al-Shahid al-Thani, Kashf al-Riba

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Why is it important?

This publication is important for several reasons: 1. It throws light on methods of authorship in the pre-modern Islamic world, specifically on the practice of repackaging earlier works by omitting sections, rearranging sections, and adding new titles. 2. It shows the wide influence of al-Ghazali's works, and particularly of ihya' `Ulum al-Din, even in the Twelver Shiite tradition, complementing other recent scholarship that has shown its influence in Jewish and Christian writings. 3. It adds to knowledge of al-Shahid al-Thani's writings, showing that he drew extensively on Sunni sources in many of his works, in this and other cases presenting a Shiite version for Shiite audiences. 4. It may throw light on al-Shahid al-Thani's own experience of jealous rivalry and backbiting among the scholars of his day.