al-Jami al-Amm fi Fiqh al-Siyam
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Maktabat al-‘Ulūm wa-al-Ḥikam
al-Jami al-Amm fi Fiqh al-Siyam (The General Compendium on the Jurisprudence of Fasting) is a contemporary legal treatise on Islamic fasting and related rites by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad ibn Ali Halawa .
Purpose and Composition
Halawa authored the treatise to address widespread deficiencies in understanding the legal rulings, recommended practices (sunan), and etiquettes of fasting . He composed it as an accessible manual for ordinary worshipers and a reference work for students of Islamic knowledge, addressing the practical circumstances that fasting Muslims face across health, illness, residency, and travel .
After completing the compilation, organizing its chapters, and analyzing the narrations under the principles of narrator criticism (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil), Halawa presented the manuscript to the Egyptian hadith scholar Mustafa al-Adawi, who reviewed the text, suggested emendations, and contributed an introductory foreword .
Scope and Structure
The book is structured into several interconnected legal topics centered on the month of Ramadan and acts of fasting generally :
- Fasting (al-Siyam): Covers the virtues, definitions, and rulings of both obligatory fasting (siyam al-farida) and voluntary fasting (siyam al-tatawwu') .
- Spiritual Retreat (al-I'tikaf): Details the jurisprudence of seclusion in the mosque, particularly during the final ten nights of Ramadan .
- Night Vigil (Qiyam Ramadan): Discusses the night prayers and devotional acts specific to Ramadan .
- The Fast-Breaking Charity (Zakat al-Fitr): Addresses the obligation and rulings governing charity given at the conclusion of Ramadan .
- The Two Festivals (Fiqh al-Idayn): Concludes with the rulings and etiquettes of the Eid celebrations as the culmination of the season of worship .
Methodology
Halawa’s methodology relies primarily on text-critical comparative jurisprudence (dirasa fiqhiyya hadithiyya muqaranah) . He restricts legal derivation to narrations established as authentic from the Prophet, while citing weak hadiths only to demonstrate their defects or address flawed arguments derived from them . He integrates non-prophetic traditions (athar) transmitted from the Companions and Successors, presents the differing positions of the major jurists and mujtahid imams, and exercises legal weighting (tarjih) based on textual evidence rather than school-bound partisanship (taqlid) .
Publication
The work has been published in a single volume by Maktabat al-Ulum wa-l-Hikam .
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