al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam

al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Ṣiyām (The Comprehensive Guide to the Rulings of Fasting) is a contemporary work of Islamic jurisprudence on the legal rulings of fasting, authored by the Jordanian scholar Abu Iyas Mahmud ibn Abd al-Latif Uwayda al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.

Background and Purpose

The book was authored following Uwayda's earlier treatise, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Ṣalāh (The Comprehensive Guide to the Rulings of Prayer) al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam. The author completed the text on 28 Jumada al-Ula 1423 AH (8 August 2002 CE) al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam. In the introduction, Uwayda stated that he did not intend to write an exhaustive multi-volume encyclopedia spanning all chapters of Islamic law, but rather sought to present two major works—on prayer and fasting—as a practical model for how jurisprudence (fiqh) ought to be written al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam. He argued that post-formative legal scholasticism had transformed jurisprudence into an overly technical craft weighed down by sectarian partisanship and intricate legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh), which contributed to the closure of independent reasoning (ijtihād) al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam+1. The book was therefore structured to revive the direct, natural engagement with primary scriptural texts characteristic of the Companions and the early generations al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam+1.

Methodology

In the introduction, Uwayda outlines several fundamental methodological criteria applied throughout the book:

1. Exhaustive review of textual evidence: Examining all relevant Quranic verses and prophetic hadiths related to a given issue, rather than relying selectively on texts that favor a single view al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
2. Reliance on authentic narrations: Restricting legal deductions solely to sound (ṣaḥīḥ) and good (ḥasan) narrations while rejecting weak (ḍaʿīf) hadiths in both legal rulings and virtuous deeds; disputed hadiths are accepted only if corroborated or isolated in their chapter without contradicting established sound texts al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
3. Comparative examination of juristic views: Surveying the opinions of classical jurists and legal schools (madhāhib) to assess their comparative evidentiary strength al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
4. Textual reconciliation (iʿmāl al-nuṣūṣ): Harmonizing texts rather than setting them aside, maintaining that genuine contradiction between sound prophetic texts does not occur, with apparent contradictions stemming from weak transmissions or rare instances of abrogation (naskh) al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
5. Threefold derivation method: Interpreting texts either by other scriptural texts, by established legal meanings, or through standard classical Arabic usage, while rejecting forced interpretations (taʾwīlāt mutaʿassifah) aimed at upholding school doctrine al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
6. Detailed referencing: Providing exact hadith reference numbers and cataloging primary source collections at the conclusion of the work al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam+1.

Structure and Contents

The book is organized into twelve thematic chapters (fuṣūl):

• Chapter 1: The Fasting of Ramadan – General Rulings (Ṣiyām Ramaḍān – Aḥkām ʿĀmmah): Covers the definition, merits, and timing of fasting; intention (niyyah); moon sighting (ruʾyah); astronomical calculations; differences in horizons (ikhtilāf al-maṭāliʿ); and rules regarding menstruation, post-natal bleeding, travel, children, and illness al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 2: Breaking the Fast and the Pre-Dawn Meal (al-Fiṭr wa-l-Suḥūr): Covers the timing and manners of breaking the fast (ifṭār), inadvertent eating, and the rulings and virtues of the pre-dawn meal (suḥūr) al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 3: Fasting during Travel (al-Ṣiyām fī al-Safar): Discusses the legal status of fasting versus breaking the fast while traveling and the qualifying travel distance al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 4: Making Up Missed Fasts (Qaḍāʾ al-Ṣawm): Treats making up obligatory fasts for reasons such as illness, menstruation, deliberate vomiting, and false assumptions of sunset, as well as fasting on behalf of the deceased al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam+1.
• Chapter 5: Voluntary Fasting (Ṣiyām al-Taṭawwuʿ): Outlines voluntary fasts, including six days of Shawwal, the sacred months, the day of Arafah, Ashura, Sha'ban, and alternating fasts al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 6: Prohibited Fasts (al-Ṣiyām al-Muḥarram): Covers forbidden fasts, including the day of doubt (yawm al-shakk), perpetual fasting (ṣawm al-dahr), the two Eid days, the days of Tashriq, continuous fasting without breaking (ṣawm al-wiṣāl), and fasting during menstruation al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 7: Expiations (al-Kaffārāt): Discusses expiations through fasting (such as for ẓihār, accidental manslaughter, and sexual intercourse during daytime Ramadan) and monetary compensation (fidyah) al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam+1.
• Chapter 8: Invalidators of the Fast (Mā Yufṭir al-Ṣāʾim): Examines intentional eating and drinking, intercourse, deliberate vomiting, snuffing medication (suʿūṭ), and contemporary medical applications al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 9: Non-Invalidators of the Fast (Mā Lā Yufṭir al-Ṣāʾim): Covers actions such as cupping (ḥijāmah), kohl, the tooth-stick (siwāk), and kissing or non-coital intimacy al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 10: The Night Vigil of Ramadan and Laylat al-Qadr (Qiyām Ramaḍān wa-Laylat al-Qadr): Treats the virtues and characteristics of the Night of Decree and night prayers in Ramadan al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 11: Spiritual Retreat (al-Iʿtikāf): Covers definitions, locations, duration, conditions, and women's participation in spiritual retreat al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam.
• Chapter 12: Zakat al-Fitr (Zakāt al-Fiṭr): Details the obligatory charity at the conclusion of Ramadan; the author notes that while jurists traditionally place it under the book of zakat, he incorporated it here due to its direct connection to the conclusion of the fast al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam+1.

Publication History

The first edition of al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Ṣiyām was published in 2002 CE, followed by a second edition in 2005 CE issued by Mu'assasat al-Risalah al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Siyam+1.