Shi‘a Hadith-oriented currents in Kashan in the fifth and sixth centuries AH

The study of a hadith zone remarkably contributes to the explanation of the developments of the history of hadith in that region. Introducing the scholars of hadith of the Kashan zone within the 5th/11th and 6th/12th centuries as well as the study of the books compiled by them, will cause the dominant hadith-oriented thoughts of this zone to be identified, and will specify the effects that this zone will produce on or experience from the current of other zones.Having applied a descriptive-analytical method this study has reached the conclusion that two specific currents have been dominant over the hadith zone of Kashan during these centuries: first a fiqh-oriented current including narrators under the titles of faqīh (jurisprudent), and qāḍī (judge) and that the distinguished personality of this current is Quṭb al-Dīn al-Rāwandī in whose works one can find a big number of relationship between the zone of Kashan and that of Baghdad; second, a hadith-oriented-literary current including taditionists who were men of letter. The less-known but outstanding personality of the latter current was Sayyid Abu ’l-Riḍā al-Rāwandī, who was in possession of genuine copies of Shi‘a books and transferred the hadith heritage of Baghdad to Kashan, and this way caused he presence and frequentation of great scholars from other hadith-oriented centers with the purpose of residing there and editing the Shia’ hadith books.