Fatawa al-Subki
- Author died
- 756 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Ma'rifah
Fatawa al-Subki is a major compendium of legal responsa and juristic treatises by the Shafi'i jurist and chief judge Taqi al-Din al-Subki (683–756 AH / 1284–1355 CE), arranged according to standard chapters of Islamic jurisprudence.
Compilation and Structure
The fatwas and legal writings comprising the collection were compiled and arranged according to thematic legal chapters by the author's son, Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 771 AH). In the preface, the compiler explains that the material was transcribed directly and verbatim from Taqi al-Din al-Subki's own handwriting rather than paraphrased or reported merely in meaning. In classical bio-bibliographical literature, such as Hajji Khalifa's Kashf al-Zunun, the work was recorded as consisting of three volumes.
The work covers numerous areas of substantive law (furu'), legal theory, and judicial procedures, gathering formal questions addressed to Taqi al-Din al-Subki alongside his detailed legal determinations, rulings, and independent treatises on complex issues.
Reception
Taqi al-Din al-Subki's legal opinions and writings achieved wide renown during and after his lifetime. The traditionist Abu al-Mahasin al-Husayni noted in his continuation of Tadhkirat al-huffaz that caravans carried al-Subki's compositions and fatwas across different lands and regions. The compilation remains one of the primary reference texts for Shafi'i legal opinions and judicial rulings from the eighth century Hijri.
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