al-Talika al-Kabira - Abu Yala - min al-Ashriba lil-Ayman
- Author died
- 458 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ṭaybah al-Khaḍrāʾ
al-Taʿliqah al-Kabirah: min al-Ashribah lil-Ayman is the tenth volume of the comparative jurisprudence treatise al-Taʿliq al-Kabir fi Masa'il al-Khilaf bayn al-A'immah by the Hanbali jurist al-Qadi Abu Ya'la Ibn al-Farra (380–458 AH / 990–1066 CE) . The work presents comparative legal disputes (khilaf) across the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, establishing Hanbali legal doctrines and defending them against contrary opinions .
Title and Broader Work
The broader work is known under several titles in scholarly literature, including al-Taʿliq al-Kabir, al-Taʿliqah al-Kabirah, al-Khilaf al-Kabir—as cited by the author's son Ibn Abi Ya'la—and Masa'il al-Khilaf 'ala Madhhab Ahmad ibn Hanbal . In its complete form, the treatise comprised eleven volumes, as noted by Ibn Taymiyyah when requesting that copies of the work transcribed by Abu al-Husayn Ibn Abi Ya'la be dispatched to him during his detention in Egypt .
Contents and Structure
This specific section represents the tenth volume (al-sifr al-'ashir) of the broader treatise, as indicated in the surviving manuscript transcribed by Muhammad Hibat Allah . It spans nine discrete legal books (kutub) :
- Kitab al-Ashribah (Drinks)
- Kitab al-Siyar (Military Expeditions and Warfare)
- Kitab al-Jizyah (Poll-Tax)
- Kitab al-Sayd (Hunting)
- Kitab al-Dhaba'ih (Slaughtering)
- Kitab al-At'imah (Foods)
- Kitab al-Udhiyah (Sacrificial Animals)
- Kitab al-Sabq wal-Ramy (Horse-Racing and Archery)
- Kitab al-Ayman (Oaths)
Method
In each legal issue (mas'alah), Abu Ya'la begins by stating the Hanbali position, recording the narrations (riwayāt) transmitted from Ahmad ibn Hanbal along with the rulings of early Hanbali authorities . He follows this by identifying scholars from other schools who concurred with the Hanbali stance, before detailing the positions of opposing jurists . Abu Ya'la then elaborates the textual and rational evidence supporting the Hanbali position, reviews the arguments and objections of opposing schools, and methodically refutes them . The text frequently references opinions from Abu Ya'la's teacher Abu Abd Allah Ibn Hamid .
Reception and Related Works
Later Hanbali scholars recognized al-Taʿliq al-Kabir as a principal reference for resolving internal school differences and comparative legal disputes . Ibn Badran praised it as the most comprehensive work compiled by Hanbalis in comparative jurisprudence, highlighting Abu Ya'la's expansive treatment and proficiency in deconstructing opposing arguments .
The text served as a foundational source for several subsequent works:
- Ru'us al-Masa'il by Abu al-Khattab al-Kalwadhani and Ru'us al-Masa'il al-Khilafiyyah by Abu al-Mawahib al-Ukbari, both of which drew heavily from Abu Ya'la's compendium .
- Ibn al-Jawzi's al-Tahqiq fi Masa'il al-Ta'liq, which evaluated and scrutinized the authenticity of the hadiths cited by Abu Ya'la across the work .
- Tanqih al-Tahqiq by Ibn Abd al-Hadi, providing further hadith verification based on Ibn al-Jawzi's critical analysis of al-Taʿliq .
Answer updated