Badr al-Din al-Ayni
al-Binaya Sharh al-Hidaya
- Author died
- 855 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyyah
al-Binaya Sharh al-Hidaya is an extensive multi-volume commentary on Hanafi jurisprudence written by Badr al-Din al-Ayni (762–855 AH / 1361–1451 CE) on the foundational legal manual al-Hidaya by Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (d. 593 AH) .
Composition and Context
Al-Ayni commenced the composition of al-Binaya in Safar 817 AH, beginning at the chapter on silent partnership (Kitab al-Mudaraba) while teaching the text when a non-Arab student read it with him . Work on the book continued intermittently until 837 AH, after which he undertook writing it systematically section by section across various periods . He completed the work in Cairo during the middle ten days of Muharram 850 AH, when he was nearly ninety years of age .
In the introduction to al-Binaya, al-Ayni highlighted the preeminence of al-Marghinani's al-Hidaya, noting that classical and later scholars celebrated and studied it continuously, and that it served as the core manual for teachers in madrasas due to its rigorous legal foundations, structured presentation, and coverage of substantive issues .
Method and Scope
The work is structured as a detailed commentary on al-Hidaya, which itself synthesizes Mukhtasar al-Quduri and al-Jami' al-Saghir of Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani . Al-Ayni provides expansive analysis of legal rulings, linguistic nuances, and jurisprudential reasoning. Utilizing his background in hadith scholarship, he extensively authenticates and traces the prophetic traditions (takhrij al-ahadith) referenced in the legal discussions, clarifying their meanings and legal implications alongside the proof-texts used within the Hanafi school .
Reception
Al-Binaya is regarded as one of the prominent classical commentaries on al-Hidaya . The Indian Hanafi jurist Abd al-Hayy al-Luknawi (d. 1304 AH) praised the commentary alongside al-Ayni's other major writings, describing them as exceptionally beneficial and noting al-Ayni's breadth of learning, broad mastery across Islamic sciences, and thoroughness in verifying hadith traditions and uncovering their legal meanings, while observing that its value would have been even greater had it been free from sectarian school partisanship .
Answer updated