al-Bahja fi Sharh al-Tuhfa

al-Bahja fi Sharh al-Tuhfa (The Splendor in Explaining the Masterpiece) is an extensive commentary on Maliki jurisprudence and judicial documentation (ilm al-watha'iq) authored by the Moroccan jurist and judge Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Abd al-Salam al-Tasuli (d. 1258 AH / 1842 CE) Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1. The work serves as an elucidation of the widely studied didactic poem Tuhfat al-Hukkam fi Nukat al-Uqud wa-al-Ahkam (commonly known as al-Asimiyya) composed by the Andalusian chief judge Ibn Asim al-Andalusi (d. 829 AH) Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa….

Composition and Naming

Al-Tasuli composed the commentary in response to requests from students attending his lectures on Ibn Asim's Tuhfa in Fes Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1. The students asked for an exhaustive explanation that would unveil the poem's concise and obscure formulations, parse its syntax for the benefit of beginners in Arabic grammar, clarify its explicit and implicit legal imports, correct problematic expressions that disrupted the meter or meaning, and highlight the practical legal applications endorsed by later judges Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1.

Al-Tasuli relates that he resolved to proceed with the work after a student reported a dream in which al-Tasuli was seen writing a commentary resembling the radiant full moon Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1. While deliberating over a title, he reportedly experienced a dream-vision in which an unseen caller suggested naming it al-Bahja fi Sharh al-Tuhfa, drawing from the Quranic phrase ذَاتَ بَهْجَةٍ (of delightful beauty; al-Naml: 60) Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1.

Scope and Methodology

The work covers the chapters of Maliki positive law, adjudication, contracts, testimony, and notarial documentation contained in the Tuhfa Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1. Al-Tasuli sought to bridge the abstract rules of fiqh with actual judicial records (watha'iq), detailing the prevailing judicial practice (ma bihi al-amal) followed by later Maghribi courts al-Bahja fi Sharh al-Tuhf….

To manage citations efficiently, al-Tasuli devised a system of shorthand abbreviations for four major Maliki authorities frequently cited throughout the commentary Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1:

• The letter Khāʾ (خ) denotes Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi.
• The letter Tāʾ (ت) denotes Muhammad al-Tawudi ibn Suda, one of the prominent commentators on the Tuhfa.
• The letter Mīm (م) denotes Muhammad Mayyara.
• The letter Ḥāʾ (ح) denotes al-Hattab.

In his introduction, al-Tasuli states that he refrained from explicitly criticizing earlier commentators by name, observing that every jurist adopts a legitimate analytical approach and path in issuing legal verdicts al-Bahja fi Sharh al-Tuhf….

Reception, Glosses, and Printings

al-Bahja established itself as an authoritative manual in the Maghrib for legal instruction, fatwa issuance, and judicial office (qada') Muallamat al-Fiqh al-Mali…+1. The Tetouani jurist Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Rahuni (d. 1373 AH / 1953 CE), working alongside fellow scholars from Tetouan, compiled a two-volume supercommentary on the work titled Husul al-Ulfa Muallamat al-Fiqh al-Mali….

The book typically circulates in two volumes Muallamat al-Fiqh al-Mali…. It was published in lithographic print in Fes and saw early movable-type editions in Cairo and Bulaq (including editions in 1256 AH, 1304–1305 AH accompanied in the margins by al-Tawudi's commentary, and 1318 AH), as well as a later edition in Beirut in 1397 AH Ajwibat al-Tasuli an Masa…+1.