al-Dhukhr al-Harir bi Sharh Mukhtasar al-Tahrir
- Author died
- 1189 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Umariyyah - Dar al-Dhakha'ir
al-Dhukhr al-Harir bi Sharh Mukhtasar al-Tahrir (The Silken Treasure in Explaining the Abridgment of al-Tahrir) is a commentary on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Hanbali scholar Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Ba'li (1108–1189 AH / 1696–1775 CE) . The work explains Mukhtasar al-Tahrir (also titled al-Kawkab al-Munir), an abridgment authored by Ibn al-Najjar al-Futuhi (d. 972 AH) based on Ala' al-Din al-Mardawi's (d. 885 AH) foundational treatise Tahrir al-Manqul wa-Tahdhib 'Ilm al-Usul .
Background and Purpose
In the introduction to the book, al-Ba'li noted that while Ibn al-Najjar had previously authored a substantial commentary on his own summary, he was overly detailed in certain sections and left other expressions without clarifying their meanings . At the request of one of his teachers, al-Ba'li undertook the composition of an abridged and easily accessible commentary designed to facilitate comprehension and reading for students .
Methodology and Sources
The work adopts a medium length—neither excessively detailed nor overly concise—using straightforward phrasing to unpack the condensed core text . In compiling his commentary, al-Ba'li drew heavily upon earlier legal theory literature, relying primarily on al-Mardawi's expansive commentary al-Tahbir fi Sharh al-Tahrir . He also utilized:
- Usul al-Fiqh by Ibn Muflih
- Muqni' Dhawi al-Afham by Ibn Hamdan
- al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam by Sayf al-Din al-Amidi
- Sharh Mukhtasar al-Rawdah by Najm al-Din al-Tufi
- The usul writings of Ibn Qadi al-Jabal
- Sharh Tanqih al-Fusul by Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi
- al-Fawa'id al-Saniyyah fi Sharh al-Alfiyyah by Shams al-Din al-Birmawi
- Works by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, al-Kawrani, and Siraj al-Din al-Urmawi
Reception
The nineteenth-century scholar Abd al-Qadir ibn Badran highlighted the book in al-Madkhal ila Madhhab al-Imam Ahmad, remarking that both Ibn al-Najjar's original commentary (Sharh al-Kawkab al-Munir) and al-Ba'li's al-Dhukhr al-Harir serve as particularly beneficial resources for intermediate students of legal theory . The book was also cited among al-Ba'li's beneficial compositions by Ibn Shatti in Mukhtasar Tabaqat al-Hanabilah and by Muhammad Kamal al-Din al-Ghazzi in al-Na't al-Akmal . The author's brother, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah al-Ba'li, quoted from al-Dhukhr al-Harir in the opening of his commentary al-Riyad al-Nadirat (published as Kashf al-Mukhaddarat) .
A distinct commentary bearing the identical title, al-Dhukhr al-Harir fi Sharh Mukhtasar al-Tahrir, was composed prior to al-Ba'li's work by the scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Afalliq al-Ahsa'i (d. 1163 AH) .
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