Al-Ghaya fi Ikhtisar al-Nihaya
- Author died
- 660 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Nawādir
Al-Ghaya fi Ikhtisar al-Nihaya (The Ultimate Goal in Abridging The Objective) is a multi-volume reference work of Shafi'i jurisprudence by Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam (d. 660 AH / 1262 CE), epitomizing Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni's foundational legal compendium Nihayat al-matlab fi dirayat al-madhhab .
Background and Titles
Al-Juwayni's expansive Nihayat al-matlab was abridged by three major Shafi'i jurists: al-Juwayni himself in a rare summary that he described as less than half the size in volume but more than double in meaning; Ibn Abi Asrun (d. 585 AH / 1189 CE) in Safwat al-madhhab fi tahdhib Nihayat al-matlab, spanning seven or eight volumes; and Ibn Abd al-Salam in Al-Ghaya .
Ibn Abd al-Salam maintained an intense study of al-Juwayni's work, which he was able to review with exceptional speed . An account preserved in al-Husayni's Dhayl Tadhkirat al-huffaz relates that Ibn Abd al-Salam would regularly retreat to the Naranj Mosque in the Qarafa cemetery from Wednesday until Friday before prayer with Nihayat al-matlab to peruse it; when this rapid reading was found astonishing, Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini commented that Ibn Abd al-Salam found nothing obscure in it to slow his pace . Ibn Abd al-Salam also began a comparative synthesis titled Al-Jam' bayn al-Hawi wa-l-Nihaya, attempting to merge al-Mawardi's Al-Hawi with al-Juwayni's Nihaya, though he did not finish it .
In later Shafi'i literature, the work is cited under several shortened variants, including Al-Ghaya, Mukhtasar al-Nihaya, Ikhtisar al-Nihaya, and Al-Ghaya Mukhtasar al-Nihaya .
Method and Content
Unlike Ibn Abi Asrun's abridgment, Ibn Abd al-Salam did not adhere to al-Juwayni's exact phrasing; instead, he reformulated the legal chapters afresh in concise, distilled prose . He stripped the text of extended philosophical and dialectical proofs as well as the opinions of other legal schools, focusing exclusively on Shafi'i legal doctrine . Ibn Abd al-Salam drew his material directly from al-Juwayni's sources without citing external treatises, but he incorporated his own legal assessments (tarjih) and independent weighing (ijtihad) . Where he disagreed with al-Juwayni, he adhered to a respectful scholarly decorum, introducing al-Juwayni's stance with "the Imam said" (قال الإمام) and his own counter-assessment with "I say" (قلت) .
Reception and Impact
Because the book was written for advanced jurists, and because Ibn Abd al-Salam's career was marked by travels and political friction between Syria and Egypt, manuscript copies of Al-Ghaya remained relatively scarce . Nevertheless, major late Shafi'i authorities relied heavily on it to clarify ambiguous formulations in al-Juwayni's Nihaya or to transmit Ibn Abd al-Salam's preferred positions . It was cited by Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 756 AH) in Takmilat al-Majmu' and his Fatawa, Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 771 AH) in Al-Ashbah wa-l-naza'ir, Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi (d. 794 AH) in Al-Manthur fi al-qawa'id, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH) in Irshad al-muhtadin and Al-Ashbah wa-l-naza'ir, Zakariyya al-Ansari (d. 926 AH) in Asna al-matalib and Al-Ghurar al-bahiyya, Shihab al-Din al-Ramli (d. 957 AH) in his marginalia on Asna al-matalib, Ahmad al-Burlusi Umayrah (d. 957 AH), Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974 AH) in Al-Fatawa al-fiqhiyya al-kubra, and Nur al-Din al-Shabramallisi (d. 1087 AH) in his supercommentary on Nihayat al-muhtaj .
In modern scholarship, Abd al-Azim al-Deeb utilized Al-Ghaya in more than thirty instances while editing al-Juwayni's Nihayat al-matlab, using it to restore manuscript lacunae, identify chapter titles, correct corrupted passages, and clarify intricate legal issues .
Modern Study and Publication
The legal choices and doctrine of Ibn Abd al-Salam in Al-Ghaya formed the basis of an extensive doctoral study by Ali al-Faqir al-Rabab'ah at al-Azhar University, titled Al-Imam al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam wa-atharuhu fi al-fiqh al-Islami .
The complete text was edited by Iyad Khalid al-Tabba' and published in eight volumes by Dar al-Nawadir in 1437 AH / 2016 CE under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs of Qatar .
Answer updated