Chapter 1

Abstract

Tanbih al-Khawatir wa Nuzhat al-Nawazir, better known as  Majmu'a(Collection) of Warram, is a celebrated work on  moral  and  ethical  doctrines  of  the  Shi‘a  school  of  thought. Written  by  a  renowned and  reliable scholar,  this book  enjoys  a prominent  position  among  the  books  on  ethics  and  etiquette  of pious  people.  In  addition  to  the  biography  of  the  author  and various names of the book, this paper presents a general outlook of  its  authenticity  and  content,  and  offers  citations  of  its narrations in other hadith collections.

Warram  ibn  Abi  Firas’s  Tanbih  al-Khawatir  wa  Nuzhat  al-Nawazir, better  known  as  Majmu‘at  Waram (The  Collection  of  Warram)  is  a precious collection of narrations on the moral practices and etiquettes of God-wary and pious believers.

Chapter 2

Biography of the Author

Warram ibn Abi Firas is counted among the scholars of the 6thand 7thcenturies  A.H.  He  was  born  in  Hilla,  the  centre  of  Shi‘a  teachings, particularly in jurisprudence. No information currently exists regarding the  date  of  his  birth.  Most  researchers  believe  that  he  belonged  to  an Arab  tribe  among  the  descendants  of  Malik  al-Ashtar,  the  great companion  of  Imam  Ali.1 According  to  this  view,  his  lineage  is  as follows: Abu al-Husayn Warram ibn Abi Firas ibn Hamdan ibn 'Isa ibn Abi  al-Najm  ibn  Warram  ibn  Hamdan  ibn  Khuldan  ibn  Ibrahim  ibn Malik ibn Harith al-Ashtar al-Nakha'i. Some researchers such Mustafa Jawad,  however,  hold  that  his  ancestors  were  among  the  Kurdish mawali (non-Arab  Muslims)  of  Bani  Ashtar  who  took  part  in the uprising of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi in 66 AH.2He is the maternal ancestor of  Sayyid  Radi  al-Din  ibn  Tawus3,  the  famous  Shi‘i  scholar  and  the author of  Al-Luhuf. Some authors mistakenly assumed that Warram is the paternal ancestor of Sayyid ibn Tawus4. This assumption, however, is incorrect since the paternal ancestors of Sayyid ibn Tawus have been numerated  in  various  books  and  there  is  no  mention  of  Warram amongst them. Moreover, his father was among the great jurists of his time,  and  his  brother,  Mujir  al-Din  Ja'far  ibn  Abi  Firas,  was  a  well known scholar.5

Warram's spouse is a descendant of Shaykh Tusi6. It is for this reason that Sayyid ibn Tawus occasionally wrote "my grandfather Warram ibn Abi Firas" and sometimes "my grandfather Shaykh Tusi" in his books – although in realty, it was his great ancestor. His  scholarly and spiritual status  is  apparent  in  his  valuable  works;  furthermore,  Sayyid  ibn Tawus’s testimony is the best evidence - he says inhis  Falah al-Sa'il, "My grandfather is among those on whose deeds one can rely." Shaykh Muntajab al-Din also has called him a pious scholarand a great jurist. He said, "I saw him in Hilla and found him just as [good as] I had heard of." Also, Sayyid ibn Tawus explicitly declares that his grandfather had a great influence in his scholarly life. Furthermore, he speaks about his

1See. Muntajab al-Din Razi, Al-Fihrist, pp. 128-9; Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Hurr al-'Amili, 'Amal al-'Amil, sec. 2, p. 338; Muhsin 'Amin, 'A'yan al-Shi'a, vol. 4 p. 621.

2Mustafa Jawad, Jawan al-Qabilat Al-Kurdiyya al-Mansiyya, in Majaala al-'Ilmiyya al-'Iraqiyya, vol. 4 num. 1 pp.84-121

3589-664 AH

4As said in the words of Qadi Nur Allah Shushtari

5Died in 626 AH in Baghdad and buried in the holy shrine of Imam Ali (a).

6385-460 AH

considerable  love  for  the  progeny  of  the  Holy  Prophet.1  In  praising him, an anonymous Arab poet wrote:

Warram is an ocean which has no parallel. There areseven  seas  in  each  ocean  of  him.2 Time  had  sworn  to bring  a  like  of  him.  O  time!  You  did  not  fulfill  your pledge.  Thus  pay  the  atonement  (of  the  breach  of promise).

It has been proven that several generations of the  family of Abi Firas were among the military high officials and generals. Warram is said to have  been  among  the  commanders  for  some  time.  However,  he abandoned all his worldly engagements and chose the path of spiritual wayfaring  as  his  way  of  life  and  became  an  example  of  piety  and spirituality.3Little is known about his teachers and students. Among his teachers, however, one may refer to Sayyid Abu al-Hasan al-'Arifi al-'Alawi and Sadid al-Din Mahmud al-Himmasi.4Muhammad ibn Ja'far, known as Ibn Mashhadi, has been cited as one of his students.

Beside Tanbih al-Khawatir wa Nuzhat al-Nawazir, which is among the sources  of  Bihar  al-Anwar, he  has  authored  another  book  namely Mas'alatun  fi  al-Muwasa'a  wa  al-Mudayaqa.5 Regarding  this  book, Shaykh Aqa Buzurg Tihrani states: "According to Shahid in his Ghayat al-Murad fi Sharh Nukat al-Irshad,this is a very useful and informative book…"6His fame, however, is mostly due to his Majmu'a Warram.

1See. Sayyid ibn Tawus. Al-'Aman min Akhtar al-Asfar wa al-Azman.

2i.e. his book

3Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Lisan ak-Mizan, vol. 6 p. 218; Hasan Amin, Mustadrakat 'Ayan alShi'a, vol. 1 p. 249.

4Muntajab al-Din Razi, ibid., p. 129.

5Aqa Buzurg –i- Tihrani, Al-Dhari'a, vol. 20 p. 395.

6Ibid.

Shaykh Warram ibn Abi Firas passed away in Muharramin 605 AH in Hilla  and  was  buried  there.1 In  his  Al-Kamil,  Ibn  Athir,  the  famous historian, describing the events of the year 605 AH, writes: "On the 2nd day of Muharram of this year, Abu al-Husayn Warram  ibn Abi Firas, the pious scholar, passed away in Sayfiyya located  in the city of Hilla. He was a righteous person."

Chapter 3

Various names of the Book

The  original  name  of  the  book  is Tanbih  al-Khawatir  wa  Nuzhat  alNawazir.  It  is,  however,  commonly  known  as  Majmu'a  Warram.

Different  scholars,  however,  when  referring  to  this book,  have  used other names as well such as: Tanbih al-Khatir wa Nuzhat al-Nazirby 'Allam Majlisi in his Bihar al-'Anwar, vol. 1 pp. 10, 22, 106;

Nuzhat al-Nazir wa Tanbih al-Khatir  by Agha Bozorge Tehrani in his Al-Dhari'a, vol. 12 p. 66;

Tanbih al-Khawatir by Muhaddith Nuri in Mustadark al-Wasa'il, vol. 1 p. 109 and Muhsin Amin in his 'A'yan al-Shi'a, vol. 3 p. 448;

Tanbih  al-Khatir, by  'Allam  Majlisi  in  his  Bihar  al-'Anwar,  vol.  1  p. 29; vol. 85 p. 4 ;

Nuzhat al-Nazirby Agha Bozorge Tehrani in his Al-Dhari'a, vol. 20 p. 109;

Tanbih  al-Khawatir  wa  Nuzhat  al-Nazir by  Hasan  Amin  in  his Mustadrakat 'Ayan al-Shi'a, vol. 1 p. 250.

1Hasan 'Amin, ibid.

Also in some sources, the title is followed by

On Encouragement, Discouragement, and Wisdom) indicating that the main theme of the book is ethical.

Chapter 4

The definition of ‘majmu'a’ (collection) as a Scholarly Term

According  to  Shaykh  Agha  Bozorge  Tehrani  in  his  Al-Dhari'a, ‘majmu'a’ is a general title for a kind of writing containing information the author has gathered during his lifetime. Some other names for such writings are  kashkul(anthology),  jung(miscellany), and  khirqa.1Such books  are  not  exclusively  on  religious  or  ethical  matters;  rather, different  collections  have  been  authored  on  different  fields  such  as experimental  sciences,  social  sciences,  mathematics,  humanities,  and philosophy. Furthermore, sometimes collections weredone exclusively containing  narrations  with  the  titles  of  'Amali (literally  meaning dictations)  or  Arba'iniyyat  (a  general  titles  for  collections  of  forty hadiths).

In  his  Al-Dhari'a,  Agha  Bozorg  cites  313  works  under  the  title  of Majmu'aand their authors.

Majmu'a Warramis one of these books, on which he writes: Majmu'a Warram, the original name of which is Nuzhat al-Nazir is  written  by  Shaykh  Sa'id  Abu  al-Husayn Warram  ibn  Abi  Firas  ibn  Warram  ibn  Hamdan,  a descendant  of  Malik  al-Ashtar  al-Nakha'i,  who  passed away in 605 AH. This book was published in 1300 AH in Tehran for the first time and has been republished 3 times thereafter.2

1See. Al-Dhari'a, vol. 20 p. 57.

2 Ibid.

Regarding  this  book,  Allama  Majlisi  says,  "Tanbih  al-Khatir  wa Nuzhat  al-Nazir (another  title  used  for  the  book)  has  been  written by Shaykh  Warram…The  chain  of  transmission  of  this  book  has  been mentioned in Ijazat."1

Chapter 5

A General Outlook of the Book

Majmu'a Warramhas two sections published in one volume. The first section is divided into several chapters with about70 titles. The content of the first section is divided into six categories:

1-  Wisdoms and admonitions;

2-  Etiquette of social relations;

3-  Excellent ethics and virtues and ways to obtain them;

4-  Ill manners and the ways to treat them;

5-  Discussions  on  love  and  hatred  for  God  and  inward  accounting (muhasabat al-nafs);

6-  Far-fetched  hopes  and  discussions  on  death,  the  Purgatory (Barzakh) and Resurrection. The second section contains various subjects such as:

1-  The wisdoms and admonitions of the Holy Prophet of Islam and his progeny as well as the previous Prophets;

2-  The sermons of the Holy Prophet of Islam and his progeny and their supplications;

3-  Aphorisms;

1Bihar al-'Anwar, vol. 10 p. 10.

4-  The qualities of a pious believer;

5-  Debates of great companions of Imams with their opponenets like the one between Hujr ibn 'Udayy and Mu'awiya;

6-  Some thoughtful sayings of great companions of the Imams such as Abu Dharr, Miqdad, and Salman, and those of great scholars such as Shaykh Mufid and Fudayl ibn 'Ayyad.

The  book  serves  more  as  an  anthology  containing  instructive narrations,  stories,  poems,  and  aphorisms  rather  than  containing  a particular  arrangement  in  categorizing  the  subjects.  Despite  the existence of definite titles, especially in the first section, the material in each chapter can go off topic. According to some researchers, the first section  of  the  book  was  considerably  influenced  by  Ghazali’s  'Ihya' 'Ulum al-Dinso much so that one may claim that Majmu'a Warramis a part of Ghazali’s book. Warram in many cases quoted the writings of Ghazali  either  precisely  or  with  slight  changes,  although  he  has  not referred to the name of Ghazali.

Mirza  'Abd  Allah  'Afandi  Isfahani  believes  that  Tanbih  al-Khawatircontains a detailed and abridged version.1What may confirm this claim is that Sayyid ibn Tawus in his  Falah al-Sa'iland  Al-Yaqinhas quoted some sayings from this book. These quotations, however, are not found in the printed version of the work.

What distinguishes this book is that both moral andimmoral qualities have been mentioned jointly; in other words, how toobtain both a good quality  and  purge  an  immoral  one.  For  example,  after  describing haughtiness,  the  author  suggests  ways  to  remove  it  and  afterwards explains humbleness and its intrinsic worth.

1Riyad al-'Ulama', vol. 5 p. 286.

Chapter 6

The Authenticity of the Book

Scholars’ views differ on the authenticity of The Collection of Warram. An objection repeatedly mentioned in the books on the biographies of the  narrators  (tarajim)  and  has  been  repeated  by  prominent  scholars such  as  the  author  of  Amal  al-Amil is  that  Warram  has  mixed   both sound and weak traditions in this collection. Therefore, his book is not a trustworthy one.

Others have rejected the above-mentioned criticism in several ways:

-  Most  of  the  narrations  of  this  book  as  well  as  the  chains  of transmitters of the narrators have been mentioned in other collections of hadith; -  Warram has omitted the chain of transmitters or hasmentioned one or two of the narrators only for brevity; for this reason there are several mursal1and maqtu'2traditions in this work.

-  There  are  many  sayings  from  well-known  scholars  other  than  the Infallibles. These sayings function only as a confirmation.

-  The  author  used  authentic  collections  of  hadith  from  both  Shi'i  and Sunni  sources  such  as  Al-Kafi,  Man  la  Yahduruhu  al-Faqih,  AlMahasin, Zuhd al-Nabi, Gharib al-Hadith, and'A'lam al-Nubuwwa.

-  According to Shaykh Agha Bozorge Tehrani, some Sunni narrations and great scholars have been added to the book mainly for Sunnis to acknowledge it.

Chapter 7

The Narrations of this Book in other Hadith Collections

1A tradition which does not include the names of the transmitters of a given narration from an Infallible

2A tradition with an interrupted chain of narrators

Many  hadith  collections  composed  after  the  time  of  Warram  include some of the narrations of Tanbih al-Khawatirin their works, such as:

-  Shaykh  Hurr  al-'Amili1 in  his  Wasa'il  al-Shi'a has  narrated  20 traditions from it in various volumes.2

-  'Allama Majlisi3in his Bihar al-'Anwarhas made mention of Warram and his book in several cases.4-  Muhaddith  Nuri5 in  his  Mustadrak  al-Wasa'il has  quoted  about  25 traditions from it.6

-  Other books that cite Warram along with or without  the name of his book  are:  Irshad  al-Qulub and  'A'lam  al-Din by  Hasan  abn  Abi  alHasan al-Daylami,7Al-'Aman, Faraj al-Mahmum, Falah al-Sa'il, AlMujtana, Al-Yaqinand Sa'd al-Su'udall by Sayyid ibn Tawus, and Al Fihristby Shaykh Muntajab al-Din.8

Interestingly,  several  exegeses  of  the  Holy  Qur’an  also  cite  the narrations of Majmu'a Warram. Among these works are:

-  Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an  by Sayyid Hashim Bahrani cites more than 10 narrations from Warram’s collections in various volumes.9

-  Tafsir al-Muhit al-'A'zam wa al-Bahr al-Khedamby Sayyid Haydar 'Amuli cites 3 traditions from the collections, allin its 4thvolume.1

11033-1104 AH

2e.g. vol.2 p. 445; vol.3 p. 200; vol. 5 pp. 35, 214, 297; vol. 6 p. 184; vol. 7 pp. 153, 178, 509, etc.

31037-1110 AH

4e.g. vol. 40 p. 23; vol. 106 pp. 22, 104 etc.

51254-1320 AH

6Vol. 1 p. 109; vol. 2 pp. 96, 109, 477; vol. 3 pp.244, 257, 382, 467; vol. 5 pp. 222, 263; vol. 6 pp. 335, 459, 506, etc.

7d. 841 AH

8504-after 600 AH

9Vol. 1 pp. 10, 72, 691; vol. 5 pp. 113, 261, 456, 750. etc.

-  Tafsir Sitt Suwarby Habib Allah Sharif Kashani cites four narrations from Majmu'a Warram.2

-  Al-Tafsir  al-Mu'in  li  al-Wa'izin  wa  al-Mutta'izin by  Muhammad Huwaydi  Baghdadi  cites  more  than  70  narrations  from  Tanbih  alKhawatir,  the  high  number  indicating  the  authenticity  of  the  book according to Baghdadi.

-  Among the narrations mentioned in Al-Tafsir al-Mansub 'ila al-Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari, 30 narrations are in Tanbih al-Khawatir.

-  Other books referring to Warram and his book are Mulla Habib Allah Sharif  Kashani’s Bawariq  al-Qahr  fi  Tafsir  Sura  al-Dahr  by,  AyatAllah Makarim Shirazi’s Tafsire Nemuneh, Jawad ibn Sa'id Kazimi’s Masalik  al-Afham  'ila  'Ayat  al-Qur'an and  'Allama  Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i’s Tafsir al-Mizan.

Chapter 8

Selected Topics

The second volume of the book includes a section on  “Forbidden Acts according to the Holy Prophet (s).”Some of these acts are just disliked and  not  prohibited.  In  other  words,  the  list  includes  both  haram  and makruh acts. Some of these acts include:

-  Eating by the left hand and while leaning;

-  Burning the limbs of the animals by fire;

-  Talking a lot while being in matrimonial relations;

-  Keeping the rubbish in the house at night;

-  Women's make-up for men other than their husbands;

-  Referring to fortune-tellers;

-  Drinking wine;

1pp. 267, 291 and 296

2pp. 11, 54, 84 and 262

-  Hiring a wage-earner without determining his wage;

-  Building a construction just for snobbery;

-  Looking at the interior side of the neighbours’ house;

-  Concealment of a testimony;

-  Deceptiveness in transactions which causes a Muslimto be mustered with the Jews;

-  Slapping on the face of a Muslim;

-  Denying a Muslim of a loan which he is in need of.1

Chapter 9

Conclusion

For those interested in Islamic ethics, Majmu'a of Warram is a valuable work  to  be  studied  time  and  time  again  given  its  reliable  author  and authenticated  content.  As  the  general  outlook  of  this  precious  work shows,  various  aspects  of  moral  principles  as  viewed  by  Shi‘a narrations have been meticulously dealt with. In a nutshell, Majmu'a ofWarram describes  both  good  and  negative  characteristics  and  offers instruction  on  how  to  obtain  praiseworthy  qualities and  abstain  from the  immoral  ones.  Indeed,  Majmu’a  of  Warram is  a  source  for wayfarers in spiritual path who seek to progress inthis journey through pure Islamic doctrines.

Chapter 10

References

'Abd  Allah  ibn  'Isa  'Afandi  Isfahani,  Riyad  al-'Ulama'  wa  Hiyad  alFudala', Qum 1401;

1See. Tanbih al-Khawatir wa Nuzhat al-Nawazir, vol. 2 pp. 256-264.

Adab wa Akhlaq dar Islam, the Persian translation of  majmu'a Warramby Muhammad Rida 'Ata'i, Mashhad 1387 SH.

Ali ibn 'Ubayd Allah Muntajab al-Din Razi, Al-Fihrist, Qum 1366 SH;

Aqa Buzurg –i- Tihrani, Al-Dhari'a 'ila Tasanif al-Shi'a;

Hasan  'Amin,  Mustadrakat  'Ayan  al-Shi'a, Beirut  1408-1416/1987-1996;

Ibn  Hajar  'Asqalani,  Lisan  al-Mizan,  Heydar  Abad  1329-1331,  Beirut 1390/1971;

Ja'far Subhani, Musu'a Tabqat al-Fuqaha', Qum 1418; Muhaddith Nuri, Mustadrak al-Wasa'il, Tehran 1318-1321;

Muhammad ibn Hasan Hurr 'Amili, 'Amal al-'Amil, Qum 1362 SH;

Muhsin 'Amin, 'Ayan al-Shi'a, Beirut 1403/1983;

Mustafa  Jawad, Jawan  al-Qabilat  Al-Kurdiyya  al-Mansiyya,  in Majaala al-'Ilmiyya al-'Iraqiyya, vol. 4 num. 1 (1375-1956);

Sayyid ibn Tawus,  Al-'Aman min Akhtar al-'Asfar wa al-Azman, Qum 1409;

Idem.,  Falah  al-Sa'il  wa  Najah  al-Masa'il  fi  'Amal  al-Yawm wa  alLayla, Qum 1377 SH;

Idem., Kashf al-Mahajja li Thamara al-Muhja, Najaf 1370/1951;

Sayyid  Muhammad  Husayn  Husayni  Jalali,  Fihris  al-Turath,  Qum, 1422.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Abstract

Chapter 2 - Biography of the Author

Chapter 3 - Various names of the Book

Chapter 4 - The definition of ‘majmu'a’ (collection) as a Scholarly Term

Chapter 5 - A General Outlook of the Book

Chapter 6 - The Authenticity of the Book

Chapter 7 - The Narrations of this Book in other Hadith Collections

Chapter 8 - Selected Topics

Chapter 9 - Conclusion

Chapter 10 - References