al-Mahbubi Sadr al-Sharia al-Asghar

'Ubayd Allah ibn Mas'ud al-Mahbubi, known as Sadr al-Shari'ah al-Asghar (d. 747 AH / 1346 CE), was a Hanafi jurist, legal theorist, and theologian from Bukhara al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. He is best known for his legal commentary Sharh al-Wiqaya and his treatise on legal theory, Tanqih al-usul al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Lineage and Family

He was 'Ubayd Allah ibn Mas'ud ibn Mahmud ibn Ahmad ibn 'Ubayd Allah ibn Ibrahim al-Mahbubi al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. He belonged to an illustrious scholarly family of Transoxania; his great-grandfather Ahmad ibn 'Ubayd Allah was known as Sadr al-Shari'ah al-Akbar ("the Elder"), while his paternal grandfather Mahmud ibn Ahmad was known by the honorific Taj al-Shari'ah al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. To distinguish him from his great-grandfather, he was designated Sadr al-Shari'ah al-Asghar ("the Younger") or Sadr al-Shari'ah al-Thani ("the Second") al-Madkhal ila Dirasat al…+1.

Biographical sources note variations and errors in records of his ancestry: some accounts recorded his grandfather's name as 'Umar rather than Mahmud, while others conflated his father with his grandfather or identified the author of the base manual Wiqayat al-riwaya as his maternal rather than paternal grandfather al-Fawaid al-Bahiya fi Ta…+1.

Education and Scholarly Career

Al-Mahbubi studied Hanafi jurisprudence and the rational sciences under his grandfather Taj al-Shari'ah Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Mahbubi, who originally composed the legal manual Wiqayat al-riwaya fi masa'il al-Hidaya as an abridgment of al-Marghinani's al-Hidaya for him to memorize al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. He mastered multiple disciplines, including jurisprudence, legal theory, dialectic, theology, philosophy, logic, Arabic grammar, and rhetoric al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

He later authored Sharh al-Wiqaya to elucidate the concise legal manual of his grandfather, resolving its intricate rulings and obscure passages al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. In the field of legal theory, he authored Tanqih al-usul along with his own extensive commentary, al-Tawdih fi hall ghawamid al-Tanqih, which became a widely taught text in the Hanafi curriculum al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Among his students, Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tahiri (Hafiz al-Din) received an authorization (ijaza) from him in Bukhara in Dhu al-Qa'dah 745 AH al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1.

Death

Al-Mahbubi died in Bukhara in 747 AH (1346 CE) Mawsuat Jamal Abd al-Nasi…+1.