Knowing the Sources and Recognizing the Content of Shalmaghāni's Book of " Al-Aousyā"

The “Book of Al-Aousyā” is one of the most important writings of Shalmaghāni (d. 322 AH), the main subject of which is the spiritual leadership and the continuation of the tradition of executorship from the Prophets to the trustees. The attention of Shiite authors toward this book during history, in spite of the deviation that the author was involved with after a period of scientific service, shows the importance of this book. Although till now some researches have been done with regard to this book, the sources used by Shalmaghāni in writing this book have not been investigated yet. Thus, this question remains what sources Shalmaghāni has used in writing the book. Extracting the traditions of the book of “Al-Aousyā” from the available tradition sources and the study and analysis of its documents can determine its sources to some extent. In the current research, which is conducted on the 23 remained traditions of the book of “Al-Aousyā”, it has become clear that he has used sources like Al-Ddalāyel of Abdollah ibn Jafar Homeirie (7 traditions with the most frequency), Al-Mahāsen of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khāled Barghie (3 traditions), some of the writings of Sa’d ibn Abdollah Ash’arie (2 traditions), and probably some works like: Masāel Al-Reza, Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Ali ibn Ziād Al-Washā (1 tradition), Al-Fazāel, Ya Al-Nawāder, Jaber ibn Jo’fie (1 tradition), Al-Mamdouheen wa Al-Mazmoumeen, Muhammad ibn Abdollah ibn Mehrān (1 tradition), wa Al-Wahedah, Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Jomhour (1 tradition).