al-Inaya Sharh al-Hidaya - bi-hamish Fath al-Qadir
- Author died
- 786 AH
- Editions
- T al-Halabi
Al-Inayah Sharh al-Hidayah is a commentary on Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani’s legal work al-Hidayah in Hanafi jurisprudence, authored by Akmal al-Din al-Babarti (d. 786 AH / 1384 CE) and widely known in print on the margins of Ibn al-Humam’s Fath al-Qadir .
Composition and Method
Al-Babarti opens the work with the doxology: «الحمد لله الذي هدانا في البداية معرفة الهداية...» ("Praise be to God who guided us in the beginning to the knowledge of al-Hidayah") . In the introduction, he states that he narrated al-Hidayah on the authority of his teacher Qiwam al-Din al-Kaki (also recorded in one reading as al-Sakkaki) .
Al-Babarti explains his motivation by noting that earlier extensive commentaries, particularly al-Nihayah by Husam al-Din al-Sighnaqi, were difficult to summon and navigate during teaching sessions due to their prolixity . He therefore abridged what was necessary to unravel and clarify the phrasing of al-Hidayah, compiling material from al-Nihayah and other sources, and diligently refined and edited the text . He titled the work al-Inayah ("The Care" or "Divine Assistance") because its completion was achieved by God's aid .
Structure and Reception
Originally compiled in two volumes, al-Inayah gained wide acceptance among Hanafi jurists . Haji Khalifa praised it, noting that al-Babarti excelled in its composition and describing it as an esteemed, authoritative commentary particularly relied upon in Ottoman lands .
Several scholars composed glosses and supercommentaries on al-Inayah:
- A prominent supercommentary was written by the Ottoman mufti Sa'di Chelebi (Sa'd Allah ibn 'Isa, d. 945 AH). It was compiled from his marginal notes on both al-Hidayah and al-Inayah by his student, Mawla Abd al-Rahman, after he became a judge in Constantinople .
- A later gloss was authored by Sari al-Din Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Daruri al-Misri (d. 1066 AH) .
Printings
Al-Inayah is frequently published alongside Ibn al-Humam’s Fath al-Qadir and Sa'di Chelebi’s marginalia, printed across the margins of multi-volume editions of Fath al-Qadir and its continuation Nata'ij al-Afkar by Qadi Zadah . Notable printings include the Maymaniyyah edition in Cairo (1319 AH), the Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi edition (1356 AH and 1389 AH / 1969–1970 CE), and subsequent editions by Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi and Dar al-Fikr in Beirut .
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