al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mufradat al-Fatiha

al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mufradat al-Fatiha (The Explanatory Dictations on the Words of al-Fatiha) is a hadith dictation work composed by the Shafi'i jurist and traditionist Abu al-Qasim Abd al-Karim ibn Muhammad al-Rafi'i (557–623 AH / 1162–1226 CE; another report gives 624 AH) al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

Structure and Methodology

The work comprises thirty dictation sessions (majalis), each built around a single sound (sahih) or good (hasan) hadith narrated through al-Rafi'i's own transmission paths from his teachers Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1. Al-Rafi'i arranged the sessions according to the sequence of the thirty words that make up Surah al-Fatiha followed by the closing utterance Amin al-Badr al-Munir fi Takhr…+1. The hadith opening the first session incorporates the word al-ism, the second contains the Divine name Allah, the third features al-Rahman, and subsequent sessions proceed through the remaining individual words of the surah al-Badr al-Munir fi Takhr…+1.

In each session, al-Rafi'i addresses the featured narration through structured divisions:

• The chain of transmission (isnad) and the biographical circumstances of its narrators al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mu…+1.
• Arabic linguistic and grammatical analysis focused on the selected word al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mu…+1.
• Interpretive benefits, legal subtleties (daqa'iq), historical anecdotes (hikayat), and closing poetic verses, both cited from earlier sources and composed by the author himself al-Badr al-Munir fi Takhr…+1.

Al-Rafi'i noted at the conclusion of the text that he relied on the narrations available to him at the time of dictation—including transmissions by direct audition (sama') as well as formal license (ijazah)—and stated that calling the collection al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mufradat al-Fatiha was accurate to its contents al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mu….

Reception and Transmission

The book was described by Ibn al-Mulaqqin as immensely beneficial, noting that he had seen no other scholar follow such an arrangement, and observing that examining it reveals al-Rafi'i's prominence, particularly in the science of hadith al-Badr al-Munir fi Takhr…. Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi cataloged it among al-Rafi'i's works as a single volume characterized by an unusual structural design al-Muhimmat fi Sharh al-R…. It was also documented by biographers and bibliographers including al-Dhahabi, Taj al-Din al-Subki, Ibn al-Imad, and Hajji Khalifa al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mu….

The text was transmitted down through scholarly lineages; Siraj al-Din al-Qazwini recorded his transmission of the work in his Mashyakhah via an authorization from Jalal al-Din Muhammad ibn Abd al-Ghaffar al-Qazwini from his father, as well as through another elevated chain Mashyakhat al-Qazwini.

Manuscripts and Publication

The work is preserved in manuscript copies, one of which carries the slight title variant al-Amali al-Shariha 'ala Mufradat al-Fatiha al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mu…. It was edited by Wa'il Muhammad Bakr Zahran based on two manuscript witnesses and published by Dar al-Faruq al-Hadithah al-Amali al-Shariha li-Mu….