Adab al-Mufti wal-Mustafti
- Author died
- 643 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-ʿUlūm wa-al-Ḥikam
Adab al-Mufti wal-Mustafti (The Etiquette of the Mufti and the Questioner) is a specialized treatise on the qualifications, protocols, and ethics of issuing and seeking legal verdicts (fatwa), authored by the Shafi'i jurist and hadith scholar Ibn al-Salah (d. 643 AH / 1245 CE) .
Title and Composition
In manuscripts and bio-bibliographical works, the book appears under various titles . Taj al-Din al-Subki cited it as Adab al-Futya in Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra and as Adab al-Mufti in his Tabaqat al-Wusta, a title also used by Ibn Kathir . It is recorded as Adab al-Mufti wal-Mustafti by Ibn Qadi Shuhbah, Ibn al-'Imad al-Hanbali, and Hajji Khalifa . Manuscript titles also include Fatawa Ibn al-Salah wa-Shurut al-Mufti wa-Awsafuh... and Jawahir al-Fatawa wa-Adab al-Mufti wal-Mustafti .
Ibn al-Salah explained in his introduction that he composed the book because of the elevated status of fatwa in Islamic law and the disappearance of competent authorities in his time, seeking to produce a guide suited to his era that clarifies the qualifications of jurists and the etiquette of petitioners .
Structure and Contents
The treatise is organized around key legal and ethical themes:
- The Nobility and Peril of Fatwa (Bayan Sharaf al-Fatwa wa-Khatariha wa-Gharariha): Discusses the virtues of issuing legal opinions, the heavy religious responsibility attached to it, and reports from early generations on their hesitation to issue rulings .
- The Mufti’s Qualifications, Categories, and Etiquette: Sets out the prerequisites of the mufti—being a trustworthy, upright Muslim possessing legal acumen and requisite scholarly proficiencies . Ibn al-Salah classifies muftis into independent (mustaqill), whose era he considers to have ended long ago, and affiliated (ghayr mustaqill / muntasib), whom he divides into four descending ranks based on their mastery of legal deduction within an established school . It also covers practical guidelines for drafting written responses (ruqa'), dealing with erroneous verdicts, and maintaining impartiality .
- The Petitioner’s Status, Rulings, and Etiquette (Sifat al-Mustafti wa-Ahkamuh wa-Adabuh): Addresses the definition of legal following (taqlid), the obligation of the layman to verify the competence of the mufti, the ruling on following deceased authorities (taqlid al-mayyit), and whether a petitioner may choose freely between legal schools .
Sources and Method
In compiling the work, Ibn al-Salah combined the methodology of hadith scholars with that of legal theorists (usuliyyun) . In the opening chapter on the gravity of fatwa, he relied extensively on transmitted traditions with chains of narration (isnad), borrowing heavily from al-Faqih wal-Mutafaqqih by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi and Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa-Fadlih by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr . For juridical theory and procedural rules, his major sources included Abu al-Qasim al-Saymari's Adab al-Mufti wal-Mustafti, as well as works by al-Mawardi and al-Juwayni .
Influence and Editions
The book served as a standard reference in Shafi'i legal literature and broader legal theory. al-Nawawi examined the works of al-Saymari, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, and Ibn al-Salah, praising each for unique contributions, and summarized and incorporated most of Ibn al-Salah's treatise into his own writings on the etiquette of fatwa . It was also utilized and quoted by 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Kafi al-Subki and his son Taj al-Din al-Subki in al-Ibhaj fi Sharh al-Minhaj .
Printed editions of the work include the edition edited by Muwaffaq 'Abd Allah 'Abd al-Qadir (first published in Saudi Arabia) and the edition edited by Mustafa Mahmud .
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