Grand Ayatollah Shirazi: Shias Recognize Only Three “Absolutely Authentic” Books

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi: Shias Recognize Only Three “Absolutely Authentic” Books
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During his daily scholarly session on Saturday, the 25th of Rabi’ al-Thani, 1447 A.H., Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Hussaini al-Shirazi addressed questions regarding the criteria for judging the authenticity of books within Shia Islam.
Grand Ayatollah Shirazi stated that, according to the Shia view, there are only three books considered to be absolutely authentic, about which there is no doubt regarding their veracity. These three books are: The Holy Quran; Nahj al-Balagha (Sermons, Letters, and Sayings of Imam Ali, peace be upon him); and Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya (A Collection of Supplications by Imam Zayn al-Abidin, peace be upon him)
His Eminence emphasized that all other books, including major collections of hadith (narrations), require investigation and research. He stressed that to assess the authenticity of any book, particularly collections of narrations, every single riwayah (narration) must be individually scrutinized. This process involves examining its text, chain of narration (sanad), and the presence of any contradictions or scholarly rejection (i’rad).