Bahr al-Madhhab lil-Ruyani
- Author died
- 502 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah
Bahr al-Madhhab (Bahr al-Madhhab fi Furu' Madhhab al-Imam al-Shafi'i, "The Sea of the School in the Substantive Law of Imam al-Shafi'i") is an encyclopedic manual of Shafi'i substantive law (furu') by the Persian jurist and judge Abd al-Wahid al-Ruyani (415–502 AH / 1025–1108 CE) . Regarded as one of the most comprehensive legal references in the Shafi'i tradition, the work compiles and evaluates transmitted doctrines, variant opinions (awjuh), and rare legal determinations across the full spectrum of jurisprudence .
Purpose and Composition
In his preface, al-Ruyani states that after producing numerous comprehensive and abridged treatises on comparative legal dispute (al-khilaf) and school doctrine, he encountered an abundance of beneficial rulings from earlier imams . Toward the end of his life, he decided to gather his scholarly output into a single unified reference that would facilitate the retrieval of recorded legal opinions and establish the soundest positions (al-asahh), naming the compendium Bahr al-Madhhab .
Method and Sources
The work builds upon the foundational legal texts of the Shafi'i school, engaging the structure and commentary tradition surrounding al-Muzani's al-Mukhtasar . Taj al-Din al-Subki noted that while Bahr al-Madhhab ranks among the most extensive books of the Shafi'i school, it primarily incorporates the material of al-Mawardi's al-Hawi alongside additional branch rulings (furu') that al-Ruyani received from his father and his grandfather, as well as supplementary legal questions . Consequently, al-Subki observed that Bahr al-Madhhab surpasses al-Hawi in the sheer number of subsidiary rulings, even though al-Hawi remains better organized and more refined in its presentation .
Scholarly Reception
Biographers and legal historians consistently cite Bahr al-Madhhab as one of the longest and most comprehensive compilations produced in the Shafi'i school . Ibn Kathir characterized it as a massive, all-encompassing work containing both standard doctrines and rare legal cases (al-ghara'ib), invoking the idiom "Speak of the sea without hesitation" to describe its breadth . Haji Khalifa similarly described it as being "a sea like its name" .
Modern Editions
Portions of Bahr al-Madhhab were preserved in manuscript holdings, including several volumes in the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah) . Modern printed editions include:
- An edition edited by Ahmad 'Izzu 'Inayah al-Dimashqi, published in Beirut by Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-Arabi (1423 AH / 2002 CE) .
- A 14-volume edition edited by Tariq Fathi al-Sayyid, published in Beirut by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah (2009 CE) .
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