al-Kafi Sharh Usul al-Bazdawi
- Author died
- 714 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Rushd li-l-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
al-Kāfī Sharḥ Uṣūl al-Bazdawī is an extensive commentary on Islamic legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) according to the Hanafi school, authored by al-Ḥusām al-Sighnāqī (d. 714 AH / 1314 CE; other reports give 710 or 711 AH) . The work serves as an elucidation of Uṣūl al-Bazdawī (formally titled Kanz al-Wuṣūl ilā Maʿrifat al-Uṣūl) by Fakhr al-Islām al-Bazdawī (d. 482 AH / 1089 CE) .
Background and Composition
The base text, Uṣūl al-Bazdawī, was widely studied among Hanafi scholars but posed significant challenges for students due to its dense phrasing and obscure, highly compressed allusions . Several jurists composed commentaries to unpack its meanings, among the earliest of which was al-Sighnāqī's al-Kāfī .
Al-Sighnāqī noted at the conclusion of his work that he completed its composition in late Jumādā al-Ūlā 704 AH (1305 CE) . A surviving manuscript record indicates that a copy of the commentary transcribed directly from the author's autograph was completed on 1 Ramaḍān 711 AH (1312 CE) in Damascus .
Method and Content
Al-Sighnāqī titled the work al-Kāfī ("The Sufficient") because it aimed to provide a comprehensive treatment for every major issue in the base text and clarify obscure statements . In his concluding remarks, the author highlighted his method of gathering numerous parallel legal cases (naẓāʾir) to illustrate difficult theoretical issues and drawing extensively on textual evidence and examples from al-Sarakhsī's al-Mabsūṭ to facilitate comprehension for advanced scholars and students alike .
The commentary also addresses theoretical theological discussions connected to legal derivation from a Maturidi perspective . For instance, in discussions regarding the nature of divine speech, al-Sighnāqī articulates the orthodox school distinction that whoever claims that the uncreated divine attribute of speech is created has committed disbelief, whereas the written copies (maṣāḥif), recited words, and memorized verses are created .
Publication
The work has been edited by Fakhr al-Dīn Sayyid Muḥammad Qānit and published in multiple volumes by Maktabat al-Rushd in Riyadh (1423 AH / 2001 CE) .
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