al-Zawaid ala Zad al-Mustaqni - Al Husayn
- Author died
- 1381 AH
- Editions
- al-Matba'ah al-Salafiyyah wa-Maktabatuha
al-Zawaid ala Zad al-Mustaqni (The Additions to Zad al-Mustaqni), titled by its author as al-Zawaid fi Fiqh Imam al-Sunnah Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Shaybani, is a work of Hanbali jurisprudence by the Najdi jurist and judge Muhammad ibn Abd Allah Al Husayn (d. 1381 AH / 1961 CE) .
Background and Purpose
Al-Husayn conceived the idea for the work around 1363 AH (1944 CE) after stepping down from his judicial posts and retiring to the mosque in Buraydah to dedicate his time to worship, study, and authorship . He began by writing explanatory marginalia on Sharaf al-Din al-Hajjawi's Zad al-Mustaqni .
In his preface, al-Husayn noted that while Zad al-Mustaqni was concise and comprehensive, and al-Hajjawi's larger work al-Iqna was extensive, there was a substantial gap in level between the two works that proved difficult for later students whose capacity for memorization had diminished . He sought to create an intermediate bridge between the two books, expanding beyond the brevity of Zad without reaching the length of al-Iqna . He completed the compilation and transcribed the entire manuscript in his own hand in 1380 AH (1960–1961 CE) .
Structure and Method
The work is constructed as an integrated four-part text, with each page visually partitioned by horizontal dividing lines into four distinct layers :
- The base text (matn) of Zad al-Mustaqni by al-Hajjawi .
- Al-Husayn's glosses and explanations on the Zad .
- The supplementary legal rulings (zawaid) formulated by al-Husayn to supplement the Zad .
- Al-Husayn's commentary and explanatory glosses on his own zawaid .
In drafting the additions, al-Husayn relied primarily on al-Iqna, drawing also upon Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama's al-Muqni, al-Sharh al-Kabir, commentaries on the Zad, and Ibn al-Najjar al-Futuhi's Muntaha al-Iradat where its phrasing was clearer . He avoided repeating issues already affirmed in the text of Zad . In the commentaries, he furnished legal rulings with evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah, recorded variant narrations (riwayāt), extrapolations (takhrijat), and opinions across the Sunni legal schools, while explicitly noting that he did not seek to assert his own independent legal weightings (tarjih) or personal choices (ikhtiyar) .
Printing and Publication
Although multiple benefactors offered to finance the printing of the book, al-Husayn declined, having saved his own funds over a prolonged period to cover the printing expenses himself so that copies could be distributed free of charge to students of knowledge .
Printing began at al-Matba'ah al-Salafiyyah in Cairo approximately one month prior to his death in 1381 AH (1961 CE), appearing in two volumes with a foreword by Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib . It was later reprinted in Egypt by Matba'at Dar al-Bayan without date, and subsequently in Riyadh by Matabi' al-Farazdaq in 1409 AH (1988–1989 CE) .
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