Abstract
From the past centuries until now, some books have been reputed as collections of Hadith that can be divided into three types: primary, early and later collections. One of these collections is Bihar al-Anwar which is compiled by Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi. After compilation, this great Shiite encyclopedia was listed in the three later collections of Hadith, and due to its wide volume and content that led it to be comprehensive, has been under special attention. This valuable book is comprehensive in various aspects but it is not clear exactly due to which features it is called a collection. Allama Majlesi did not clarify this issue and other scholars who wrote about Bihar al-Anwar have not paid much attention to this issue, too. This following article by the use of description and analysis method of texts and Hadith-historical sources is going to clarify aspects of comprehensiveness with emphasis on the clues in its preface and content. Investigations show the features of comprehensiveness include its numerous sources, broad issues and quantitative comprehensiveness, which make it different in contrast to other collections of Hadith. Also, the comprehensiveness of this book has a direct relationship with the preservation and publication of Shiite Hadiths in order to meet the Shiites daily life needs, which is an idea originates from the book of Ali (peace be upon him) and must be considered beside other aspects in order to realize deeper features of comprehensiveness of Bihar al-Anwar.
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