al-Tashih wa al-Tarjih ala Mukhtasar al-Quduri
- Author died
- 879 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah
al-Tashih wa al-Tarjih ala Mukhtasar al-Quduri is a specialized legal treatise on Hanafi jurisprudence by Ibn Qutlubugha (802–879 AH / 1399–1479 CE), dedicated to identifying authoritative legal positions and weighing conflicting rulings within Mukhtasar al-Quduri.
Title and Composition
The title given by the author in his own handwriting in an authorization (ijazah) to his student is al-Tashih wa al-Tarjih ("Rectification and Preponderance"). In various manuscript title pages and catalog records, it also appears as Kitab al-Tarjih wa al-Tashih, Tashih Mukhtasar al-Quduri, and Tashih al-Quduri. The descriptive addition ala Mukhtasar al-Quduri was appended by modern scholarship to clarify its subject matter.
No precise date of composition is recorded in the surviving manuscripts, though it is estimated to have been composed in the author's youth or at least before 845 AH (1441 CE). The author does not cite any of his other writings within the work, and it is distinct from his separate, larger commentary (sharh) on Mukhtasar al-Quduri referenced in his biographical dictionary Taj al-Tarajim.
Purpose and Scope
In his introduction, Ibn Qutlubugha stated that he aimed to provide explicit assessments of sound opinions (tashih) on the legal primers memorized by students of his era, attributing each assessment directly to its source. He explained that he modeled this endeavor on the practice of Shafi'i jurists who had authored similar rectifications for their school's abridgments. Although such authentications were scattered throughout extensive commentaries, his goal was to make these determinations accessible to students and scholars who could not easily consult voluminous references.
Method and Sources
The book is structured according to the standard legal chapters of Mukhtasar al-Quduri by Abu al-Husayn al-Quduri (d. 428 AH). Ibn Qutlubugha addresses disputed legal questions (masa'il al-khilaf) between Abu Hanifa and his companions—chiefly Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani—identifying the relied-upon ruling (al-mu'tamad) for issuance of fatwas.
His primary method involves cross-referencing positions endorsed by leading later Hanafi authorities, notably:
- Burhan al-Shari'ah al-Mahbubi in his primer Wiqayat al-Riwayah, whose selections of the soundest opinions he cites.
- Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi, relying on the rulings he designated as authoritative.
- Fakhr al-Din Qadi Khan (d. 592 AH), from whose Fatawa (al-Khaniyyah) Ibn Qutlubugha incorporated additional cases, affirming that Qadi Khan is among the foremost authorities whose legal rectifications are to be relied upon.
Beyond gathering quoted preferences, Ibn Qutlubugha regularly supplements complex topics with textual and rational arguments, citing Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, historical reports, and principles of legal derivation. Because the author often quotes truncated excerpts from al-Quduri's text or mentions only chapter headings before presenting his notes, the work functions essentially as an analytical gloss.
Reception and Influence
The treatise is regarded as an early and influential specialized work on tarjih and tashih in the Hanafi school. Later Hanafi jurists frequently relied on its verdicts when resolving conflicting legal transmissions. In particular, Ibn Abidin cited Ibn Qutlubugha's assessments in Sharh Uqud Rasm al-Mufti and his legal gloss Radd al-Muhtar, adopting his principle that Qadi Khan's authentications take precedence when conflicting statements of soundness arise among later scholars.
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscripts of the work are preserved in several libraries, including the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, the Municipal Library in Alexandria, the Khalidiyya Library in Jerusalem, and collections in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Tunisia.
A critical edition prepared by Diya Yunus was published by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah in Beirut in 1423 AH / 2002 CE. In this edition, the editor incorporated the full text of Mukhtasar al-Quduri at the top of each page above Ibn Qutlubugha's commentary to facilitate comprehension, relying on an original manuscript copied during the author's lifetime and read back to him, alongside manuscripts from Aleppo, Egypt, and Turkey.
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