The evaluation of al-Kâfî from the science of hadith according to Shia scholars

The main theme of our study is the evaluation of the hadith book named al-Kâfî belonging to Kuleyni, one of the most basic sources of the İmâmiyya Shia, from the point of view of the science of hadith. Although Shiite scholars have done their studies on this work, these studies should also be evaluated in an objective way. In Turkey, there are studies dealing with al-Kāfi and Kuleyni in some aspects, but these studies do not include the evaluations of Shiite scholars about the work in the histoRicâl process. In this respect, we hope that the thesis we have prepared will fill this gap. As it is known, there are four basic hadith collections in the İmâmiyya Shia, corresponding to the six basic hadith books of the Ahl as-Sunnah. These four books, which belong to mutaqaddimin Shia scholars, are the hadith books that Shia accept as the most authentic books after the Quran. Kuleynî's al-Kâfî is considered the most important of these four works in the eyes of Shia. According to Shiite sources, Kuleyni lived at the same time as the deputies of the twelfth imâm known as Nuvvâb. This feature caused him and his work to be given an important privilege in the eyes of the Shia. The fact that it contains the first-period hadith sources that collect the words and fatwas of the imâms, and that it covers all kinds of legal issues that Shiites can apply in their lives, as well as the structure of the imâmate, al-Kâfi have made the most basic hadith source for the İmâmiye Shiite. The fact that the work is valuable and important does not mean that there is no room for criticism. It can be stated in advance that the criticisms of non-Shiite scholars are also not objective. For this reason, it is of great importance to directly determine the views of Shiite scholars about the work and to reveal their criticisms and analyze them. This is exactly what constitutes the aim of our study. In order to achieve this purpose, the evaluations of Shiite scholars about al-Kâfi have been analyzed from the time it was written to the present day, and the criticisms of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah have been excluded. Our study is designed as an introduction and four chapters. In the introduction, the period in which Kuleyni lived has been tried to be revealed with different aspects. In the first chapter, Kuleynî's life, scientific personality, works and method are examined. In the second chapter, Kutub-i Erbaa is introduced, the sources of al-Kāfī, the cerh and ta'dil situations of its narrators, and al-Kāfi-centered studies are discussed. In the third chapter, al-Kâfi hadiths were evaluated in terms of their authenticity. In the last part, the evaluations of Shiite scholars about al-Kâfî are given. The study is completed with a conclusion and bibliography. The most important results we have reached as a result of the study we have completed using the data collection and analysis method are as follows: According to their opinion al-Kâfî is indisputably the most basic hadith book of Shia and his book is at the same level as Bukhari's es-Sahih. However, the investigator has been criticized by some Shiite scholars. While the later Shiite scholars evaluated the book in terms of promissory notes in general and criticized the work because it included weak hadiths and many hadiths from unknown narrators, the later Shiites criticized the work in terms of the text in general. They criticized their hadiths by presenting them to the mind, the Qur'an, the Sunnah, which is sound, histoRicâl facts, scientific data, and the basic theological principles of the İmâmiyya Shia. Keywords: Shia, Küleyni, el-Kâfî, Hadith, Usûl