al-Taj wal-Iklil li-Mukhtasar Khalil
- Author died
- 897 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
al-Taj wal-Iklil li-Mukhtasar Khalil (The Crown and the Diadem for Khalil's Abridgment) is an extensive Maliki legal commentary authored by Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Mawwaq (d. 897 AH / 1492 CE) on Mukhtasar Khalil, the standard legal compendium written by Khalil ibn Ishaq (d. 776 AH / 1374 CE; alternative reports give 749, 767, or 769 AH) .
Composition and Sources
Al-Mawwaq authored two commentaries on Khalil's Mukhtasar: a larger commentary titled al-Taj wal-Iklil and a shorter work abridged from its initial draft . Both commentaries are comparable in volume, with each containing passages not found in the other, and both are noted for their exactitude in citing foundational transmissions alongside extreme conciseness . In preparing the work, al-Mawwaq drew extensively upon the earlier commentary of Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Siraj al-Gharnati (d. 848 AH / 1444 CE) .
Method and Scope
Al-Mawwaq's stated objective in al-Taj wal-Iklil was to extract authoritative textual excerpts from earlier works to match against each legal issue presented in Khalil's compendium, providing textual substantiation for Khalil's citations and assisting in their comprehension . His methodology relies on quoting Khalil's phrasing verbatim and placing next to it direct excerpts from primary figures of the Maliki school, such as Ibn Rushd, Ibn Shas, and Ibn al-Hajib, whether their transmitted positions agree with or diverge from Khalil's conclusions .
In selecting passages, al-Mawwaq prioritized clarity of meaning and succinctness of phrasing, adhering strictly to the prevailing positions (al-mashhur) of the school unless a case warranted an equally or more prominent alternative . He refrained entirely from linguistic parsing or forcing quoted texts onto Khalil's specific syntax, aiming solely to uncover the original source citations (kashf al-nuqul) . If he did not locate an explicit classical text for a particular case, he left a blank space beneath Khalil's phrasing or remained silent rather than offering speculative exposition . Later scholars noted that this method was unique among commentaries on Mukhtasar Khalil, as it directly redirected readers to the original corpus of earlier authorities .
Reception and Print History
The commentary attained an authoritative status within the Maliki tradition . Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ghazi (d. 919 AH / 1513 CE) relied heavily upon al-Taj wal-Iklil while composing his supercommentary on Mukhtasar Khalil, a reliance recorded by Ahmad Baba al-Sudani .
The work was published in Cairo in 1328 AH (1910 CE) in six volumes, and in Tripoli in 1329 AH (1911 CE), where it was printed in the margins alongside al-Hattab's Mawahib al-Jalil .
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