al-Manthur fi al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyya
- Author died
- 794 AH
- Editions
- Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf (printed by Kuwait Press Company)
al-Manthur fi al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyya (The Scattered Pearls in Legal Maxims) is a classical compendium of legal maxims (qawaid fiqhiyya) and legal precepts (dawabit) in the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence by the Egyptian scholar Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi (d. 794 AH / 1392 CE) .
Composition and Scope
The work is also referenced in historical bibliographies as al-Qawaid fi al-Furu (The Maxims of Substantive Law) and al-Manthur fi Tartib al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyya . In his preface, al-Zarkashi explains that organizing dispersed legal branches under unified principles facilitates their preservation and comprehension, citing the scholar Qutb al-Din al-Sanbati's remark that "jurisprudence is the knowledge of analogous cases" (al-fiqh ma'rifat al-naza'ir) . The book compiles overarching legal maxims, regulatory precepts, and substantive legal applications (furu'), harmonizing theoretical legal rules with verified branches across diverse chapters of Shafi'i law .
Structure and Methodology
Unlike many earlier works in the genre that organized legal maxims according to thematic chapters of fiqh or around foundational major maxims, al-Zarkashi arranged the entries in his book alphabetically according to the Arabic letters of the alphabet (huruf al-mu'jam) . He stated that this arrangement was designed to make locating specific maxims easier for the reader .
Under each entry, al-Zarkashi formulates the legal principle (ta'sil), extracts the underlying rationale, branches out into concrete legal rulings derived from it (tafri'), notes points of juristic agreement and dispute, and records relevant qualifications, exceptions (istithna'at), and regulatory distinctions (dawabit) .
Reception, Commentaries, and Abridgments
Al-Zarkashi's alphabetical organization has been cited as a structural innovation within the literature on legal maxims . Later scholars adopted or referenced this layout; the Hanafi scholar Abu Sa'id al-Khadimi followed it for the maxims appended to his Majami' al-Haqa'iq, and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti noted that the opening section of his grammatical work al-Ashbah wa-l-Naza'ir fi al-Nahw was modeled on the alphabetical organization of al-Zarkashi's maxims .
The text generated scholarly commentaries and abridgments:
- Siraj al-Din Umar al-Abbadi composed a commentary on it in two volumes .
- Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani (d. 973 AH / 1565 CE) abridged the work into a single volume entitled al-Maqasid al-Saniyya fi al-Qawa'id al-Shar'iyya (The Lofty Objectives in Sacred-Law Maxims), preserving al-Zarkashi's alphabetical sequence .
Publication History
The work was edited by Taysir Fa'iq Ahmad Mahmud and published in three volumes by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Kuwait in 1402 AH / 1982 CE, with a second edition appearing in 1405 AH / 1985 CE .
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