In his preface to the book, al-Saduq writes: When, during my journey, I happened to be in a small town, Ilaq near Balkh, where a descendant of the Prophet’s family, from among the grandchildren of al-Imam Musa ibn Ja’far (A) known as Ni’mat, arrived, and I had many opportunities to enjoy his company and benefit from his talk….
Once we talked about a book by Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi that he wrote on medicine (tibb), Man la yahduruhu al-tabib (for those who do not have access to a physician); he (Sayyid Ni’mat) praised the book and its utility , and he suggested to me to compile a similar book on halal wa haram (that which is permitted and prohibited by religion) and the rules and laws prescribed for them by the Din , in which all the books written on this issue are condensed, and to entitle it as Man la yahduruhu al-faqih. Such a book can serve as a reference book for all who are in need of consulting an authority in fiqh, so that they can find a ready reference to all problems related to religious practices and are able to act upon the traditions accordingly.
There were two hundred and forty-five books of fiqh and hadith available at that time, and I accepted his suggestion for it deserved to be paid heed to. I compiled this book by deleting the chains of narrators, so that the narration itself is not lost in the labyrinth of the names and is of greater use to a person concerned. I also did not wish to compile all the traditions concerning a specific issue, I rather preferred to select those traditions only on whose basis I could make a judgement (fatwa) and which, in my view, were authentic, and, I believed, ‘l were conclusive proofs of God, a matter between God and myself. Whatever is contained in this collection is taken out from famous books that are accepted as authentic and referred to by ‘ulama’.
Khisal-e Shaykh Saduq, Ayat Allah Kamreh-yi, trans.and ed., introduction. pp. 26-27
Many books in the form of commentary on Man la yahduruhu, have been written, twenty of which are mentioned in the introduction to Man la yahduruhu. Shaykh Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Zayn al-Din al-Shahid (d. 1030/ 1620-21) wrote a commentary entitled Mu’ahid al-tanbih, and Mulla Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi (d. 1070/1659-60) wrote a commentary in six volumes, under the title Rawdat al-muttaqin; the sixth volume is devoted to biographies of the narrators. He wrote another commentary of the book in Persian, al-Lawami’ al muqaddasah, in two big volumes.
Man la yahduruhu al-faqih was for the first time published in Lucknow, India in 1300 A.H. For the first time in Iran it was published from Tabriz in 1334 A.H. afterwards it was thrice published from Tehran in the years 1374, 1377 and 1380 A.H. The 1377 edition was edited with a detailed introduction by Sayyid Hasan al-Musawi al-Khurasani, and this edition was reprinted in 1390 A.H.
All the scholars of hadith or fiqh or rijal who have referred to alShaykh al-Saduq paid rich tributes to this book. A few of the opinions are quoted here:
1. Sayyid Ibn Tawus, ‘Ali ibn Musa al-Hasani, Radi al-Din (589-664/ 1193-1265-66) in Kashf al-hujjah li thamarat al-muhajjah, acknowledges Man la yahduruhu as a reliable and authentic book.
2. Al-‘Allamah al-Tabataba’i, Bahr al-Ulum, Muhammad Mahdi ibn Murtadha ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Karim al-Hasani, (1154-1212/ 1741-1797-98) says: ·’This is one of al Kutub al-‘arba’ah, and its light is as manifest as that of the sun, and the ahadith (collected in this book) are both important and authentic.
3. Mirza Husayn ibn Muhammad Taqi al-Nuri (1250-1320/ 1834-1902), in the last part of Mustadrak al-wasa’il, write that Man la Yahduruhu al faqih is the most reliable book after al-Kafi in the view of the experts of hadith according to the standards set by them ….