al-Hirz al-Thamin lil-Hisn al-Hasin
- Author died
- 1014 AH
- Editions
- Muhammad Ishaq Muhammad Al Ibrahim
al-Hirz al-Thamin lil-Hisn al-Hasin (The Precious Amulet for the Fortified Fortress) is a commentary by al-Mulla Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH / 1606 CE) on the celebrated prayer manual al-Hisn al-Hasin (The Fortified Fortress from the Words of the Master of Messengers) by Ibn al-Jazari (d. 833 AH / 1429 CE) .
Background and Composition
The foundational text, al-Hisn al-Hisan, was completed by Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jazari on Sunday, 22 Dhu al-Hijjah 791 AH inside his madrasa in Damascus while the city was under siege . Ibn al-Jazari assembled the work as a compendium of authentic prophetic invocations, litanies, and supplications (adhkar wa-ad'iya), employing conventional shorthand abbreviations (rumuz) to credit the original hadith compilations .
While resident in Mecca, al-Mulla Ali al-Qari composed al-Hirz al-Thamin as a comprehensive explanation of Ibn al-Jazari's text, finishing its writing during the second half of Jumada al-Akhirah in 1008 AH (1600 CE) .
Structure and Method
Al-Qari structured the work as an integrated, running commentary (sharh mamzuj), presenting the base text interspersed with his own explanations . In his preface, he describes it as a moderately sized exposition (sharh mutawassit) designed to be neither overly brief nor tedious for students . His primary methodological aims included:
- Establishing the exact grammatical vocalization and text variants (dabt) of the supplications .
- Explaining the linguistic, legal, and theological meanings of the prophetic phrases .
- Deciphering and identifying the bibliographic source abbreviations used throughout the matn .
Al-Qari frequently referenced his detailed discussions in al-Hirz al-Thamin across his other scholarly writings, including his commentary on the Musnad of Abu Hanifa, when analyzing hadith narrations and legal matters such as the eclipse prayer (salat al-kusuf) .
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