al-Mudawwana

al-Mudawwana (also known as al-Mudawwana al-kubra or al-Mukhtalata) is the foundational compendium of substantive law (furu' al-fiqh) in the Maliki school, compiled by Sahnun (d. 240 AH / 854 CE) from the legal transmissions and opinions of Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim (d. 191 AH / 806 CE) on the authority of Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH / 795 CE) al-Madkhal ila Dirasat al…+1.

Composition and Transmission

The core of the work originated with the jurist Asad ibn al-Furat (d. 213 AH), who traveled to Iraq and studied the legal methodology and hypothetical questions of the Iraqi jurists, particularly Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani al-Tanbihat al-Mustanbata…+1. Upon arriving in Egypt, he presented these questions to Malik's disciple Ibn al-Qasim, who answered them according to Malik's doctrine—either by quoting what he had heard from Malik, transmitting what had reached him, or exercising legal reasoning (ijtihad) based on Malik's principles al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1. Asad compiled these answers into sixty books known as al-Asadiyya and taught them in Kairouan al-Tanbihat al-Mustanbata…+1.

Sahnun obtained a copy of al-Asadiyya and traveled to Egypt in 188 AH to review the material directly with Ibn al-Qasim Wafayat al-Ayan+1. Over their sessions, Ibn al-Qasim revised positions he had dictated from memory, resolved matters he had previously doubted, and retracted certain rulings al-Tanbihat al-Mustanbata…+1. Ibn al-Qasim wrote to Asad instructing him to cross-check his books with Sahnun's revised text and excise what had been retracted, but Asad declined; consequently, jurists in North Africa abandoned al-Asadiyya in favor of Sahnun's recension al-Madkhal ila Dirasat al…+1. Sahnun returned with the text to Kairouan around 191 AH Wafayat al-Ayan.

Method and Structure

al-Mudawwana covers the full spectrum of legal chapters and is reported to contain approximately thirty-six thousand legal issues Muallamat al-Fiqh al-Mali…+1. Its predominant format consists of questions posed by Sahnun to Ibn al-Qasim, alongside topical discussions presented outside the question-and-answer structure Lamahat fi al-Maktaba wa …. When Ibn al-Qasim had no direct transmission from Malik on an issue, he answered based on his own reasoning grounded in Malik's principles al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.

Sahnun systematically organized the majority of the material into thematic chapters (tawbib), eliminated redundant questions, aligned related issues, and substantiated the legal rulings with supporting hadiths and traditions, drawing notably from his transmission of the Muwatta of Abd Allah ibn Wahb Tartib al-Madarik wa Taqr…+1. He also incorporated differing opinions held by major contemporaries among Malik's disciples, such as Ashhab ibn Abd al-Aziz Tartib al-Madarik wa Taqr…+1. Because Sahnun died before completing this editorial arrangement across every section, portions of the text remained in their unorganized, original state of transmission; as a result, the work was titled al-Mudawwana wa-l-Mukhtalata (The Codified and the Unsorted) Tartib al-Madarik wa Taqr…+1.

Reception and Commentaries

Regarded as the second primary source of Maliki jurisprudence after Malik's Muwatta, al-Mudawwana is considered the most authoritative reference for substantive rulings across the school, often referred to by Maliki scholars simply as al-Kitab (The Book) Mawsuat Safir lil-Tarikh …+1. It became the central text for study, debate, and legal reasoning in North Africa, al-Andalus, Egypt, and Iraq Tartib al-Madarik wa Taqr…+1.

A extensive scholarly literature developed around al-Mudawwana, including abridgments, commentaries, and analytical introductions:

• Abridgments: Prominent summaries were authored by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (d. 386 AH) in Mukhtasar al-Mudawwana, by Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi Zamanin (d. 399 AH), and by Abu Sa'id al-Baradha'i in his widely circulated al-Tahdhib fi Ikhtisar al-Mudawwana al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.
• Commentaries and Studies: Major commentaries include al-Jami' li-Masa'il al-Mudawwana by Ibn Yunus al-Siqilli (d. 451 AH), al-Tanbihat al-Mustanbata by al-Qadi Iyad (d. 544 AH), al-Tiraz by Sanad ibn Inan, and al-Muqaddimat al-Mumahhadat by Ibn Rushd al-Jadd (d. 520 AH), which serves as an extensive legal introduction elucidating its underlying rulings al-Madkhal ila Dirasat al…+2.