitab al-Taharah in Qom in 1377/1957-58, he began teaching the topics of Makasib and sale in jurisprudence. Kitab al-Makasib al-Muharramah is the achievement of his teaching in the Qom Seminary, which he wrote down concurrently with his lectures. However, with the onset of Imam Khomeini's struggles, his arrest, and his exile to Turkey and then to Najaf al-Ashraf, the continuation of the topics on sale and options was completed in the Najaf Seminary.[3]Template:See

The sequence of topics in Al-Makasib al-Muharramah, which is organized in two volumes, follows the order of topics in the forbidden revenues section of Sheikh Ansari's Makasib. Although Imam Khomeini followed Sheikh Ansari's fivefold classification of the book and the inclusion of certain issues in the conclusion (khatimah), he did not address the famous narration of Tuhaf al-Uqul and other narrations cited by Sheikh Ansari. In the fourth category (earning through forbidden acts), out of the 26 cases raised and discussed by Sheikh Ansari, Imam Khomeini thoroughly examined the issues of making images, ghina, ghaybah, gambling, lying, helping the oppressor, and acceptance of positions from an unjust ruler, while omitting the remaining topics.

In the first volume, forbidden earning is defined and its types are explained. The topics related to this section are presented in five parts: 1. Earning through ritual impurities; 2. Earning through things with which transaction is possible only in a forbidden manner. In this part, objects are divided into several types: the first type consists of objects whose benefit can only be utilized in forbidden acts, such as idols, gambling tools, and instruments of entertainment.[4] The second type includes objects that can have both halal and forbidden uses, such as a singing slave-girl (jariyatun mughanniyah). The third type comprises cases where there is a possibility of forbidden use, such as selling weapons to the enemies of Islam;[5] 3. Earning through things that, due to their insignificance or baseness, do not possess a noteworthy rational benefit, such as harmful insects;[6] 4. Earning through objects that possess an intrinsic prohibition. In this category, issues such as the prohibition of making images, the prohibition of ghina—especially with reference to the treatise *Rawdat al-Ghina'* by Muhammad Rida Isfahani (1247/1831-32 – 1322/1904-5)—and the prohibition of ghaybah are discussed.[7] In the discussion on ghaybah, there are four supplementary points (tanbihat) addressing the definition of ghaybah, its exceptions, the prohibition of listening to ghaybah, and the expiation for it. The second volume continues the fourth part regarding forbidden earnings, while the fifth part addresses forbidden revenues through gambling, lying, helping the oppressor, accepting governmental posts, and unjust governance; 5. Earning through things whose performance is obligatory upon a person.[8] In the "Conclusion", two issues are examined: the gifts and rewards of an unjust ruler and his officials, and the ruling on taxes and dues levied by an unjust ruler.[9]

Some topics in the book, such as ghina, ghaybah, lying, gambling, and governance of an unjust ruler, are presented in such a manner that they serve as independent treatises. The method of analysis, argumentation, review and critique of opinions, and comparison and contrast combined with scientific fairness are overall characteristics of the book that open new horizons for the audience, to the extent that it is considered one of the usable texts for professors in advanced lectures (*dars al-kharij*) of jurisprudence.[10] Approaching the topics from both individual and social angles is another merit of this work;[11] for instance, on the issue of selling weapons to infidels, the book goes beyond the boundaries of war and peace titles to consider the requirements of time and the interests of Muslims. Imam Khomeini views this issue as a political matter subject to changing contemporary conditions, which might even require weapons to be given to infidels free of charge in certain circumstances.[12] The principles and rules applied in the book are based on Sunnah, the practice of the rational, and the fatwas of jurists, among which the author pays special attention to the practice of the rational.[13]

Some other features and distinctions of this book include: 1. Numerous biographical evaluation (rijal) discussions are included in the book,[14] whereas Sheikh Ansari's *Makasib* does not contain such discussions; 2. Imam Khomeini paid full attention to textual variations in narrations, especially those that influence differences in fatwa;[15] 3. Regarding the desert of punishment for infidels and non-Shi'as, he believed that, firstly, one must not confuse the desert of punishment with its actual occurrence; secondly, the vast majority of them are ignorant out of incapacity (jahil qasir) rather than negligent ignorance (jahil muqassir);[16] 4. Significant attention is paid to political issues and the separation of narrations that state political rulings;[17] 5. He avoided lengthening clear and unnecessary discussions.[18]

Imam Khomeini first presented the material orally in his jurisprudential lectures and wrote down the content after each session throughout the teaching period.[19] The writing of the book was completed on Jumada al-Ula 8, 1380/October 29, 1960.[20]

In addition to Imam Khomeini's own writing, numerous transcripts (taqrirat) of these lectures exist, authored by Husayn Taqawi Eshtehardi, Muhammad Yazdi, Muhammad Ali Gerami, Muhammad Mu'min, and others. This book was first researched by Mujtaba Tehrani, who extracted the sources, references, narrations, and quoted opinions. The mentioned work was published in 1962 by Mihr Publications. Additionally, the Isma'iliyan Publishing Institute published this work in the same year.

The Institute for Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works researched this work based on the handwritten manuscript of Imam Khomeini and compared it with the printed edition of the Mihr press. By adding annotations and several technical indexes, they published it in 1994–1995 in two volumes (494 + 543 pages) in royal octavo (waziri) format. Sayyid Muhammad Hashemi wrote an introduction to the book detailing the scholarly biography of Imam Khomeini, introducing some of his works, and explaining Imam Khomeini's style of jurisprudential discussions with examples.[21] In this edition, the publisher expanded the topic headings using the text of the book and extracted sources and various indexes; they also evaluated the chains of transmission (asnad) of narrations that were considered weak by the author. The book, with new headings and indexes, is arranged in five parts and a conclusion, and a few offset pages of the author's original manuscript—the original copy of which is preserved at the institute—are included. This book, incorporating the latest research, was published in 2013 in volumes 13 and 14 of Mawsu'at al-Imam al-Khomeini.

Notes

  1. ↑ ʿĀbedī, Moʿarrefī-hā-ye Ejmālī, 56.
  2. ↑ ʿĀbedī, Moʿarrefī-hā-ye Ejmālī, 56.
  3. ↑ Maqāleh Tadrīs Emām Khomeynī.
  4. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/161-173.
  5. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/174-234.
  6. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/237-248.
  7. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/251-484.
  8. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 2/7-331.
  9. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 2/335-432.
  10. ↑ Matīn, Majalleh, Āšnāʾī bā Daftar-e Moʾasseseh-ye Tanẓīm wa Našr-e Āṯār-e Emām Khomeynī dar Qom, 300.
  11. ↑ Aḥmadī Faqīh, Al-Imām al-Khomeynī, Al-Āṯār wa al-Muʾallafāt, 33.
  12. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Ṣaḥīfeh, 1/227.
  13. ↑ Gerāmī, Moṣāḥebeh.
  14. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/68 wa 402.
  15. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/76, 99 wa 393.
  16. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/199-200.
  17. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/425.
  18. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 1/380.
  19. ↑ Gerāmī, Moṣāḥebeh.
  20. ↑ Emām Khomeynī, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, 2/432.
  21. ↑ Hāšemī, Moqaddameh-ye Ketāb al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah Taʾlīf-e Emām Khomeynī, 1/5-26.

References

  • Aḥmadī Faqīh, Moḥammad Ḥasan, Al-Imām al-Khomeynī, Al-Āṯār wa al-Muʾallafāt, Beirut, Dār al-Rawḍah, n.d.
  • Emām Khomeynī, Sayyid Rūḥollāh, Al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah, Tehran, Moʾasseseh-ye Tanẓīm wa Našr-e Āṯār-e Emām Khomeynī, second edition, 1385 Sh.
  • ʿĀbedī, Aḥmad, Moʿarrefī-hā-ye Ejmālī, Majalleh-ye Āyeneh-ye Pažūheš, No. 51, 1377 Sh.
  • Gerāmī, Moḥammad ʿAlī, Moṣāḥebeh, preserved in Aršīw-e Wāḥed-e Ḵāṭerāt-e Moʾasseseh-ye Tanẓīm wa Našr-e Āṯār-e Emām Khomeynī, 28/3/1380 Sh.
  • Matīn, Majalleh, Āšnāʾī bā Daftar-e Moʾasseseh-ye Tanẓīm wa Našr-e Āṯār-e Emām Khomeynī dar Qom, No. 2, 1378 Sh.
  • Hāšemī, Sayyid Moḥammad, Moqaddameh-ye Ketāb al-Makāsib al-Moḥarramah Taʾlīf-e Emām Khomeynī, Tehran, Moʾasseseh-ye Tanẓīm..., second edition, 1385 Sh.
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