The book of “al-Lawami’ al-Ilahiyyah fil-Mabahith al-
Kalamiyyah” was authored by Jamal al-Din Miqdad ibn
Abdullah al-Asadi al-Sayyuri al-Hilli, famously known as al-Fadil al-
Miqdad. This scholar, who died in AH 826, was one of the students of the
well-versed master scholar, Makki ibn Muhammad ibn Hamid al-Aamili
al-Jizzini, who was martyred in the year AH 786 and thus famously known
as al-Shahid al-Awwal (meaning: the first martyr). The author took his
surname, al-Sayyuri, from his hometown, Sayyur, that is situated in the
district of Hillah in Iraq. The martyr Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Ali al-
Qadhi al-Tabataba'i revised and wrote a commentary on the book involved.
The reason for writing this precious book was that its author al-Fadil al-
Miqdad wanted to write down a complete course of researches on the topics
of creed and theology and to uncover the secrets of these topics as profoundly
and precisely as he could, adopting such a downrightly demonstrative
approach that would comprise answers to all spurious arguments and
questions posed on each particular of the creedal and theological issues.
It is understood from the introduction to the book that one of the author’s
constancy, and conviction that happen to man when he investigates
a certain unknown issue and then successfully attains knowledge
of it as it actually and really is; and the result will be that the
knowledge attained is unremovable. For this reason, yaqeen is
defined as the thing that is decisively known and is undoubtable.
In brief, yaqeen is the outcome of these six fundamental
elements:
1. Belief in the purport of an issue, which is in the terminology
of logic expressed as the proof that a subject holds its relevance.
2. A belief’s being so fixedly stationed that it never fades away.
3. Belief in the applying of an issue to the reality.
4. Belief in the impossibility of refuting the issue ascertained.
5. Belief in the impossibility of the fading away of the latter
belief.
6. Belief that certainty is attained in essence but not accidentally