Fath al-Wahhab bi Sharh Minhaj al-Tullab
- Author died
- 926 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fikr lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nashr
Fath al-Wahhab bi Sharh Minhaj al-Tullab (The Bestowal of the Giver in Explaining the Path of the Students) is a commentary on Shafi'i jurisprudence authored by Zakariya al-Ansari (d. 926 AH / 1520 CE).
Background and Composition
Before composing the commentary, Abu Yahya Zayn al-Din Zakariya ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ansari al-Sunayki abridged al-Nawawi's standard legal work Minhaj al-Talibin into a concise manual titled Minhaj al-Tullab (The Path of the Students). In that abridgment, he refined the legal expressions, replaced non-relied-upon opinions with the school's authoritative positions, and removed internal school disagreements to ease study for learners. Following requests from scholars and students who frequented his circle, al-Ansari subsequently wrote this self-commentary to unpack the text's phrasing, elucidate its rulings, clarify its intendments, and expand on its legal applications.
Scholarly Standing and Reception
Fath al-Wahhab became one of the relied-upon reference works (kutub mu'tamada) in Shafi'i jurisprudence and was received as an authoritative presentation of the vetted doctrine of the school (al-madhhab al-munaqqah). Al-Ghazzi listed both the abridgment and its commentary among al-Ansari's major contributions.
Supercommentaries and Editions
The work was studied extensively and served as the base text for prominent supercommentaries (hawashi), including:
- Futuhat al-Wahhab bi Tawdih Sharh Minhaj al-Tullab, commonly known as Hashiyat al-Jamal, by Sulayman ibn 'Umar al-'Ujayli al-Azhari, known as al-Jamal (d. 1204 AH).
- Al-Tajrid li Naf' al-'Abid, commonly known as Hashiyat al-Bujayrimi 'ala Sharh al-Manhaj, by Sulayman ibn Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Bujayrimi (d. 1221 AH), which was compiled from al-Bujayrimi's annotated copy by his student 'Uthman ibn Sulayman al-Suwayfi al-Shafi'i.
The work has been published across several editions, including at al-Matba'a al-Maymaniyya in Cairo (1332 AH), at Matba'at Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi (1353 AH), and in two parts by Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya 'Isa al-Babi al-Halabi.
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