Structural and Thematic Diversity of Copied Jurisprudential Works in the Second Half of the Safavid Period and Its Comparison with Jurisprudential Works of the First Half of Safavid Era, Based on Manuscripts from Iranian Libraries

Document Type : Research َ Article

Author

Associate Professor and Advisor to the Director of the National Library and Archives Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Iran

10.30484/nastinfo.2025.3686.2308

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this research is to analytically examine the structural diversity of jurisprudential works of the second half of the Safavid period, including books and treatises, whether they are independente or non-independente, and to determine the diversity of the subjects of treatises from this period and compare them with the compositions of the first half of the Safavid period.
Method: This research was conducted using a survey research method of content analysis type. One of the survey method tools is a checklist, which is used in this research. Given the scope of the subject, the research is conducted in a census manner. The thematic scope of this research covers jurisprudential works copied in the second half of the Safavid period, from the reign of Shah Safi (1038 AH) to the fall of this dynasty (1135 AH).
Findings: After examining the jurisprudential manuscripts that were copied during the second half of the Safavid period and comparing them with the jurisprudential manuscripts of the first half, it can be concluded that the increase in the level of teaching, learning, compilation and copying of Shiite jurisprudential books in schools and copying centers, especially from the middle of the Safavid period, has clearly experienced growth and progress. The tendency of the jurists of this period was more toward composing specific jurisprudential topics needed by society, and as a result, they mostly engaged in writing treatises on specific individual topics.
The comparative findings of the research are as follows:
The frequency of jurisprudential works in the second half is 885 works, of which 75% have a treatise structure and 25% are in book form. The frequency of jurisprudential works in the first half of the Safavid period is 554 works, of which 38% are structured as books and nearly 62% are composed with a treatise structure. The composition of treatises on topics with high frequency of copying, such as prayer, marriage, purification, inheritance, Friday prayer, and Hajj in the second half, has increased significantly compared to the composition of treatises on the same topics in the first half. Additionally, the composition of treatises on topics with relatively high and medium frequency in the second half has also shown considerable increase.
Conclusion: The increase in independent jurisprudential books in this period is mainly the result of the efforts of great jurists of the first half of the Safavid period who, in the process of establishing and expanding religious schools and continuing scholarly debates, apart from writing commentaries and marginalia on the books of previous jurists, also composed independent jurisprudential books themselves to enrich the jurisprudential and educational resources needed in religious schools. Considering the training of numerous students in Shiite schools of the first half and the increase of jurisprudential works in the second half, at the forefront of individual and collective worship, the subject of prayer and its prerequisite (purification) and its completion (Friday prayer) gained greater importance in the second half of the Safavid period. Knowledge of their rulings according to the Imamiyya School became more the focus of attention and need of the Shiite Muslim masses. Consequently, numerous copies of jurisprudential works related to these topics were repeatedly copied to make them available to scholars. Similarly, religious topics that have social and family dimensions and determine the relationship and interaction of individuals with each other, such as marriage and inheritance, also required numerous copies to be made, so that Shiites could plan their personal and family lives in accordance with religious rulings.

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منابع
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