al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil
- Author died
- 520 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī
al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil (full title: al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil wa al-Sharh wa al-Tawjih wa al-Ta'lil fi Masa'il al-Mustakhraja) is a major Maliki legal encyclopedia authored by the Cordoban jurist and judge Ibn Rushd al-Jadd (450–520 AH / 1058–1126 CE) . The book is an extensive commentary and systematic critical evaluation of al-Mustakhraja min al-Asmi'a—commonly known as al-Utbiyyah—by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Utbi (d. 255 AH) .
Composition and Purpose
The source text of the work, al-Mustakhraja, constitutes one of the early foundational references (ummahat) of the Maliki school, preserving numerous auditory transmissions (sama'at) from Malik ibn Anas and his direct disciples that were not recorded in al-Mudawwanah . Although al-Utbi assembled these reports, he did not systematically sift through them or evaluate them against the foundational principles of the school, leading earlier critics to point out irregularities and errors among its transmissions .
Ibn Rushd al-Jadd undertook the compilation of al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil to carry out a comprehensive critical review, harmonizing conflicting reports, establishing textual proofs, and providing legal rationales (ta'lil) and contextual justifications (tawjih) for the rulings contained in al-Utbi's work . In the opening of the work, Ibn Rushd stated that whoever studies al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil alongside his other treatise, al-Muqaddimat al-Mumahhadat, will master what cannot be neglected concerning the foundations of religious rulings, comprehend legal knowledge through its proper pathways, master the derivation of subsidiary rulings (furu') from primary principles (usul), and attain the level of those who are qualified to be followed in complex and pressing legal cases (al-nawazil al-mu'dilat) .
Method and Scope
The work is organized along classical legal treatises and topical books (kutub), covering areas such as the Book of Partition (Kitab al-Qismah), the Prescribed Punishments (Kitab al-Hudud), Suretyship and Transfer of Debt (Kitab al-Hamalah wa al-Hawalah), and Limited Partnership (Kitab al-Qirad) . In each section, Ibn Rushd introduces the transmitted questions and opinions, clarifies ambiguous interpretations, evaluates atypical or problematic narrations, and provides reasoning based on Maliki legal principles and textual evidences .
The encyclopedia was celebrated for its breadth and rigor; biographical sources describe it as an expansive work extending to over twenty manuscript volumes .
Transmission and Reception
al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil achieved widespread authority and became an indispensable source for subsequent Maliki jurists . The author transmitted and authorized the work to several prominent scholars; among those who studied under him or received transmission licenses (ijazat) for his books were al-Qadi Iyad, Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Masarra, Abu Tahir al-Silafi, and his son Abu al-Qasim . Biographical and bibliographical historians, including Ibn Bashkuwal and Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili, cataloged and preserved its chains of transmission .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of parts and volumes of al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil were preserved across various historic North African libraries, including the al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez, the General Library and the Kittani collection in Rabat, the National Library of Tunisia in Tunis, and collections in Tetouan .
The complete text was published in Beirut by Dar al-Gharb al-Islami in twenty volumes, edited by Muhammad Hajji and a team of researchers .
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