al-Fatawa al-Alamkiriyya = al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya
- Author died
- 1118 AH
- Editions
- al-Maṭbaʻah al-Kubrā al-Amīrīyah bi-Būlāq Miṣr
al-Fatawa al-Alamkiriyya (Arabic: الفتاوى العالمكيرية), also widely known as al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya (الفتاوى الهندية), is a seventeenth-century encyclopedic compendium of Hanafi jurisprudence commissioned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, known by his regnal title Alamgir (1028–1118 AH / 1619–1707 CE) .
Commission and Composition
Aurangzeb commissioned the compilation after ascending the throne, seeking to assemble the authoritative and relied-upon rulings of the Hanafi school across all legal domains into a single standardized work . A board composed of prominent Indian jurists and scholars carried out the project under the leadership of Shaykh Nizam al-Din al-Burhanpuri al-Balkhi . Among the jurists appointed to participate in the drafting and compilation was Shaykh Abu al-Khayr al-Tattawi al-Sindi . The emperor allocated approximately two hundred thousand coins toward funding its preparation .
Structure and Legal Method
The work was structured along the conventional order of legal chapters found in al-Hidaya by al-Marghinani . Rather than presenting subjective deliberations or exploratory debates, the authors selected and anthologized rulings, legal cases (masail), and judicial precedents designated as preferred for issuing formal legal rulings (mufta bihi) from authoritative classical Hanafi references . Following its completion, Aurangzeb officially instructed state judges across the empire to adjudicate cases and issue decrees according to its contents .
Reception and Influence
The compilation achieved widespread recognition across the Islamic world, circulating extensively beyond the Indian subcontinent in the Hejaz, Egypt, the Levant (al-Sham), and Ottoman Anatolia (al-Rum) . It became an essential standard reference work for Hanafi muftis, scholars, and judicial authorities .
Editions and Translations
The text spans between four and six volumes depending on the edition :
- Early printings include the four-volume edition published in Calcutta (1828–1832 CE) .
- A six-volume edition was published at the Bulaq Press in Cairo in 1276 AH, with subsequent printings in 1282 AH and 1311 AH, featuring the marginal texts of Fatawa Qadi Khan by Qadi Khan and al-Fatawa al-Bazzaziyya .
- Later print editions were produced in Kanpur (1895 CE), Cairo at al-Matba'a al-Maymaniyya (1323 AH), Beirut, and Damascus .
Portions of the text were translated into English by legal scholars including Neil B. E. Baillie and Mahomed Ullah ibn S. Jung .
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