Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
References:
I. Legal Dictionaries:
1. Al-Mughrib - by al-Mutarrazi, he was a student of the students of alZamakhshari. Very useful.
2. Tilbat al-Talabah - by Imam al-Nasafi.
- Arranged by chapters of fiqh
Here's a list of commentaries recommended by Shaykh Shams in the 1st class last week:
i) al Lubab fi Sharh il Kitaab by Shaykh Abdul Ghani al Ghunaymi al Maydani (ra)
highly recommended
ii) al Jawhara al Nayyara by Abu Bakr ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al Haddad al Yemeni (ra)
iii) al Mutasar ud Daroori by Shaykh Muhammad Sulayman al Hindi (ra)
iv) at Tasheeh wat Tarjeeh ala Mukhtasar al Quduri by Allamah Qasim ibn Qutloobagha
al Misri al Hanafi (ra) not a commentary but a good book to have.
v) ash Sharh us Thameeri ala Mukhtasar al Quduri by Maulana Thameeruddin (db) of
the UK Urdu commentary. Dont use Urdu commentaries as a standard reference
though. Use Arabic as a standard. Only use Urdu when youre really stuck.
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.
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
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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
( )
Other versions, such as Ibn Abi al-`Izz's (d. 792) commentary, have:
( )
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 -- 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.
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."
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
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.""