al-Jami al-Saghir - wa maahu al-Nafi al-Kabir
- Author died
- 189 AH
- Editions
- ʿĀlam al-Kutub
al-Jami al-Saghir - wa ma'ahu al-Nafi al-Kabir is an authoritative publication of the foundational Hanafi legal manual al-Jami al-Saghir by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (132–189 AH / 749–805 CE; d. 187 AH is also reported), published alongside its introductory study and commentary, al-Nafi al-Kabir li-man yutali al-Jami al-Saghir, by the Indian Hanafi scholar Abu al-Hasanat Muhammad Abd al-Hayy al-Luknawi (1264–1304 AH / 1848–1886 CE) .
Background and Composition of al-Jami al-Saghir
al-Jami al-Saghir is one of the six foundational Zahir al-Riwayah works compiled by al-Shaybani, which serve as the primary references for the legal doctrines of the Hanafi school . According to Shams al-A'immah al-Sarakhsi (d. 490 AH), after al-Shaybani completed his broader compositions, Abu Yusuf requested that he compile a concise work gathering what he had memorized from him regarding the narrations transmitted from Abu Hanifah . Al-Shaybani composed the book and presented it to Abu Yusuf, who commended his preservation of the material, observing only that he had erred in three issues; al-Shaybani maintained that he had not erred but that Abu Yusuf had forgotten the transmission .
The text was transmitted by prominent students, including Abu Sulayman al-Juzajani, Abu Hafs, and Ali ibn Ma'bad, and was later organized and chaptered by Abu Tahir al-Dabbas and al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Za'farani .
Structure and Legal Method
According to Fakhr al-Islam al-Bazdawi, al-Jami al-Saghir comprises 1,532 legal rulings (with 1,572 also recorded) . Disagreements among the founding authorities of the school are highlighted in 170 issues, while analogical deduction (qiyas) and juristic preference (istihsan) are explicitly cited in only two issues . The manual generally proceeds by listing concise legal rulings without citing scriptural proofs, typically opening chapters with the formula: "Muhammad from Ya'qub [Abu Yusuf] from Abu Hanifah" .
The contents of the work have traditionally been divided into three categories: rulings recorded exclusively in this text; rulings found elsewhere without explicitly identifying Abu Hanifah's position, which are here explicitly attributed; and rulings rephrased with precise terminology to provide legal nuances not apparent in earlier versions, as highlighted by Abu Ja'far al-Hinduwani in Kashf al-Ghawamid .
al-Nafi al-Kabir and al-Luknawi's Annotations
al-Nafi al-Kabir li-man yutali al-Jami al-Saghir was composed by Abd al-Hayy al-Luknawi as an extensive critical apparatus and introductory work to accompany al-Shaybani's text . In it, al-Luknawi provides an exhaustive historical survey of the commentators, transmitters, and versifiers of al-Jami al-Saghir . He examines key methodological issues in Hanafi jurisprudence, establishing that Abu Yusuf and al-Shaybani were affiliated independent jurists (mujtahidun muntasibun) rather than strict followers in legal methodology (usul) . He also evaluates the reliability of later legal compilations, provides biographical notices of figures such as Abu Tahir al-Dabbas, and concludes with an autobiography .
Reception and Commentaries
al-Jami al-Saghir enjoyed exceptional authority within the Hanafi school. Ali al-Qummi noted that Abu Yusuf did not part with the book whether traveling or residing at home, and Ali al-Razi observed that early masters did not appoint a candidate to judicial office until testing him on its memorization .
Numerous major jurists wrote commentaries on the work, including Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi, Abu Bakr al-Jassas, Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi, Qadi Khan, and Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Itabi . It was also set to verse by scholars such as Najm al-Din Umar al-Nasafi and Mas'ud ibn Abi Bakr al-Farahi .
Publication History
al-Jami al-Saghir was printed in Bulaq in 1302 AH on the margins of Abu Yusuf's Kitab al-Kharaj, and lithographed in India across multiple printings (including 1291, 1294, 1310, and 1328 AH) . The text accompanied by al-Luknawi's al-Nafi al-Kabir was published in Beirut by Alam al-Kutub (1406 AH / 1986 CE) and in Karachi by Idarat al-Qur'an wa-l-Ulum al-Islamiyyah (1411 AH) .
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