Ahkam al-Quran lil-Tahawi
- Author died
- 321 AH
- Editions
- Centre for Islamic Studies affiliated with the Turkish Diyanet Foundation
Ahkam al-Quran (The Legal Rulings of the Quran) is a work of legal Quranic exegesis by the Hanafi jurist and hadith scholar Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH / 933 CE), dedicated to deducing and analyzing legal rulings from Quranic verses .
Purpose and Methodology
In his introduction, al-Tahawi establishes the foundation of his legal exegesis around the Quranic distinction between clear verses (muhkamat) and ambiguous verses (mutashabihat) . He emphasizes that ambiguous passages must be understood through clear verses and through the authoritative explanations delivered by the Prophet ﷺ in accordance with divine command .
The work is organized thematically according to jurisprudential subjects rather than the sequential order of the Quranic text . Al-Tahawi cites relevant verses for each legal topic, records transmitted reports (athar) and hadiths with their full chains of transmission, addresses divergent scholarly interpretations, and articulates legal reasoning to demonstrate how general Quranic mandates are specified by Prophetic practice .
Structure and Contents
The surviving portion of the work covers several major legal sections, including:
- Kitab al-Taharat (The Book of Purifications): Examining the interpretation of the ablution verse ( يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ ), differing views on whether ablution is required for every prayer, and the associated traditions transmitted from early figures such as Ali ibn Abi Talib .
- Kitab al-Salah (The Book of Prayer): Treating matters such as recitation behind the prayer leader .
- Kitab al-Zakah (The Book of Alms): Analyzing Quranic injunctions commanding zakat and demonstrating how the absolute and general language of the verses is delineated by the Sunnah regarding taxable wealth—such as gold, silver, commercial goods, and grazing livestock—as well as payable rates and qualifying conditions .
Transmission and Publication
The work is recorded among al-Tahawi's writings in classical bibliographical sources, such as the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim, and al-Tahawi cited it himself in his Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (Explanation of Problematic Traditions) .
A manuscript containing a portion of the text was identified in the Vezirköprü Library (MS 814) in northern Turkey . This text was edited by Sadreddin Ünal and published in two volumes by the Centre for Islamic Studies (İSAM) of the Turkish Diyanet Foundation in Istanbul, with the first volume appearing in 1416 AH (1995 CE) and the second in 1418 AH (1998 CE) .
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