al-Mahsul li-Ibn al-Arabi
- Author died
- 543 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bayāriq
al-Mahsul fi Ilm al-Usul (The Sum and Substance in Legal Theory) is a treatise on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Andalusian Maliki jurist and judge Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi (468–543 AH / 1076–1148 CE) . The work is recognized as one of the key texts that shaped the trajectory of Maliki legal theory in the Islamic West (al-Maghrib al-Islami) .
Method and Sources
In al-Mahsul, Ibn al-Arabi followed the scholastic method associated with Abu Bakr al-Baqillani and Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini, who integrated the theological framework of the Ash'ari school with the jurisprudence of the Maliki and Shafi'i traditions . Throughout the majority of the treatise, the author relied heavily on the works of al-Baqillani, al-Isfarayini, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, and Abu al-Ma'ali al-Juwayni . While drawing upon these authorities, he maintained support for Maliki legal positions, defending them with textual and rational arguments .
Structure and Content
The author organized al-Mahsul into introductory sections followed by twelve primary chapters (abwab), each subdivided into sections (fusul) and individual legal questions (masa'il) :
- Introductions: Address the definitions of jurisprudence (fiqh), legal theory (usul al-fiqh), evidence (dalil), the nature of legal obligation (taklif) and its categories—including mandatory (wajib), prohibited (mahzur), recommended (mandub), disliked (makruh), and permissible (mubah)—as well as epistemological and linguistic premises .
- Chapter 1: Commands (al-Awamir) .
- Chapter 2: Prohibitions (al-Nahy) .
- Chapter 3: General terms (al-Umum) .
- Chapter 4: Interpretation (al-Ta'wil) .
- Chapter 5: Implied meaning (al-Mafhum) .
- Chapter 6: Prophetic actions (al-Af'al) .
- Chapter 7: Transmitted reports (al-Akhbar) .
- Chapter 8: Consensus (al-Ijma') .
- Chapter 9: Analogical reasoning (al-Qiyas) .
- Chapter 10: Abrogation (al-Naskh) .
- Chapter 11: Preference between conflicting proofs (al-Tarjih) .
- Chapter 12: Following scholarly authority (al-Taqlid) .
Transmission and Editions
Ibn al-Arabi referenced al-Mahsul in his Qur'anic legal commentary Ahkam al-Qur'an . The work was also cataloged by later North African and Andalusian scholars, including al-Ru'ayni in his Barnamaj, al-Tijani in his Rihla, al-Maqqari in Azhar al-Riyad, and bibliographers like Ismail Pasha al-Babani in Idah al-maknun .
A surviving manuscript of the work, preserved in the Feyzullah Efendi collection in Istanbul, consists of 67 folios written in Naskh script . The text was edited as a master's thesis at the Islamic University of Madinah by Abd al-Latif al-Hamad in 1410 AH, and an edition edited by Husayn Ali al-Badri was published by Dar al-Bayaariq in Jordan in 1420 AH / 1999 CE .
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