al-Sharh al-Mumti ala Zad al-Mustaqni
- Author died
- 1421 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn al-Jawzī
al-Sharh al-Mumti' 'ala Zad al-Mustaqni' (The Enjoyable Commentary on Zad al-Mustaqni') is a multi-volume legal commentary by the Hanbali scholar Ibn 'Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE), expounding on Musa al-Hajjawi's classical Hanbali legal manual Zad al-Mustaqni' fi Ikhtisar al-Muqni' .
Origins and Composition
Ibn 'Uthaymin's teacher Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di encouraged his students to memorize Zad al-Mustaqni' and taught it to them . Ibn 'Uthaymin subsequently delivered comprehensive lessons on the text to students at the Grand Mosque in Unayzah, where attendees recorded his lectures on audio tapes and transcribed them into notes .
As these recordings and notes circulated widely, Sulayman ibn 'Abd Allah Aba al-Khayl and Khalid al-Mushayqih transcribed and prepared the material for publication, verifying hadith citations, numbering Quranic verses, and adding annotations . Recognizing that oral lectures differ from written prose in precision and phrasing, Ibn 'Uthaymin later undertook a systematic revision of the text, removing redundant points and adding necessary material, with al-Mushayqih reading the revised draft back to him; Ibn 'Uthaymin dated the preface to this revised edition on 4 Jumada al-Akhirah 1420 AH .
Methodology and Scope
The commentary explains the concise phrasing of Zad al-Mustaqni' and elucidates its legal rulings with illustrative examples, textual evidence, and underlying legal rationales . Ibn 'Uthaymin integrates general legal maxims (qawa'id), specific regulatory principles (dawabit), and jurisprudential distinctions (furuq) throughout the work .
Unlike conventional late Hanbali commentators who restricted themselves strictly to documenting the single authoritative position (al-mu'tamad) of the school, Ibn 'Uthaymin engaged in independent weighting of opinions (tarjih), adopting positions that differed from the text of al-Zad whenever he found the scriptural evidence to favor another view .
Reception and Influence
The work achieved widespread circulation and became one of the most prominent modern references for studying Hanbali jurisprudence . While some traditional students debated whether to classify it among standard late Hanbali school texts because of its departures from official school positions, commentators such as Ahmad al-Qu'aymi defended its core utility, praising its pedagogical clarity, conceptual formulation of legal cases, and preservation of Hanbali legal maxims .
The commentary also gave rise to derivative scholarly works, including al-Hashiyah al-'Uthayminiyyah 'ala Zad al-Mustaqni' compiled by Hazim Khanfar, which gathered Ibn 'Uthaymin's personal legal preferences that diverged from al-Zad . Khalid al-Mushayqih also delivered a commentary on al-Zad that served as an abridgment and reorganization of Ibn 'Uthaymin's commentary with additional points .
Publication
The initial version of the book was published in Riyadh by Mu'assasat Asam in multiple volumes, prepared by Sulayman Aba al-Khayl and Khalid al-Mushayqih (1414 AH / 1993 CE) . The revised edition was subsequently published in Dammam by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in 15 volumes .
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