al-Ujala fi Sharh al-Risala
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dar al-Imam Malik
al-Ujala fi Sharh al-Risala ("The Prompt Commentary on the Risala") is a contemporary commentary by the Algerian Maliki jurist Ibn Hanifa al-Abidin on the foundational legal treatise al-Risala by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (d. 386 AH) .
Background and Purpose
The commentary was authored by Ibn Hanifa al-Abidin ibn Muhyi al-Din, an educator and scholar based in Mascara, Algeria . Before embarking on the textual commentary, the author provides an extensive introduction structured around four main subjects: the political context of the fourth century AH during Ibn Abi Zayd's lifetime—particularly the rise of the Ubaydid Fatimid state and its persecution of Sunni Maliki scholars in Ifriqiya—the biography of Ibn Abi Zayd, the distinguishing qualities of his Risala, and the historical reception and earlier commentaries written on the work .
The author prepared several revisions of the text; in the preface to the third edition, he noted that he re-examined his commentary to rectify typographical errors, verify source attributions, supply missing hadith source-criticism (takhrij), and adjust positions where stronger textual evidence necessitated modification . The creedal portion of the commentary reached its fourth edition, which the author completed on 23 Ramadan 1438 AH (2017 CE) .
Method and Reception
In his prefatory remarks, Ibn Hanifa al-Abidin addressed controversies surrounding his engagement with school-based jurisprudence (al-fiqh al-madhhabi) . He noted that critics had split into two opposing camps: some accused him of rigid partisanship (ta'assub) toward the Maliki school merely for explaining a traditional text, while others alleged that he used the commentary as a vehicle to promote an imported doctrine—specifically Wahhabism—and to introduce elements alien to Maliki jurisprudence .
In response, the author defended the systematic study of the four Sunni schools as an established framework for preserving and implementing the commands of the Quran and the Sunnah, criticizing both those who abandon the legal heritage of early scholars and those who elevate juristic opinions to the level of infallibility through uncritical conformity (taqlid) .
Structure
The work covers both the creedal opening (al-Muqaddima al-Aqdariyya) of Ibn Abi Zayd's manual and its subsequent chapters on substantive law (furu'), structured in multiple parts . The first major section of the legal commentary concludes with the rules governing funeral rites and the ritual washing of deceased children, while the second volume opens with the chapter on fasting .
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