Kitab al-Kafi

The book Al-Kāfī (The Sufficient Book) is a Twelver Shīʿī ḥadīth collection compiled by Muhammad ibn Ya‘qūb al-Kulaynī. It is divided into three sections: Usūl al-Kāfī, which is concerned with epistemology, theology, history, ethics, supplication, and the Qurʾān, Furūʿ al-Kāfī, which is concerned with practical and legal issues, and Rawdat (or Rauda) al-Kāfī, which includes miscellaneous traditions, many of which are lengthy letters and speeches transmitted from the Imāms. In total, al-Kāfī comprises 16,199 narrations.

Usūl al-Kāfī: The first eight books of al-Kāfī are commonly referred to as Uṣūl al-kāfī. The first type-set edition of the al-Kāfī, which was published in eight volumes, placed Usūl al-kāfī in the first two volumes. Generally speaking, Usūl al-kāfī contains traditions that deal with epistemology, theology, history, ethics, supplication, and the Qurʾān.

Usul al kafi is a book in which all the basic ingredients of twelver shii theory may be found.

Furū al-Kāfī: Books 9 through 34 are referred to as Furūʿ al-kāfī and are found in volumes three through seven of the first type-set edition. Furūʿ al-kāfī contains traditions that deal predominantly with practical and legal issues.

Rawdat al-Kāfī: The final book stands alone as Rawḍah al-kāfī, which is found in volume eight. Rawḍah al-kāfī contains nearly 600 miscellaneous traditions, many of which are lengthy letters and speeches, not arranged in any particular order.

Most Shia and Sunni scholars do not make any assumptions about the authenticity of a hadith book. Most believe that there are no "sahih" hadith books that are completely reliable. Hadith books are compiled by fallible people, and thus realistically, they inevitably have a mixture of strong and weak hadiths. Kulayni himself stated in his preface that he only collected hadiths he thought were important and sufficient for Muslims to know, and he left the verification of these hadiths up to later scholars. Kulayni also states, in reference to hadiths:

"whatever (hadith) agrees with the Book of God (the Qur'an), accept it. And whatever contradicts it, reject it"

Mulla Baqir Majlisi stating in his commentary on al-Kafi, named Mir’at al-’Uqul, that 58% of narrations in al-Kafi are weak in their chains of narrations.

According to the great Imami scholar Zayn al-Din al-`Amili, known as al-Shahid al-Thani (911-966/1505-1559), who examined the asnad or the chains of transmission of al-Kafi's traditions, 5,072 are considered sahīh (sound); 144 are regarded as hasan (good), second category; 1,118 are held to be muwaththaq (trustworthy), third category; 302 are adjudged to be qawī‘ (strong) and 9,485 traditions which are categorized as da'if (weak).

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