306 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. {N.S., XIX, 
was followed by Tusi, calls him a disciple of ‘Ayyashi, who 
is referred to in the Fihrist.1 This is quite correct, because 
in the isnads of a great number of traditions collected by 
Kashi, age s name is mentioned as the first link. 
me additional hints as to the date of Kashi’s work 
oh gathered from a comparative analysis of the isnads of 
Kachi and of the famous Shi‘ite writer Ibn Babtiya al-Qumi 
(d. 381 A.H./991 A.D.),? who often mentions the date and 
place at which he heard this or that tradition. Neither of 
these authors mentions the other, and they probably never 
while Kashi mentions as his r@wis chiefly people whose names 
indicate their domicile as Soghd, Ferghana, Saghanian and 
generally the North-Eastern extremity of the Mahammadan 
world. The isnads, chiefly connected with Imam ‘Ali b. 
Misa ar-Rida (d. 203 A.H./818 A.D.)° differ, and rarely ascend 
to the same associates of the Imam. th the number of their 
‘links’ is aproximately the same. Taking into consideration 
all these indications we may safely aelade that Kashi pro- 
bably was a contemporary of Ibn Babiya and lived in, or to- 
wards the end of, the 1Ve. A.H./Xc. A.D 
The book deals with Souuins concerning the early 
Shi'ite saints and each of the twelve Imams. It is remarkable 
for its wealth of information, liberal spirit, and frequent refer- 
ences to rare works of rather heretical writers. It seems that 
Kashi himself eperiee rather extreme views,+ and only for 
the sake of the tagiyya used to add a few curses upon the 
heretics whilst — them This fact adds to the impor- 

mann in his book, Tiisi apparently often a eee: but does not give 
his biography i nhis list. It is s given, howeve al-Hasan b Yusuf 
‘All Ton aL Msdahar Billi he 726 <A: 11326 ‘g D. ), in his Naddw’ L-idah 
see te s list, 2, bottor 
ull name was Abi'n-Nasr Muhammad b. Mas‘iid al--Ayyashi as- 
Samarqandi, see Kitab al Fthrist, ed. by G. Fliigel, Leipzig, 1871, vo ol. I, 
it., pp. 247-25 
owes 
Piet No. 690 (pp. ebtehiot He was a prolific writer, but of his wg 
pro t to be found in Western libraries, and he 
oe by C Schad | in his Geschichte d. Ar. Lit. 
. Brockel , op. cit., vol. I, p 187. I peru used 
his id@ (in a MS.; the book h n lith, in Persia); 
isu "ecauhid, ees (Tehran ao “1285 A. H.: : Kitabu Lamali, aa poe 2), 
he latter two are apparently very rare in Euro he 
MS. a 0 Kitabu't tauhid of which I a is preserved in the Gaiversity 
iibesty at Petes 
= Kashi’s tosh they occupy a rather small place. See pp- .297- 
* Tisi entirely approves of his beliefs (p. 309: slaicJI ue): pat 
Najjashi (op. cit., p. 263) tells that he ‘ narrated from unreliable raw*s 
(iyais sad! wr coy)» )» and adds that in his book there are see 
merous errors ” ( Bypus let das). 
ee 
i TP — 
