Al-'Amaali (lit. dictations) of Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Husain b. Musa b. Babawayh Qomi (known more famously as Shaykh al-Saduq (the truthful Shaykh)) (d. ~ 991) is one of the earliest sources of ahadith from the Aimmah and the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon them). The book contains the transcripts of al-Shaykh al- Saduq's classes which were held twice a week on Tuesday and Friday from Rajab 18, 367/March 1, 978 until Sha'ban 11, 368/March 14, 979 in Mashhad and other areas in modern-day Iran.
Shaykh al-Saduq quotes 1021 ahadith with their sources in 97 sessions (or assemblies) on various topics in theology (and ideology), ethics, tafsir of the Holy Quran, Islamic history, jurisprudence and more. These sessions and the choice of hadith seem to be primarily aimed at a general audience, with most narrations not being of a general nature and often following a theme based on the Islamic occasion occurring at the time. A great deal of Ahadith (almost at-least one in every assembly) is extolling the virtues of Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib (as).
The Author
Shaykh al-Ṣadūq was one of the most outstanding Shi'ā hadith scholars of the 4th/10th century and the most prominent hadith scholar and faqih of the hadith school of Qom. Born to another prominent scholar during the minor occultation of Imam Al-Mahdi (aj) in the holy city of Qom, it is reported that al-Ṣadūq's birth was a result of a supplication made by Imam Mahdi (aj). Al-Ṣadūq authored some of Shiism's most seminal works, including
Man La Yahduruhul Faqih, Kam
ā
l al-Din, al-Ìtiqad
t al-Imamiyya, Kit
b al-Tawhīd, Màani al-Akhbar, ‘Ilal al- Shara'ì, ‘Uyun al-Akhb
r al-Rida, al-Khis
l, Thawab al-Àm
l,
and over 300 others.