Bazl al-Nasaih al-Shariyya fima ala al-Sultan wa Wulat al-Umur wa sair al-Raiyya
- Author died
- 896 AH
- Editions
- Sālim ibn Tuʿmah ibn Maṭar al-Shammarī
Bazl al-Nasaih al-Shariyya fima ala al-Sultan wa Wulat al-Umur wa sair al-Raiyya (Offering Lawful Counsels Concerning the Duties of the Ruler, Governors, and Subjects) is a treatise on Islamic governance, administrative duties, and social ethics by the Shafi'i jurist Abu Hamid al-Maqdisi (d. after 896 AH / 1491 CE) .
Authorship and Attribution
Biographical sources record variations regarding the identity and death date of the author:
- He is identified as Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Misri al-Maqdisi al-Shafi'i, with his death placed in 893 AH (1488 CE) .
- Another entry lists him as Muhibb al-Din Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Maqdisi al-Shafi'i, placing his death around 868 AH (1463 CE) .
The work was also erroneously attributed in some later biographical compendia to the earlier jurist Ibn al-Rif'ah (d. 710 AH / 1310 CE) . However, internal evidence from the text demonstrates that the work belongs to a later period, as the author frequently cites Ibn al-Rif'ah as well as 8th-century scholars such as Taqi al-Din al-Subki and Taj al-Din al-Subki .
Foundation and Purpose
The author structured the entire treatise around the Prophetic hadith: «الدين النصيحة: لله، ولكتابه، ولرسوله، ولأئمة المسلمين وعامتهم» ("Religion is sincere counsel: to God, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk") . The objective of the book is to outline the religious, moral, and legal obligations binding upon every segment of Islamic society, from the supreme ruler down to common tradesmen .
Structure and Contents
The book is arranged into an introduction, five thematic chapters, and a conclusion :
- Introduction (al-Muqaddimah): An exposition and commentary on the hadith of sincere counsel (al-nasihah) and its foundational role in public and private duty .
- Chapter 1: On the sultan and state officials across their different ranks and administrative offices .
- Chapter 2: On judges (qudah), scholars (ulama), muftis, and judicial auxiliaries (such as scribes, chamberlains, professional witnesses, and endowment trustees) . It includes warnings against corrupt practices, such as paying bribes to obtain judicial appointments, courting political power for worldly gain, and seeking out anomalous legal dispensations .
- Chapter 3: On the office of market oversight and moral policing (hisbah), examining its legal definition, the specific duties of the inspector (muhtasib), and the areas of jurisdiction shared with other magistrates .
- Chapter 4: On artisans, craftsmen, merchants, and their respective ranks and ethical responsibilities .
- Chapter 5: On practical market inspection (hisbah) over specific trades, industries, commodities, and crops .
- Conclusion (al-Khatimah): Concluding moral and religious exhortations .
Manuscripts
Manuscript copies of the work are preserved in several collections, including the Gotha Research Library in Germany (MS 1219) and the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh .
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