al-Ajwiba al-Aythawiya an al-Masail al-Trabulusiya
- Author died
- 801 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyyah lil-Ṭibā‘ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
al-Ajwiba al-Aythawiya 'an al-Masa'il al-Trabulusiya (The Aythawi Answers to the Tripoli Questions) is a collection of legal responsa (fatwas) in Shafi'i jurisprudence by the Levantine Shafi'i jurist Badr al-Din Hasan ibn Husayn al-Aythawi (d. c. 740 AH / 1339 CE, or 8th century AH) .
Background and Composition
The treatise consists of answers to a set of inquiries sent from the city of Tripoli (Tripoli, Lebanon) as a fatwa request to al-Aythawi's teacher, the leading Shafi'i scholar of Damascus, Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Rashid al-Malkawi (d. 803 AH / 1401 CE) . Al-Malkawi directed al-Aythawi to formulate the responses on his behalf . The manuscript opening dates the arrival of the questions to Jumada al-Ula 740 AH, though the modern editor suggests that this date may represent a scribal slip for 790 AH in light of al-Malkawi's known dates of activity .
Content and Method
The text comprises 114 legal questions covering various topics of Shafi'i jurisprudence (fiqh) as well as legal theory (usul al-fiqh) toward the end . The work opens with issues of ritual prayer—such as a latecomer joining another latecomer in congregational prayer—and moves on to matters of marriage, contracts, and other legal chapters .
In his preface, al-Aythawi outlines his methodology: he provides concise answers without lengthy discursiveness, adhering primarily to the relied-upon position (al-mu'tamad) of the Shafi'i school for issuing legal rulings . While avoiding extensive citation of internal disputes within the school, he occasionally mentions differing opinions to clarify underlying legal derivations and textual proofs (al-ma'akhidh wa-l-madarik) . In the theoretical discussions, he cites contemporary authorities such as Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini (d. 805 AH / 1403 CE) and his work Manhaj Usul al-Din .
Reception and Manuscripts
The treatise concluded with formal endorsements and certification notes (taqriz and ijaza) from al-Aythawi's teachers, Ahmad ibn Rashid al-Malkawi and Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad al-Zuhri al-Biqa'i (d. 820 AH / 1417 CE) .
The work survives in manuscript form in Dublin at the Chester Beatty Library (MS 5075/3), written in a 24-folio copy in Naskh script . It was published in a critical edition prepared by Amr Abd al-Azim al-Huwayni .
Answer updated