al-Muhit al-Burhani
- Author died
- 616 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyyah
al-Muhit al-Burhani (full title: al-Muhit al-Burhani fi al-Fiqh al-Nu'mani) is an extensive multi-volume compendium of Hanafi jurisprudence by Burhan al-Din Ibn Mazah al-Bukhari (551–616 AH / 1156–1219 CE) . It gathers the authoritative transmitted positions of the school alongside subsequent juristic applications and legal rulings .
Purpose and Methodology
In his introduction, the author stated that he composed the work as a comprehensive reference compiling legal judgments and unprecedented Sharʿi occurrences . The structure synthesizes three principal tiers of Hanafi jurisprudence:
- The foundational Zahir al-Riwayah corpus transmitted from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, encompassing al-Mabsut, al-Jami' al-Kabir, al-Jami' al-Saghir, al-Siyar, and al-Ziyadat .
- The Nawadir (rarer juristic transmissions not found in the primary books) .
- The Fatawa and Waqi'at (legal responses and case verdicts formulated by later jurists for novel inquiries) .
The author supplemented these rulings with insights acquired directly from his father, Taj al-Din Ahmad, and contemporary Transoxanian jurists, supporting the majority of legal issues with authoritative doctrinal proofs .
Abridgment and Reception
The author produced an abridgment of the work titled Dhakhirat al-Fatawa (also known as al-Dhakhirah al-Burhaniyyah) . Later scholars frequently addressed the potential confusion between this work and the legal encyclopedias titled al-Muhit authored by Radi al-Din al-Sarakhsi; Hanafi bio-bibliographers clarified that the designation al-Muhit al-Burhani refers specifically to Ibn Mazah's large work, while al-Muhit al-Radawi or al-Muhit al-Sarakhsi refers to al-Sarakhsi's compositions .
The work served as an essential source for subsequent Hanafi compendia, notably al-Fatawa al-Tatarkhaniyyah by Alam ibn al-Ala al-Ansari, which integrated extensive material from al-Muhit al-Burhani and its abridgment into its legal chapters .
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