al-Fawaid al-Muntakhabat fi Sharh Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat
- Author died
- 1240 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah lil-Ṭibā‘ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
al-Fawaid al-Muntakhabat fi Sharh Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat (Selected Benefits in Explaining the Most Concise of Abridgments) is an extensive commentary on Hanbali jurisprudence by the jurist and judge Uthman ibn Jami (d. 1240 AH / 1824–1825 CE; also reported as d. 1243 AH) . It serves as an exposition of Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat, the concise Hanbali legal manual composed by Ibn Balban (d. 1083 AH / 1672 CE) .
Background and Methodology
In the introduction to the work, Ibn Jami noted that although Ibn Balban's Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat is exceptionally condensed, it encompasses the core issues of Hanbali jurisprudence and is indispensable for students to memorize . Having found no existing commentary that clarified its obscure expressions, he composed this work to elucidate the base text's phrases, verify its rulings, provide its legal proofs, and append valuable juristic benefits .
Ibn Jami stated that his primary reliance for the commentary drew upon Mansur al-Buhuti's commentaries on al-Iqna (Kashshaf al-Qina) and al-Muntaha (Daqaiq Uli al-Nuha), as well as their respective supercommentaries (hawashi) . Modern scholars observe that while Abd al-Rahman al-Bali's earlier commentary on the manual (Kashf al-Mukhaddarat) leans toward al-Iqna, Ibn Jami's commentary leans primarily toward al-Muntaha, systematically arranging the material from al-Buhuti's commentary around the specific legal issues in Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat and occasionally noting points where the base text diverges from the relied-upon positions of the Hanbali school .
Reception and Scholarly Standing
The commentary was received with high regard among later Hanbali scholars and biographers:
- His teacher, Muhammad ibn Fairuz (d. 1216 AH), praised the work, stating that Ibn Jami commented extensively on Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat and gathered within it the finest selections of the school's authoritative texts .
- Ibn Humayd recorded in al-Suhub al-Wabilah that it was an extensive commentary spanning approximately sixty quires (kurrasah), displaying an extraordinary compilation of material .
- Uthman ibn Sanad stated in Sabaik al-Isqad that Ibn Jami's commentary on the work manifested and articulated his scholarly merit .
- Ibn Duwayyan described it in Raf al-Niqab as a substantial, massive volume .
Manuscripts and Publication
An autograph manuscript penned by Ibn Jami in a legible Naskh script, completed in 1224 AH and comprising 375 folios (25 lines per page), is preserved in Kuwait at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (MS 39) . Another manuscript copy was previously held in the library of Salih al-Abd Allah al-Bassam in Unayzah before being sold with his collection around 1355 AH .
The book was edited from the Kuwait autograph manuscript by Abd al-Salam ibn Barjas Al Abd al-Karim and Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Bishr, and published in four volumes by Mu’assasat al-Risalah in Beirut in 1424 AH / 2003 CE .
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