Book Criticism: A Critical Approach to Book Codicology; The Lantern of the Path Attributed to Imam Sadiq

The Lantern of the Path is a book with moral and mystical contents attributed to Imam Ja’far Al-Sadiq (Upon Him Prayer and Peace), which was considered by mystics and Sufis at different periods in history on which some Sufis wrote commentaries. The writing style of the book regarding the content and the arrangement of chapters is remarkably similar to Sufis’ works. Whether or not this book has been correctly attributed to Imam Sadiq (UHPP) has always been a challenge among scholars. An analysis of the arguments made and discussions generated by both opponents and proponents show that such reasons, particularly given for important issues, are based on some parts of this book, which are by no means from the original parts of the book, but they were added to it later; or the existed parts which were neglected. This important issue makes it worthwhile to do codicology studies on the manuscripts of this book. On the other hand, reviewing manuscripts gives valuable insights into the history of the book’s emerging. The manuscripts of the book have lots of pluralities which are rarely found in other works. The most striking differences among these versions include difference in the introduction, number of chapters, content of the book, and in the final part of the book which should be investigated.