Dispersion and Consolidation of Shiite Scholars As Reflected in Ijāzāt al-Ḥadīth From the Age of al Shaykh al-Ṭusi to Al Shaykh Al-Bahai

Al-Shaykh al-Bahāʼī (d. 1031 AH) is the inheritor of the ups and downs of the īmāmiyyah theological, legal and Hadīth thoughts occurring in a few centuries prior to his time starting from the fourth century in general and eighth century in particular. He was living in an era when the dispute between the Akhbārīs and Usūlīs had reached a peak and the excessive bipartisan between these two groups and the penetration of the Sunni's approaches toward Hadīth into Shiite circles had caused the dispersion of the views regarding Hadīth and led to the creation of new sources of Islamic traditions. Al-Shaykh al-Bahāī like his predecessor, Al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (d. 460 AH) who had also lived in a period when a wide variety of Hadīth sources and approaches existed, understanding the precise conditions of Shiite circles, attempted to consolidate the dispersed opinions among Shiite scholars. In this study, after reviewing the historical process of generation of such disputes on the one hand and Al Shaykh al-Bahāī's measures on the other hand, I will attempt to display his specific method of consolidation. As it will be indicated to achieve such unification, he resorted to the common way of Hadīth permissions (Ījāzāt al-Ḥadīth). Also in this study, I will discuss the function of these permissions in creating this consolidation and will notify the extent to which his attempts have been successful.