al-Tashil fi Fiqh al-Imam Ahmad - Wizarat al-Awqaf al-Kuwaytiyya
- Author died
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- Editions
- Fatwa Administration at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the State of Kuwait
al-Tashil fi Fiqh al-Imam Ahmad (published 1439–1445 AH / 2018–2024 CE) is a four-volume contemporary manual of Hanbali jurisprudence prepared by the Scientific Research Unit at the Department of Fatwa within the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Kuwait. The work presents the rulings of the Hanbali school in simplified modern phrasing, structured in distinct points and accompanied by scriptural evidence.
Composition and Authorship
The project was conceived as part of the Kuwaiti Fatwa Department's mission to present classical legal schools in an accessible format for both general readers and students of Islamic law, while carrying forward the historical tradition of Hanbali scholarship in Kuwait represented by earlier jurists such as Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Faris (d. 1403 AH), Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd Allah al-Faris (d. 1395 AH), Muhammad ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Du'ayj (d. 1396 AH), and Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jarrah (d. 1417 AH).
The preparation of the book was carried out by researchers in the Scientific Research Unit under the leadership of Turki 'Isa al-Mutayri, alongside Ayman Muhammad al-'Umar, Ahmad 'Abd al-Wahhab Salim, and Nur al-Din 'Abd al-Salam Mis'i. The draft was subsequently reviewed by Mutlaq al-Jasir, 'Abd al-Salam al-Filakawi, and Khabbab al-Hamad.
Structure and Scope
The manual spans the standard chapters of Islamic jurisprudence across four thematic volumes:
- Volume 1 (Fiqh al-'Ibadat): Covers the jurisprudence of ritual acts of worship.
- Volume 2 (Fiqh al-Mu'amalat): Covers commercial and financial transactions, beginning with the chapter on sales.
- Volume 3 (Fiqh al-Ahwal al-Shakhsiyyah): Covers family law and personal status, including bequests, inheritance, marriage, divorce, financial maintenance, and child custody.
- Volume 4 (Fiqh al-Jinayat wa-l-Hudud): Concludes the remaining legal areas, comprising torts and homicides, blood money, prescribed penalties (hudud), jihad, foods, hunting, oaths, the judiciary, testimonies, and legal admissions.
Methodology
The work relies primarily on the legal rulings and organizational arrangement of Mar'i ibn Yusuf al-Karmi's (d. 1033 AH) classical manual Dalil al-Talib li-Nayl al-Matalib. In formulating the text, the authors adopted specific methodological guidelines:
- Adoption of the Preponderant View: Sticking to the relied-upon position (al-qawl al-rajih) within the Hanbali school.
- Evidence-Based Framing: Citing textual evidence from the Quran and authentic Prophetic hadith for each issue—specifically those relied upon by Hanbali jurists—or using analogical and rational arguments where explicit textual sources are absent.
- Pruning Obsolete Material: Omitting outdated topics no longer relevant to daily life, such as the rulings on slavery.
- Additions and Clarifications: Incorporating necessary practical issues not covered in Dalil al-Talib, defining essential terms, and adding restrictive conditions (quyud) where needed.
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