al-Taliq ala Fath al-Bari
- Author died
- 1409 AH
- Editions
- Abdul Aziz bin Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Mushayqih
al-Ta'liq 'ala Fath al-Bari (The Annotation on Fath al-Bari) is a critical commentary by the Saudi scholar Abdullah al-Duwaysh (1373–1408 AH / 1954–1988 CE; also reported d. 1409 AH / 1989 CE), addressing doctrinal issues, methodological points, and textual misreadings in Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's landmark commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Fath al-Bari .
Background and Purpose
While acknowledging Fath al-Bari as one of the most comprehensive and beneficial commentaries on Sahih al-Bukhari, scholars noted various theological interpretations within the text that departed from the Athari creed . Initially, the prominent Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz began writing annotations highlighting these perceived theological shortcomings, completing his notes through the end of the third volume . However, due to his extensive public responsibilities, Ibn Baz discontinued the project at that point . Following repeated requests from students of Islamic knowledge, Abdullah al-Duwaysh took up the project as a continuation, beginning his commentary from the start of volume four .
Structure and Methodology
Because the issues addressed span multiple scientific disciplines rather than a single topical chapter, al-Duwaysh arranged his annotations sequentially according to their order of appearance in Fath al-Bari, referencing each specific volume and page number .
The work primarily focuses on theological disputes regarding the divine attributes, critiquing figurative interpretations (taʾwīl) advanced by Ibn Hajar or the classical authorities he quoted, such as discussions surrounding the pleasure of God, divine forms, and physical descriptions . Beyond theological matters, al-Duwaysh comments on legal and doctrinal positions regarding traveling to visit graves, seeking blessings (tabarruk) through physical relics, and identifying textual corruptions or orthographical misreadings (taṣḥīf) occurring in narrator chains (isnāds) cited by Ibn Hajar .
Publication
The work was prepared and supervised for print by Abd al-Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Mushayqih and published by Dar al-Ulayan in Buraydah in 1411 AH (1990 CE), both independently and as part of the author's collected works (Majmu'at Mu'allafat al-Shaykh Abdullah al-Duwaysh) .
Answer updated