Jawahir al-Kalam

Jawahir al-Kalam fi Sharh Shara'i al-Islam (Arabic: جَواهِر الکَلام), also known as Jawahir al-Kalam, written by Muhammad Hasan Najafi, is one of the primary sources of Shia jurisprudence. It is also considered a secondary source for the Islamic penal code and other laws.^[1]

Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi (died 1266 AH/1850 CE) was a Shiite jurist of the 13th century AH and a significant figure at the Najaf Seminary. He is best known for Jawaher al-Kalam fi Sharh Shara’i al-Islam, which is considered important. He was a student of Sayyid Muhammad Jawad al-'Amili and Shaykh Ja'far Kashif al-Ghita'. His lectures were the most important and most attractive in the seminary of Najaf, after those of Sharif al-'Ulama' al-Mazandarani, to which many scholars attended. He recommended al-Shaykh al-Ansari as the marja' or the authority of Shiites.^[2]

Jawahir al-kalam is a detailed and in-depth book that covers many topics in Imamiyya religious law. This book includes every chapter on jurisprudence. Jawahir al-Kalam is organized in a manner that is reminiscent of the Shara’i al-Islam. Its contents are categorized into four primary categories: acts of worship, contracts, rituals, and rulings. Jawahir starts by talking about the book of purity, explaining what the book is about and the meaning of the word purity. The book ends with appendices that discuss diyat in five separate issues. The topics covered in these issues are about the rules regarding blood money paid by a Muslim to a non-Muslim and the other way around.^[3][4]

• Shara'i al-Islam