Book

Al-Khiṣāl (Arabic: الخصال, lit: The Traits), is an Arabic book written by Muhammad b. Husayn b. Babawayh al-Qummi known as al-Shaykh al-Saduq (d. 381/991-2). He is considered one of the greatest Shi'a jurists (faqih) and hadith transmitters in the 4th/10th century. Al-Shaykh al-Saduq has collected many hadiths in ethics and beliefs in al-Khisal and has categorized the hadiths based on the numbers in every hadith. The book is unique and is the first book written in this manner. Despite its relatively small size, al-Khisal is a huge encyclopedia of Islamic knowledge and also mentions some historical, exegetical, philosophical, and political subjects. The title of each chapter is according to numbers: the hadiths containing one trait are in chapter one; the hadiths containing two traits are in chapter two, and so on.