al-Shifa bi-Tarif Huquq al-Mustafa - wa Hashiyat al-Shumni
- Author died
- 544 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
al-Shifa bi-Tarif Huquq al-Mustafa - wa Hashiyat al-Shumni is a composite edition pairing al-Qadi Iyad's foundational work on the virtues, status, and legal rights of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ with the explanatory marginal gloss Muzil al-Khafa an Alfaz al-Shifa by the Hanafi polymath Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Shumni .
Base Work: al-Shifa
The core text, al-Shifa bi-Tarif Huquq al-Mustafa ("Healing by Acquainting with the Rights of the Chosen One"), was composed by the Maliki jurist and hadith scholar Abu al-Fadl Iyad ibn Musa al-Yahsubi (476–544 AH / 1083–1149 CE) . Al-Qadi Iyad compiled the book in response to repeated requests to expound upon the sublime rank of the Prophet, the reverence due to him, and the legal judgments concerning anyone who disparages his status . The work achieved widespread circulation across both the Islamic East and West .
Al-Qadi Iyad structured the text into four primary divisions (aqsam):
- Part One: God's exaltation of the Prophet in word and deed, arranged into four chapters covering divine praise of him (10 sections), the perfection of his physical form and moral character (27 sections), authentic reports regarding his standing before God in this world and the hereafter (12 sections), and the miracles and specific qualities manifest at his hands (30 sections) .
- Part Two: The rights owed to the Prophet by mankind, arranged into four chapters treating the obligation of belief and obedience (5 sections), the necessity of loving and advising for his sake (6 sections), veneration and honor (7 sections), and the rules and merits of invoking blessings and peace upon him (10 sections) .
- Part Three: What is impossible, permissible, or inconceivable regarding the Prophet's human attributes and states—which the author termed the core and fruit of the book—treating religious matters and prophetological protection from error (isma) in its first chapter (16 sections), and worldly conditions and human contingencies in its second chapter (9 sections) .
- Part Four: Legal rulings regarding anyone who reviles or belittles the Prophet, containing chapters on what constitutes insult (10 sections), the penal rulings and repentance of the detractor (10 sections), and an appended third chapter on the rulings for reviling God, other prophets, angels, revealed scriptures, the Prophet's family, and his Companions (5 sections) .
Marginal Gloss: Muzil al-Khafa
The accompanying gloss, Muzil al-Khafa an Alfaz al-Shifa ("Removing Obscurity from the Words of al-Shifa"), was written by Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Shumni (801–872 AH / 1399–1468 CE; also dated 873 AH) , . Al-Shumni assembled these annotations during his teaching sessions on al-Shifa to define rare vocabulary, resolve grammatical ambiguities, and clarify obscure formulations for students . He drew primarily on the earlier commentary of Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, summarizing its linguistic explanations while appending his own subtle verifications and precise analyses .
Publication
The combined work was published in two volumes by Dar al-Fikr in Beirut in 1409 AH / 1988 CE, featuring the base text of al-Shifa alongside al-Shumni's Muzil al-Khafa printed in the margins and footnotes .
Answer updated