al-Sharh al-Kabir ala al-Muqni
- Author died
- 682 AH
- Editions
- T al-Manar · T al-Turki
al-Sharh al-Kabir 'ala al-Muqni' (Arabic: الشرح الكبير على المقنع, lit. 'The Great Commentary on al-Muqni'') is an extensive legal commentary in Hanbali jurisprudence authored by Ibn Abi Umar (597–682 AH / 1200–1283 CE) on the foundational manual al-Muqni by his paternal uncle, Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH / 1223 CE) .
Composition and Alternate Titles
The author composed the work as an expansive exposition of al-Muqni', making him the first scholar to produce a full commentary on the text . While it achieved lasting renown under the title al-Sharh al-Kabir, the work was also designated by other names. On manuscripts preserved at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus and the Chester Beatty collection, it appears as al-Shafi fi Sharh al-Muqni' (or simply al-Shafi) . It is likewise identified as Tashil al-Matlab fi Tahsil al-Madhhab, an alternate title attested in poetic verses by the author's student Ibn Abd al-Qawi as well as title inscriptions on surviving manuscripts .
Sources and Methodology
In his introduction, Ibn Abi 'Umar explained that he built the work primarily upon his uncle's multi-volume comparative compendium, al-Mughni, adapting its extensive discussions to the outline and legal sequence of al-Muqni' . He stated that he retained nearly all the legal proofs from al-Mughni—leaving out only a small fraction—while supplementing it with derivative cases (furu'), variant perspectives (wujuh), and textual reports (riwayāt) drawn from other authorities, and sourcing hadith narrations that Muwaffaq al-Din had left unattributed .
The 20th-century scholar Ibn Badran outlined the commentary's systematic approach: Ibn Abi 'Umar cites each passage of al-Muqni' as a heading, details the stances of scholars who agree and disagree across legal schools, provides the evidence and legal rationales for each view, argues for the preferred ruling, and critiques contrary arguments. Ibn Badran characterized this method as exercising restricted legal reasoning (ijtihad muqayyad) within the Hanbali school .
Status and Terminology
al-Sharh al-Kabir originally circulated in ten volumes and became one of the standard reference works of late Hanbali jurisprudence . In the technical terminology of subsequent Hanbali authorities—including al-Mardawi in al-Insaf and Mansur al-Bahuti in Kashshaf al-Qina'—an unqualified citation of "the Commentary" (al-Sharḥ) designates this book, and "the Commentator" (al-Shāriḥ or Ṣāḥib al-Sharḥ) refers specifically to Ibn Abi 'Umar .
Editions
The text has been published in multiple printings, frequently issued alongside al-Mughni or merged in composite layouts with its base text al-Muqni' . A widely referenced critical edition was prepared by Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Turki and Abd al-Fattah Muhammad al-Hulw, published in thirty-one volumes with al-Muqni' at the top of the page, followed by al-Sharh al-Kabir, and accompanied by al-Mardawi's al-Insaf .
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