al-Fiqh al-Muyassar fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah
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- King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran
al-Fiqh al-Muyassar fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah (Simplified Jurisprudence in Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah) is a contemporary manual of Islamic jurisprudence prepared by a committee of scholars and published by the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran in Medina in 1424 AH (2003 CE) . The book presents practical legal rulings on acts of worship and transactions in concise language directly supported by evidence from the Quran and the authentic Sunnah .
Authorship and Publication
The work was issued under the auspices of the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah, and Guidance, with general supervision and an introductory preface by Minister Salih ibn Abd al-Aziz Al al-Shaykh . It was planned as part of the King Fahd Complex's program to produce accessible manuals on fundamental Islamic disciplines for Muslims worldwide, following earlier publications such as Usul al-Iman fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah (Principles of Faith in Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah) .
The drafting of the text was entrusted to four academic specialists in jurisprudence: Abd al-Aziz Mabruk al-Ahmadi, Fayhan ibn Shali al-Mutayri, Abd al-Karim ibn Sunaytan al-Umari, and Abd Allah ibn Fahd al-Sharif al-Hujari . Dr. Abd al-Aziz Mabruk al-Ahmadi also undertook the documentation of textual citations and the hadith referencing (takhrij) throughout the work . The book was subsequently reviewed and edited by Ali ibn Muhammad Nasir Faqihi and Jamal ibn Muhammad al-Sayyid from the complex's Scientific Affairs administration .
Structure and Contents
The manual consists of an introductory prelude (tamhid), fourteen main books (kutub), and concluding indexes . The prelude covers the definition of jurisprudence, its primary sources—the Qur’an, the Sunnah, consensus (ijma'), and analogical deduction (qiyas)—alongside its subject matter, fruits, and virtues . The main books and their chapter divisions comprise:
- Kitab al-Tahara (Ritual Purity): ten chapters addressing waters, vessels, answering the call of nature, the tooth-stick (siwak) and innate practices (sunan al-fitra), ablution (wudu), wiping over footgear and bandages, ritual bathing (ghusl), dry ablution (tayammum), impurities, and menstruation and post-natal bleeding .
- Kitab al-Salah (Prayer): fifteen chapters detailing the call to prayer (adhan), prayer times, conditions, pillars, voluntary prayers, prostrations of forgetfulness and gratitude, congregational prayer, leadership in prayer (imama), prayers of excused persons, Friday prayer, fear prayer, the two Eid prayers, solar and lunar eclipse prayers, rain-seeking prayer, and funeral rites .
- Kitab al-Zakah (Almsgiving): six chapters on taxable assets, gold and silver, agricultural produce, livestock, charity at the end of Ramadan (zakat al-fitr), and eligible recipients .
- Kitab al-Siyam (Fasting): five chapters covering fast invalidators, exemptions, recommended and disliked fasts, making up missed fasts, and spiritual retreat (i'tikaf) .
- Kitab al-Hajj (Pilgrimage): seven chapters on pilgrimage rites, prohibitions, sacrificial offerings (hady and udhiya), the birth sacrifice (aqaqa), and legislated sites to visit in Medina .
- Kitab al-Jihad (Striving and Warfare): three chapters addressing rulings, prerequisites, captives, spoils of war, truces, and treaties (dhimma and aman) .
- Kitab al-Mu'amalat (Financial and Civil Transactions): twenty-three chapters treating sales, usury (riba), loans, pledges, advance sales (salam), debt transfer (hawala), agency (wakala), suretyship (daman), bankruptcy and interdiction (hajr), partnerships, leasing (ijara), sharecropping, preemption (shuf'a), deposits, usurpation (ghasb), reconciliation, gifts, endowments (waqf), and lost property .
- Kitab al-Mawarith wa al-Wasaya wa al-Itq (Inheritances, Bequests, and Manumission): four chapters covering the legal dispositions of the terminally ill, wills, emancipation of slaves, and estate distribution .
- Kitab al-Nikah wa al-Talaq (Marriage and Divorce): eleven chapters covering marriage contracts, dower (sadaq), wedding feasts, divorce (talaq and khul'), oaths of sexual abstinence (ila'), injurious assimilation (zihar), mutual cursing (li'an), waiting periods (‘idda), breast-feeding (rada'), child custody (hadana), and financial support (nafaqa) .
- Kitab al-Jinayat (Torts and Felonies): three chapters covering physical injuries, blood money (diya), and collective oath procedures (qasama) .
- Kitab al-Hudud (Prescribed Punishments): eight chapters detailing penalties for unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), false accusation of unchastity (qadhf), wine-drinking, theft, highway robbery (hiraba), apostasy (ridda), and discretionary punishment (ta'zir) .
- Kitab al-Ayman wa al-Nudhur (Oaths and Vows): two chapters treating oaths and religious vows .
- Kitab al-At'imah wa al-Dhaba'ih wa al-Sayd (Foods, Slaughter, and Hunting): three chapters outlining permissible and prohibited foods, rules of slaughter, and hunting game .
- Kitab al-Qada wa al-Shahadat (Judiciary and Testimonies): two chapters detailing judicial rulings and legal testimonies .
Methodology
Designed primarily for non-specialists and general readers rather than academic specialists, the work intentionally avoids lengthy legal divergences (khilaf) and minor hypothetical sub-branches . The authors adopt the preponderant opinion (al-qawl al-rajih) supported by authentic textual proof for each issue .
For prophetic traditions, citations found in Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim are referenced directly; narrations outside the two collections are sourced from the Four Sunan and other standard hadith compendia, accompanied by rulings on their authenticity derived from classical and contemporary hadith scholars . Alongside classical reference works across the four Sunni legal schools, the compilers drew upon contemporary legal texts, notably al-Sharh al-Mumti' by Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin and al-Mulakhkhas al-Fiqhi by Salih al-Fawzan . The text also includes specific notes warning against widespread religious infractions stemming from ignorance or uncritical imitation .
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