al-Mutli ala Daqaiq Zad al-Mustaqni «al-Muamalat al-Maliyya»
- Author died
- 1438 AH
- Editions
- Dar Kunuz Ishbilya lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi
al-Mutli ala Daqaiq Zad al-Mustaqni «al-Muamalat al-Maliyya» (The Clarifier of the Subtleties of Zad al-Mustaqni: Financial Transactions) is a contemporary Hanbali jurisprudence work by Abd al-Karim al-Lahim (d. 1438 AH / 2017 CE) devoted to the detailed analysis and systematic presentation of Islamic commercial and financial transactions.
Background and Purpose
The work originated as an analytical exercise during the author's collaborative study sessions on Mansur al-Bahuti's al-Rawd al-Murbi along with the marginal gloss (hashiya) of Abd al-Rahman ibn Qasim. Al-Lahim intended this work to serve as a foundational step toward employing computer-aided formatting to present Islamic legal rulings in a categorized and accessible style. He focused this initial installment specifically on financial transactions (al-mu‘amalat al-maliyya) because it was the core subject matter of those collaborative study sessions.
Scope and Structure
The work encompasses twenty-nine major topics within commercial and property law:
- Sales (al-bay‘), options (al-khiyar), disposal and taking possession of goods (al-tasarruf fi al-mabi‘ wa-qabduh), mutual contract cancellation (al-iqala), usury (al-riba), and currency exchange (al-sarf).
- Sales of real property and produce (bay‘ al-usul wa-l-thimar), forward sales (al-salam), loans (al-qard), pledges (al-rahn), financial guaranties (al-daman), personal surety (al-kafala), and debt transfer (al-hawala).
- Settlements (al-sulh), legal interdiction (al-hajr), agency (al-wikala), partnerships (al-sharika), crop-sharing and tree irrigation contracts (al-musaqat and al-muzara‘a), and leasing (al-ijara).
- Competitions and wagers (al-sabaq), gratuitous loans of property (al-‘ariyya), wrongful appropriation (al-ghasb), preemption (al-shuf‘a), deposits (al-wadi‘a), reclamation of barren land (ihya’ al-mawat), rewards for service (al-ji‘ala), lost property (al-luqata), and foundlings (al-laqit).
Methodology
In his introduction, al-Lahim set forth specific methodological choices for the work:
- Handling disagreement: When discussing divergent views, he refrained from naming specific authorities holding each view, prioritizing the strength and merit of the legal arguments themselves.
- Legal preference (tarjih): He did not strictly order opinions by strongest or weakest, and occasionally adopted positions contrary to those favored in Zad al-Mustaqni or al-Rawd al-Murbi if supported by legal evidence. On rare occasions where proofs were evenly balanced, he refrained from selecting a preferred opinion.
- Structure and referencing: Headings were structured to isolate specific legal concepts even if the text beneath them spanned only a single line. He omitted extensive source citations to avoid inflating the volume of the work, while referencing hadiths by their numbers in numbered editions or by page numbers. The work concludes with comprehensive general subject indexes and detailed indexes of specific legal questions.
Publication
The book was published in Riyadh by Dar Kunuz Ishbilya in a multivolume first edition in 1429 AH / 2008 CE.
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