al-Mabsut lil-Sarakhsi

al-Mabsut (Arabic: المبسوط) is an extensive compendium of Hanafi jurisprudence written by Shams al-A'imma al-Sarakhsi (d. 483 AH / 1090 CE; other reports give c. 490 AH or c. 500 AH) Sharh al-Manzuma al-Musam…+1. It is a detailed commentary on al-Kafi, the abridgment compiled by al-Hakim al-Shahid (d. 334 AH / 945 CE) of the core transmitted works (zahir al-riwayah) of Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani Sharh al-Manzuma al-Musam…+1.

Composition and Context

Al-Sarakhsi composed the work while imprisoned in a pit (jubb) or fortress at Uzjand, having been incarcerated following counsel he offered to the local ruler (the Khaqan) al-Fawaid al-Bahiya fi Ta…+1. He dictated the entire work to his students from memory without access to books, while his disciples sat at the top of the pit writing down his dictation Taj al-Tarajim fi Tabaqat…+1.

Throughout the text, al-Sarakhsi included rhymed prose colophons reflecting on his captivity at the conclusion of various major legal sections Taj al-Tarajim fi Tabaqat…+1. At the end of the section on acts of worship (Sharh al-'Ibadat), he noted: "This is the end of the explanation of worship... dictated by the one imprisoned away from Friday and congregational prayers" al-Fawaid al-Bahiya fi Ta…. At the conclusion of admissions (Sharh al-Iqrar), he wrote: "Ended is the explanation of admissions... dictated by the one confined in the prison of the wicked" al-Fawaid al-Bahiya fi Ta…. Similarly, at the end of the quarter on sales (Buyu'), he described himself as one "cut off from family and collected books" Taj al-Tarajim fi Tabaqat…. When he reached the section on legal conditions (al-Shurut), he was released and traveled to Farghana, where he was hosted by Amir Hasan and completed the dictation of his works al-Fawaid al-Bahiya fi Ta….

Method and Scope

Al-Mabsut is designed as an exhaustive exposition of the substantive rulings of Hanafi jurisprudence (furu'), structured around the chapters of al-Kafi Sharh al-Manzuma al-Musam…+1. In it, al-Sarakhsi presents the opinions of Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf, and al-Shaybani, as well as secondary figures within the school such as Zufar and al-Hasan ibn Ziyad al-Mabsut lil-Sarakhsi. He integrates detailed rationales (ta'lil) for legal positions, analyzes textual evidence, addresses rare case applications (nawadir), and contrasts Hanafi doctrines with those of other legal schools, making it an important source for comparative jurisprudence (al-fiqh al-muqaran) al-Mabsut lil-Sarakhsi+1.

Reception and Authority

Within the Hanafi tradition, al-Sarakhsi's work achieved supreme authority among late scholars. When later Hanafi jurists cite al-Mabsut without qualification, it refers by default to al-Sarakhsi's text rather than to earlier works sharing the same title by al-Shaybani, Abu Bakr Khwaharzadah, or Shams al-A'imma al-Halwani Sharh al-Manzuma al-Musam…+1.

The prominent late Hanafi authority Ibn 'Abidin cited the jurist al-Tarsusi stating that rulings contrary to al-Sarakhsi's al-Mabsut are not acted upon, and that legal fatwas rely definitively upon it al-Madkhal ila Dirasat al…+1. Ibn 'Abidin also highlighted this prominence in his verse system 'Uqud Rasm al-Mufti, describing it as the foremost commentary on al-Kafi Sharh al-Manzuma al-Musam…+1.

Manuscript Tradition and Editions

In manuscript form, the work was bound in varying lengths, described by classical biographers as spanning between ten, fourteen, fifteen, or twenty volumes Taj al-Tarajim fi Tabaqat…+1.

• The standard early printed edition was published in Cairo at Matba'at al-Sa'ada in thirty parts, beginning around 1324 AH and concluding in Sha'ban 1331 AH al-Mabsut lil-Sarakhsi+1.
• A dedicated index volume (Faharis al-Mabsut), compiling legal topics, Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, named authorities, and cited books, was prepared by Khalil al-Mays and published by Dar al-Ma'rifa in Beirut in 1400 AH / 1980 CE al-Asl li Muhammad ibn al….