al-Riwayatayn wa al-Wajhayn - al-Masail al-Usuliyya Minhu
- Author died
- 458 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Maʿārif
al-Riwayatayn wa al-Wajhayn – al-Masaʾil al-Usuliyya Minhu (The Inquiries on Legal Theory from the Book of the Two Transmissions and the Two Opinions) is a treatise on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Hanbali jurist al-Qadi Abu Ya'la Ibn al-Farra' (d. 458 AH / 1066 CE), forming the methodological section of his comprehensive work Kitab al-Riwayatayn wa al-Wajhayn.
Place within the Work and Transmission
The parent work, Kitab al-Riwayatayn wa al-Wajhayn, was composed to collect and examine differing textual transmissions (riwayat) reported from Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal alongside the varying interpretations and positions (wujuh) held by early Hanbali scholars, presenting the textual proofs and rational arguments for each and evaluating the preferred view (tarjih). The attribution of the work to Abu Yaʿla is corroborated by manuscript evidence and recorded by later Hanbali biographical authorities, including his son Abu al-Husayn in Tabaqat al-Hanabila, Ibn Rajab in Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila, and Mujir al-Din al-Ulaymi in al-Manhaj al-Ahmad.
The overarching composition encompasses three core disciplines:
- Substantive jurisprudence (furuʿ al-fiqh), which constitutes the main body of the work with nearly one thousand issues.
- Legal theory (usul al-fiqh), preserved as a concise treatise of around thirty manuscript pages under the title al-Masaʾil al-Usuliyya.
- Creed and theology (usul al-din or ʿaqaʾid), which concludes the work.
Scope and Contents
In al-Masaʾil al-Usuliyya, Abu Yaʿla applies the method of analyzing divergent reports specifically to questions of Hanbali legal theory, deriving methodological principles from Ahmad ibn Hanbal's statements, hadith transmissions, and legal rulings.
Key topics treated in the text include:
- Hadith methodology and transmission terms: The distinction between transmission formulas such as haddathana and akhbarana, recital to a teacher while the teacher remains silent, and reporting verbatim.
- Linguistic and legal commands (al-amr): The legal implications of unqualified commands (al-amr al-mutlaq), whether an imperative signifies repetition (al-tikrar) or immediate execution (al-fawriyya), and the distinction between fard (definitive obligation) and wajib.
- Hermeneutical reconciliation: The rules governing the specification of general texts (al-ʿamm), including restricting general prophetic traditions via specific Quranic verses.
- Handling conflicting rulings within the madhhab: The rules governing situations where Ahmad gave divergent answers to analogous questions, addressing whether an answer from one case may be transferred (takhrij) to the other or if each must be kept strictly to its own context.
Publication
The legal theory section was edited by Abd al-Karim Muhammad al-Lahim and published as a standalone slim volume under the title al-Riwayatayn wa al-Wajhayn (al-Masaʾil al-Usuliyya) by Maktabat al-Maʿarif in Riyadh (first edition, 1405 AH / 1985 CE). It was issued alongside al-Lahim's three-volume edition of the substantive legal section (al-Masaʾil al-Fiqhiyya), with the concluding theological section published separately.
Answer updated