al-Iqna fi Hall Alfaz Abi Shuja
- Author died
- 977 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Fikr
Al-Iqna fi Hall Alfaz Abi Shuja (Persuasion in Resolving the Expressions of Abu Shuja) is a Shafi'i legal commentary authored by al-Khatib al-Shirbini (d. 977 AH / 1569–1570 CE) on the concise jurisprudential primer Ghayat al-ikhtisar (also known as al-Taqrib or Mukhtasar Abi Shuja) by Abu Shuja al-Asfahani.
Composition and Scope
Al-Khatib al-Shirbini composed the work in response to requests from students and colleagues who asked him to provide a commentary explaining the difficulties and unraveling the obscure phrasing of Abu Shuja's primer. Before undertaking the project, he performed istikhara (supplication for divine guidance) after praying two rak'ahs at the tomb of al-Shafi'i. In his exposition, he incorporated legal rulings and foundational principles drawn from his commentaries on al-Tanbih, al-Minhaj, and al-Bahjah.
The author adopted an intermediate style that avoided both confusing brevity and wearisome length, aiming to make the text comprehensive enough that beginning students would not need to consult other works while serving as an adequate reference for intermediate scholars.
Supercommentaries and Transmission
The book became a standard Shafi'i reference text and the subject of several notable supercommentaries (hawashi), including:
- Tuhfat al-habib 'ala sharh al-khatib (also known as Hashiyat al-Bujayrimi 'ala al-Iqna) by Sulayman al-Bujayrimi (d. 1221 AH).
- Hashiyat al-Qalyubi 'ala al-Iqna by Ahmad al-Qalyubi (d. 1069 AH).
- Kifayat al-labib fi hall sharh Abi Shuja by Hasan al-Madabighi (d. 1170 AH).
- Fath al-latif al-mujib bima yata'allaq bi-kitab Iqna' al-khatib by Abd al-Rahman al-Ujhuri.
The commentary was published in four volumes alongside al-Bujayrimi's supercommentary at Bulaq in 1284 AH. Numerous manuscript copies survive across international libraries, including holdings in Cairo, Mecca, Paris, and Princeton.
Answer updated