al-Wajiz fi Fiqh al-Sunna wa al-Kitab al-Aziz
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dār Ibn Rajab
al-Wajiz fi Fiqh al-Sunna wa al-Kitab al-Aziz (The Concise Summary in the Jurisprudence of the Sunna and the Mighty Book) is a contemporary manual of Islamic jurisprudence by the Egyptian scholar Abd al-Azim Badawi . Written as an evidence-based compendium, it outlines legal rulings across ritual worship and transactions by relying directly on authentic evidence from the Quran and the Sunna rather than adhering strictly to a single traditional legal school (madhhab) .
Purpose and Methodology
Badawi composed the book to address the confusion faced by everyday Muslims when encountering differing juristic opinions, particularly the common response of muftis presenting two competing views without specifying which is stronger . His stated method was to restrict each issue to the most preponderant position (al-qawl al-rajih) substantiated by textual evidence from the Quran and the Sunna according to the understanding of the early generations (al-salaf al-salih) . The work omits extensive recitations of juristic disagreement, presenting practical legal guidance directly alongside its supporting prophetic hadiths .
Structure
The author arranged the manual into sixteen topical books (kutub) in a deliberate thematic sequence :
- Kitab al-Tahara (Purification)
- Kitab al-Salah (Prayer)
- Kitab al-Siyam (Fasting)
- Kitab al-Zakah (Almsgiving)
- Kitab al-Hajj (Pilgrimage)
- Kitab al-Nikah (Marriage)
- Kitab al-Buyu' (Sales and Commercial Transactions)
- Kitab al-Ayman (Oaths)
- Kitab al-At'ima (Foods)
- Kitab al-Wasaya (Wills)
- Kitab al-Fara'id (Inheritance)
- Kitab al-Hudud (Prescribed Punishments)
- Kitab al-Jinayat (Torts and Homicides)
- Kitab al-Qada' (Judiciary)
- Kitab al-Jihad (Military Struggle)
- Kitab al-Itq (Emancipation of Slaves)
Badawi explained his progression by placing acts of worship first, beginning with purification as the prerequisite for prayer, followed by fasting and financial and physical devotions . Marriage follows because it is the cause of humanity's continuation, followed by commerce, oaths, and dietary and estate laws, concluding with judicial administration and public rulings .
Publication, Reception, and Commentaries
The work was issued in multiple editions by Dar Ibn Rajab in Mansoura, Egypt, with the preface to the second edition completed in Ramadan 1420 AH (December 1999 CE) . Early editions featured introductory commendations by scholars such as Muhammad Safwat Nur al-Din, Muhammad Safwat al-Shawadifi, and Muhammad Ibrahim Shaqra, who praised its clarity, accessibility, and direct synthesis of legal rulings with hadith prooftexts . The contemporary writer Amr Abd al-Mun'im Salim highlighted it in the introduction to his Fath al-Aziz as an effective entry point for students of Islamic law seeking an evidence-based approach free of factional imitation (taqlid) .
The text was widely taught and commented upon in study circles and scholarly broadcasts, including notable explanations delivered by Husayn ibn Awdah al-Awayishah in Jordan and Walid ibn Sayf al-Nasr at the Kanoo Mosque in Muharraq, Bahrain .
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