1. In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Some Recommended Books in Hanafi Fiqh
Compiled by Noura Shamma
from Sidi Faraz Rabbani's lesson on 'Recommended Books' in his sessions on al-Khulasa in
Hanafi fiqh
The books are of three types:
1. Relating to Worship.
2. Those normally studied in traditional curriculums.
3. Reference works.
Relating to Worship:
I. Nur al-Idah - this is the main matn/text studied in fiqh of worship.
Maraqi al-Falah, is the sharh/commentary on the text. Both of these are by the same author,
Imam al-Shurunbulali.
Al-Hashiya (Marginal Notes) of Imam al-Tahtawi is also important to have.
- Useful to have each of these three works separately.
- Damascus edition is the best; avoid the Beirut editions - not useful at all.
- Another edition (?) of Nur al-Idah with footnotes by: Abd al-Jalil 'Ata and Abd al-Hamid
Mahmoud, is available and good.
II. Al-Hadiyah al-Ala'aiyyah - by 'Alaadin ibn Abidin, son of Ibn Abidin, who is the
reference on fatwa in the school. Al-Hadiyah is based on his father's work, though he differs
on a few matters. The Hadiyah is a summary on the final word on worship; also has a very
useful section on the fiqh of halal and haram and section on Aqidah. It was intended as a
work for elementary level students.
- Damascus edition is good; look for edition with notes by Shaykh al-Burhani.
- Should be read along with Nur al-Idah.
III. Al-Halabi al-Kabir - by Shaykh Ibrahim al-Halabi. Photocopying is the only way to get a
copy of this work.
Books in the Traditional Curriculum:
I. Al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab - by Abd al-Ghani al-Maydani (who was a student of Ibn
Abidin). This work is a sharh/commentary on Mukhtasar al-Quduri.
- Quduri is the first work studied in fiqh across all Muslim lands.
- Available editions are mediocre.
II. Al-Tas'hil al-Daruri - Mawlana 'Ashiq al-Ilahi.
2. - Published by Dar al-Arqam
- Contemporary work; puts the sections of Quduri in a Q&A format.
- Indian commentaries on Quduri, some available on-line, on albalagha.net bookstore
- If you can read Urdu, Al-Subh al-Nuri is a good commentary.
- In Turkish, Muqaya al-Quduri is very useful.
In Arab lands:
Al-Ikhtiyar - by Imam al-Musuli; commentary on the matn of Qurduri.
- Edition by Shaykh Muhammed Adnan Darwish published by Dar al-Arqam is available.
- If you can wait, a new edition by Shaykh Su'aib al-Arna'ut is coming soon.
Related Text:
I. Fath Bab al-'Inayah - Sharh al-Nuqaya - by Mullah Ali al-Qari.
- Published in 3 vols. by Dar al-Arqam
- Very clear, one of clearer works available
- Give legal reasoning and textual evidence
- Two editions on the market, both mediocre
III. Multaqa al-Abhur - Ibrahim al-Halabi (d.956 A.H.) is a matn. Title means the meeting of
oceans. In this work, he gathered four major mutun of the mathhab, and added useful issues
from other sources as well.
- Contains masa'il/issues of all four texts/matn.
- Language very clear.
- Text was used extensively in Ottoman lands; he was head teacher at Sultan Muhammed al-
Fatih mosque and madrassah, which was one of the highest teaching positions in Ottoman
lands.
- Has two great commentaries on it, by Shaykh Zada and Shaykh al-Haskafi (see below).
IV. Majma' al-Anhur - Shaykh Zada
- Extremely useful, clearest commentary in Hanafi fiqh; he defines all the terms, gives
examples, and clear explanation.
- Old edition is excellent; Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah is a disaster, avoid.
- Shaykh Zada has a Hashiya on al-Baydawi's tafsir, the scholars said, "If it wasn't for Shaykh
Zada, al-Baydawi wouldn't have been understood."
- Also has a commentary on Qawaid al-Irab of Ibn Hisham.
V. Al-Durr al-Muntaqa - by Shaykh al-Haskari, who is the author of al-Durr al-Mukhtar on
which Ibn Abidin wrote his Hashiya.
- This commentary is the exact opposite of Shaykh Zada; he uses the most concise
expressions possible. He said what counts is the weightiness of the secrets and not the size of
the volumes.
- It is to 1/3 size of Shaykh Zada's work but has two to three times as many issues.
3. Final work studied: Al-Hidayah - by al-Marghinani
- Called the pride of the Hanafis.
- Took 12 years to write, during which the author was constantly fasting (secretly).
- It's only a 1000 pages, but he really distilled it; it is the culminating fruit of the Hanafi
mathhab.
There are a number of important works on it; need two of them:
1. Hashiyat al-Lakhnawi.
- He explains basically just explains the text of the Hidayah without elaborations. It is very
clear.
- Available in Damascus as a photocopy.
2. Fath al-Qadir - by Al-Kamal ibn al-Humam.
- The edition you want is published with two other commentaries: al-Kafiyah by al-
Khawarizmi and al-'Inayah by Akmal al-Din.
- Bulaq published this old edition - reprints are available.
- Fath al-Qadir builds on the Hidayah, doesn't explain out the text entirely. It is the greatest,
most brilliant commentary in the mathhab.
- Al-Kamal ibn al-Humam is the arguably last person agreed on in the Ummah to be a
mujtahid imam; he is buried by request right next to Sidi Ibn 'Ata'illah in Cairo.
References:
I. Legal Dictionaries:
1. Al-Mughrib - by al-Mutarrazi, he was a student of the students of al-Zamakhshari. Very
useful.
2. Tilbat al-Talabah - by Imam al-Nasafi.
- Arranged by chapters of fiqh
- Explains terms in some detail.
- Dar al-Nafa'is (Beirut?) is only one worth having - cross-references terms.
3. Al-Misbah al-Munir - by Al-Fayumi.
- Not specific to Hanafi fiqh
- General dictionary of Arabic
- Explains well, easier to understand than other Arabic/Arabic dictionaries like al-Qamus al-
Muhet.
4. II. Hashiyat Ibn Abidin
- He is know in the Indian subcontinent as Shami
- This is the work for legal details.
- Bulaq edition is a must, its 5 vols., 6th volume is a completion and 7th are notes by al-
Rafidi.
Some other recommendations:
1. Al-Durar al-Mubahah fi al-Hathir wa al-Ibahah - by al-Nahlawi
- This is available in electronic format.
- Contains the fiqh of halal and haram - he expanded the section in al-Hidayah. Very practical
- Some parts of it are translated in Reliance
2. Al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiya - by al-Birgivi.
- Translated into English and publishedhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0941532682/102-7230377-9072915?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance
- Book on taqwa, defines the importance and need for taqwa and knowledge.
- Helps to map it out - lots of cross-references.
- Ulama gave a lot of attention to this work; still taught today in Turkey
- Many commentaries on it, including:
1. Al-Bariqah fi Sharh al-Tariqa - Imam al-Khadimi, in 2 big volumes.
2. Al-Hadiqah al-Nadiyah - Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, also in 2 volumes
- Both are great commentaries; fiqh of taqwa and inward sins, very important.
3. In Arabic, two CDs to purchase:
1. al-Mawsu'ah al-Shamilah; have 980 books on it. worth getting, available free from Sidi
Faraz.
2. Jami' al-Fiqh al-Islami - produced by Harf (www.harf.com) in Egypt. It costs about 100$.
It has about 100 books in it; all the major reference works of each mathhabs as well as
biographies, dictionaries and has excellent search capabilities.
4. Awarif al-Ma'arif - by al-Suhrawardi; one of the key works in tasawuf.
5. Works of Shaykh Al-Alawi al-Makki - many available now in Ghazali bookstore.
6. Miftah al-Jannah - by Shaykh Ahmad al-Haddad; is translated but the Arabic is worth
having; also available at Ghazali.
Recommended Books - given at various times
1. al-Risalah al-Qushariyah - with Hashiyat al-Arusi
2. Adab al-Ikhtilfa - Muhammed 'Awama
6. This remarkable book is an extensive yet surprisingly accessible commentary of one of the earliest
works of Hanafi fiqh, the Mukhtasar of Imam al-Quduri. Detailing about 12,500 legal questions that
span the entire spectrum of fiqh, the Lubab is an authoritative reference, not only on matters of
worship, but also on financial transactions, personal relations and penal and judicial matters.
Athar as-Sunan: Traditions of the Sunnah
In this important work the Shaykh relates fiqh judgements, particularly those of the Hanafi
madhhab, to the hadith and traditions, scrutinising each for what the great scholars have said about
the strength or weakness of its chain of transmission. The book was to have dealt with all of chapters
of fiqh, but sadly the Shaykh only completed the book on purification and the prayer.
Fascinatingly, he tackles matters that engage us all today, including practices that have become a
source of controversy over the last few years and thus it will be an important reference work in
everyone's library.
Concerning this book the servant of the prophetic hadith, Muhammad ibn 'Ali an-Nimawi said, "This
is a collection of hadiths, traditions, a collection of narrations and tidings which I have chosen from
the Sahih, Sunan, Muj'am and Musnad collections. I have mentioned the source of each hadith but
refrained from mentioning the complete chain of transmission for fear of lengthening the work.
I have elaborated on the status of ahadith that are not from the two sahih collections (i.e. al-Bukhari
and Muslim) in a satisfactory manner and have named the book Athar as-Sunan (The traditions of
the Sunnahs) while simultaneously asking Allah for His decision.
May Allah make this work purely for His Face and a means of meeting Him in the Gardens of Bliss."
This book is extraordinarily timely especially as this age is dominated by matters concerning the
prayer. It establishes the basis in the hadith literature for the Hanafi practices and clarifies issues
concerning the prayer in general.
The Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar
This work deals exhaustively with establishing that the sources of the Hanafi madhhab, as with all
the other madhhabs, conforms to the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), and the verdicts passed by the
Companions.
In the process, the Imam often draws on theoretical understanding (ra'y) to buttress an argument
but never as the main plank for deriving rulings.
It is a dazzling display of erudition in both the demanding sciences of hadith as well as what was
already in the author's age a highly sophistacated science, fiqh. Shaykh Ni'matullah's brief
commentary and detailing where these hadith are to be found in the better known works of hadith
will prove extremely useful.
7. Usul ash-Shashi
The first translation of Usul ash-Shashi in the English language. Usul ash-Shashi is an authoratative
begginer's manual on the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. It has served as a primary text in the
curricula of Islamic schools and seminaries ever since it was written 1100 years ago, and yet, the
author's profound humility prevented him from putting his name to the book.
Unedited editions have been published in Arabic several times in the Muslim world, but many
teachers and students have expressed the need for a revised text, and we now have a newly edited
and annotated edition by Muhammad Akram an-Nadwi (Research Fellow, Oxford Centre for
Islamic Studies, Oxford) which is presented here in translation.
This timely edition of Usul ash-Shashi has given the book a new clarity that addresses the needs of
today's students. This edition is based on the three most reliable manuscripts, and any variant
readings are indicated in the footnotes.
Aqida Tahawiyya with Maydani's Commentary
Imam Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi
A translation of Allama Maydani's commentary on the Aqida Tahawiyya
White Thread Press is translating Maydani’s commentary
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The `Aqida Tahawiyya received several commentaries, among them that of Najm al-Din Abu Shuja`
Bakbars al-Nasiri al-Baghdadi - one of Sharaf al-Din al-Dimyati's shaykhs -, that of Siraj al-Din
`Umar ibn Ishaq al-Ghaznawi al-Misri, that of Mahmud ibn Ahmad ibn Mas`ud al-Qunawi, that of
Sharh al-Sadr `Ali ibn Muhammad al-Adhra`i, and others. A commentary was published, authored
by an unknown ["Ibn Abi al-`Izz"] spuriously affiliated with the Hanafi school, but whose
handiwork proclaims his ignorance of this discipline and the fact that he is an anthropomorphist
who has lost his compass.
Al-Kawthari, al-Hawi fi Sira al-Imam al-Tahawi (p. 38-39). Our shaykh al-Sayyid Muhammad al-
Ya`qubi said that the authorship of Ibn Abi al-`Izz for the commentary attributed to him is far from
certain, and that its style and wording reveal the hand of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, whom he
certainly follows in key points (such as saying that the Fire shall go out). Other commentaries:
`Abd al-Ghani al-Ghunaymi al-Maydani and al-Bajuri (Ash`ari), Akmal al-Din al- Babarti (Maturidi),
Hasan al-Busnawi (d. 1024) ("Salafi"), and Hasan al-Saqqaf.
Ibn Abi al-‘Izz’s commentary on al-Tahawi’s ‘Aqida. Al-Tahawi’s `Aqida is a normative classic of
Islam but Ibn Abi al-‘Izz is unknown and unacceptable as a source for Ahl al-Sunna teachings.
8. Examples of his unreliability are his rejection of al-Tahawi’s articles:
§ §35: “The Seeing of Allah by the People of the Garden is true, without their vision being all-
encompassing and without the manner of their vision being known” and
§ §38: “He is beyond having limits placed on Him, or being restricted, or having parts or limbs, nor
is He contained by the six directions as all created things are”.
Al-`Izz states, “Can any vision be rationally conceived without face-to-face encounter? And in it
there is a proof for His elevation (‘uluw) over His creatures,” and “Whoever claims that Allah is
seen without direction, let him verify his reason!” *Ibn Abi al-‘Izz, Sharh al-‘Aqida al-Tahawiyya, p.
195+. He also endorses Ibn Taymiyya’s view of the finality of Hellfire, in flat contradiction of the al-
Tahawi’s statement, §83. “The Garden and the Fire are created and shall never be extinguished
nor come to an end.” *Ibid. p. 427-430] There is also doubt as to Ibn Abi al-‘Izz’s identity and
authorship of this Sharh.
Concerning the saying of the Prophet cited in the Book of Tawhid of Sahih al-Bukhari, chapter 22,
and again, in two versions, in chapter 55:
When Allah created creation He wrote with Him above His Throne: Verily My mercy precedeth My
wrath
When Allah created creation He wrote a Book that is with Him, saying: My mercy overcometh or
precedeth My wrath
Allah wrote a Book before He created creation, saying: Verily My mercy precedeth My wrath; and
it is written with Him above the Throne
The passage related to the Throne in the text of the `Aqida tahawiyya ( in the translation cited
above) has been transmitted in two different versions. The correct version, used by al-Ghunaymi's
commentary on the `Aqida, has:
He is independent of the Throne and of what is beneath it; He encompasses all things and that
which is above it;
( )
and what He has created is incapable of encompassing Him.2
9. Other versions, such as Ibn Abi al-`Izz's (d. 792) commentary, have:
He encompasses all things and is above it;
( )
and what He has created is incapable of encompassing Him.
Ibn Abi al-`Izz's arguments for the veracity of the latter wording:
i) the word "wa" has been inadvertently dropped from the text by some copyists, giving ب كل
ش يئ -- similar to the first version, which is incorrect in his view. Yet, by the same token, it
could have been inserted unintentionally by some copyists.
ii) there is nothing of creation above the Throne in his view. In this he follows Ibn Hazm who took
as his evidence istawa in the sense of "an act pertaining to the Throne, and that is the termination
of His creation at the Throne, for there is nothing beyond it"!4 As we have said this is baseless, for
in the authentic hadith, Abu Hurayra narrates that the Prophet said: "When Allah created
creation, He wrote a book, which is with Him above the Throne, saying: My mercy overcomes My
wrath." This Book which is above the Throne is the Preserved Tablet, which contains a record and
decree of all things past and future. This was mentioned by Ibn Hajar in his commentary on
chapter 55 of Bukhari's Tawhid. Neither Ibn Hazm nor Ibn Abi al-`Izz make mention of this hadith
in their discussions.
iii) the word wa could have been deliberately expunged by some "deniers of aboveness
(fawqiyya)" -- which he takes in the literal sense. Again, who is to say that the word was not, on
the contrary, interpolated by some fanatic literalists?
It should be realized that the scholars referred to by Ibn Abil-`Izz as the "deniers of aboveness" did
not need to change Tahawi's text in order to put forward their interpretation of fawqiyya as
referring to rank: the Maturidi commentary of Sharh al-`Aqida at-Tahawiyya by Akmal al-Din
Babarti5 has used the wording preferred by Ibn Abil-`Izz, and explained the fawqiyya as being
highness of rank. So has Basim Jabi's edition of the `Aqida.
10. This indicates to us that the wording which Ibn Abil-`Izz preferred has been used by non-"Salafis"
as well as "Salafis," but interpreted differently. Thus even if Tahawi's wording were as claimed by
Ibn Abi al-`Izz, there is no problem with it, provided it is taken in the correct manner. As Ghazali
stated in the section entitled al-Qawa`id wa al-`aqa'id of his Ihya': "Allah is above the Throne,
above the heavens, above everything, with a highness that does not make Him any closer to the
Throne or the Heavens, just as it does not make Him any further from the Earth."
Ibn Hajar says in Fath al-Bari concerning this:
When we say: "Allah is above the Throne" (Allah `ala al-`arsh), it does not mean that He is
touching it or that He is located on it or bounded by a certain side of the Throne. Rather, it is a
report which is transmitted as is, and so we repeat it while at the same time negating any
modality, for there is nothing like Him whatsoever, and from Him is all success.
As for "above His throne" (in the hadith) it refers to the Book. Some have taken it in the sense of
"upwards from His Throne," as in Allah's saying: "a gnat, or anything above it" (2:26), but this is
far-fetched
Ibn Abu Jamra (d. 695) said:
"It may be said from the fact that the Book is mentioned as being "above the Throne" that the
divine wisdom has decreed for the Throne to carry whatever Allah wishes of the record of His
judgment, power, and the absolute unseen known of Him alone, so as to signify the exclusivity of
His encompassing knowledge regarding these matters, making the Throne one of the greatest
signs of the exclusivity of His knowledge of the Unseen. This could explain the verse al-rahmanu
`al al-`arshi istawa as referring to whatever Allah wills of His power, which is the Book He has
placed above His Throne.""
Ibn Abu Jamra's explanation is in accordance with the sound understanding of Allah's elevation
(`uluw) as that of rank which we have already mentioned, and is reminiscent of Sufyan al-Thawri's
interpretation of istiwa' in verse 20:4 as a divine command, which we have mentioned above. It is
confirmed by the explanation of the hadith of Zaynab, the Prophet's wife, in Bukhari when she
said: "I have been married from above seven heavens" and also: "Allah gave me in marriage in the
heaven" to refer to Allah's decree and order in the Qur'an, which descended from the Preserved
Tablet, not to Allah Himself
