al-Rawd al-Murabba bi Sharh Zad al-Mustaqni
- Author died
- 1051 AH
- Editions
- T Rakaiz
al-Rawd al-Murabba bi Sharh Zad al-Mustaqni (The Verdant Garden: A Commentary on the Sustenance of the Seeker) is an authoritative legal commentary on Hanbali jurisprudence authored by the Egyptian Hanbali jurist Mansur ibn Yunus al-Bahuti (d. 1051 AH / 1641 CE) . It serves as an interwoven exposition of the concise legal manual Zad al-Mustaqni' by Musa ibn Ahmad al-Hajjawi (d. 968 AH / 1560 CE) .
Background and Composition
The base text, Zad al-Mustaqni', was prepared by al-Hajjawi as an abridgment of al-Muqni' by Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH / 1223 CE), condensing the work to focus on a single preferred position in accordance with the Hanbali school . Al-Bahuti authored al-Rawd al-Murabba' to explain this condensed manual, making it the most celebrated commentary written on Zad al-Mustaqni' . In an early manuscript preserved in Paris, the work is alternatively titled al-Rawd al-Mushbi' fi Hall Alfaz Mukhtasar al-Muqni' .
Methodology and Content
Al-Bahuti structured the work as an interwoven commentary (sharh mazji), seamlessly blending his explanatory text with al-Hajjawi's original phrases . His method includes:
- Unpacking difficult phrases and clarifying concise expressions .
- Supplying essential qualifications (quyud), legal conditions (shurut), and exceptions omitted in the abridged base text .
- Adding vital subsidiary legal issues (masa'il) required by students of Hanbali jurisprudence .
- Supporting legal rulings with textual proofs from the Quran and the Sunnah, as well as juridical reasoning (qiyas) and higher objectives of Islamic law (maqasid) .
- Highlighting instances where al-Hajjawi's selections in Zad al-Mustaqni' diverged from the authoritative position (al-madhhab) of the later Hanbali tradition .
Reception and Scholarly Impact
al-Rawd al-Murabba' is widely considered al-Bahuti's most famous composition . The 19th-century biographer Ibn Humayd noted its prominent standing in al-Suhub al-Wabilah . Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di stated in the introduction to al-Mukhtarat al-Jaliyyah that al-Bahuti's commentary was the most widely used and most beneficial legal text for contemporary students . Abd al-Rahman ibn Qasim also praised the paired utility of the text and its commentary, noting that together they provide foundational benefit for beginners and definitive clarity for advanced scholars . Due to its conciseness and thoroughness, the book was adopted as an official curriculum text across colleges of sharia in Saudi Arabia .
Supercommentaries and Editions
Numerous scholars composed glosses (hawashi) and explanatory works on al-Rawd al-Murabba':
- An early gloss by Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad ibn Fayruz (d. 1205 AH / 1790 CE), which he authored around the age of twenty and reached up to the chapter on partnerships (Bab al-Shirka) .
- A two-volume supercommentary by Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman Aba Butayn (d. 1282 AH / 1865 CE), published at al-Matba'a al-Salafiyya in Cairo (1348–1349 AH / 1930–1931 CE) .
- A three-volume gloss by Abd Allah al-Anqari .
- A comprehensive seven-volume supercommentary by Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Qasim (d. 1392 AH / 1972 CE), printed between 1397 and 1400 AH .
The book has been printed in several editions:
- An early edition published in Damascus in 1305 AH (1888 CE) funded by Muhammad Tawfiq al-Suyuti al-Hanbali .
- A Cairo edition at al-Matba'a al-Khayriyya in 1342 AH (1924 CE) printed along the margins of Nayl al-Ma'arib .
- An edition printed at al-Matba'a al-Salafiyya in 1348 AH (1930 CE) corrected by Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib .
- A two-part edition in one volume issued by Dar al-Ma'arif in Egypt, edited and corrected by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir and Ali Muhammad Shakir .
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