al-Ifsah an Maani al-Sihah
- Author died
- 560 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Watan
Al-Ifsah ‘an Ma‘ani al-Sihah (The Elucidation of the Meanings of the Authentic Traditions) is an extensive commentary on the prophetic traditions of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, composed by the Abbasid vizier and Hanbali jurist Ibn Hubayra (499–560 AH / 1105–1165 CE) .
Background and Purpose
Ibn Hubayra composed the work around the framework of al-Jam‘ bayna al-Sahihayn (Combining the Two Sahihs) by Abu Abd Allah al-Humaydi (d. 488 AH), which he had received through transmission from Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Harawi (d. 531 AH) in al-Dur . In his preface, Ibn Hubayra noted that existing comprehensive commentaries, such as Ibn Abd al-Barr’s al-Tamhid, were confined to specific compilations like the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas . He aimed to produce a work that combined the authenticated hadiths of both al-Bukhari and Muslim while explicating their legal derivations, theological matters, ethical directives, and spiritual refinement .
Structure and Method
The complete work was composed in several volumes, described by al-Dhahabi as spanning ten volumes and by Ibn Rajab as containing nineteen books . While following the narrations arranged by companion, the author encountered the hadith transmitted on the authority of Mu‘awiya: من يرد الله به خيرا يفقهه في الدين ("Whomever Allah desires good for, He grants him understanding in religion") .
At this point, Ibn Hubayra embarked on a substantial excursus on comparative jurisprudence (fiqh), covering the topics of positive law beginning with ritual purity (tahara) . He restricted his legal survey to the points of consensus (ijma‘) and dispute (khilaf) among the four eponymous Sunni imams: Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal . His presentation in this section was descriptive and neutral, cataloging their positions without engaging in sectarian preference (tarjih) or polemical defenses . Because of its practical utility, this comparative legal portion was frequently transcribed, studied, and printed as a standalone work, often circulating under titles such as al-Ifsah, al-Ashraf ‘ala Madhahib al-Ashraf, al-Iydah wa-l-Tabyin fi Ikhtilaf al-A'imma al-Mujtahidin, or al-Ijma‘ wa-l-Khilaf .
Composition, Patronage, and Dissemination
Ibn Hubayra wrote and dictated the work in Baghdad during his tenure as grand vizier to the Abbasid caliphs al-Muqtafi and al-Mustanjid . To ensure the accurate representation of each school, he invited and hosted leading jurists of the various madhhabs from across different regions to deliberate upon the text . He expended 113,000 dinars on compiling the book and hosting scholars, while a report in al-Mustafad places the expenditure at 213,000 dinars .
The vizier organized widespread instruction of the text across Baghdad, providing for 1,800 students and 140 repeating tutors (mu‘idun) across mosques and madrasas, and rewarding those who memorized and recited passages before him . Large audiences convened to hear him transmit the text directly . A dedicated manuscript was prepared for the library of Caliph al-Mustanjid, and copies were requested and distributed to rulers throughout the region, including Sultan Nur al-Din Zangi (Nur al-Din Mahmud) .
Reception, Abridgments, and Editions
Al-Ifsah was widely received across different legal schools and served as a standard reference for comparative fiqh and hadith commentary . It also attracted political and literary hostility; the poet Abd Allah ibn al-Muzaffar (known as Ibn Ra'is al-Ru'asa') composed satirical verses mocking Ibn Hubayra and his interpretation of the Sahihs .
Several scholars prepared epitomes and derivative works based on al-Ifsah:
- Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH) summarized it in Mahd al-Mahd and drew heavily upon it when composing his own hadith commentary, Kashf al-Mushkil min Hadith al-Sahihayn .
- Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Khatir al-Nu‘mani al-Farisi (d. 598 AH) abridged it under the title al-Hujja, incorporating additional commentary .
- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852 AH) subsequently abridged al-Nu‘mani's al-Hujja .
The jurisprudence section of the work was published in Aleppo in 1929 CE, edited by Muhammad Raghib al-Tabbakh, following earlier praise and advocacy by Ahmad Taymur Pasha . The broader hadith commentary has appeared in modern editions, including an eight-volume edition edited by Fu'ad Abd al-Mun'im Ahmad (published in Riyadh by Dar al-Watan, following an earlier initial volume printed in Qatar in 1406 AH), as well as an eleven-volume edition edited by Muhammad Ya'qub Talib Ubaydi in Cairo .
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