Hashiyat al-Tawdih wa al-Tashih li Mushkilat Kitab al-Tanqih
- Author died
- 1393 AH
- Editions
- Maṭbaʿat al-Nahḍa
Hashiyat al-Tawdih wa al-Tashih li Mushkilat Kitab al-Tanqih (The Clarification and Correction of Difficulties in the Book of Tanqih) is a treatise on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Tunisian Maliki scholar Muhammad al-Tahir ibn Ashur (1296–1393 AH / 1879–1973 CE; also recorded as d. 1394 AH) . It was written as an analytical gloss on Sharh Tanqih al-Fusul fi al-Usul by Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi (d. 684 AH) .
Background and Purpose
The work originated from Ibn Ashur's teaching of al-Qarafi's commentary . In his introduction, Ibn Ashur noted that al-Qarafi's text gathered exceptional benefits and encompassed the core problems of legal theory, but its intricate style posed difficulties for students . Having recorded explanatory notes during his lectures, he arranged them into an independent reference intended to serve as a foundational study for learners .
Method and Content
Ibn Ashur structured his commentary around specific objectives:
- Clarifying al-Qarafi's intended meaning and determining the verified scholarly position on each legal theoretical problem .
- Providing textual evidence from Islamic law and applying principles to uncommon substantive legal rulings (furu') to train jurists in practical legal reasoning .
- Avoiding prolix recitations of differing opinions and extraneous digressions, while inserting biographical sketches of lesser-known figures mentioned in the text .
Because the work is a gloss (hashiya), it selectively comments on difficult passages rather than exhaustively addressing every sentence of al-Qarafi's text, occasionally skipping straightforward chapters such as the sixth and seventh sections of the sixteenth chapter and the third section of the eighteenth chapter . Ibn Ashur also engaged in critical assessments (istidrakat) of al-Qarafi's assertions; for instance, he challenged al-Qarafi's view that the abrogation of giving charity before private consultation with the Prophet in فَقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَةً was without a substitute, demonstrating instead that it was replaced by obligatory zakat .
Publication
The work was completed and published in two volumes by Matba'at al-Nahdah in Tunis in Dhu al-Hijjah 1341 AH (1923 CE), with al-Qarafi's original text printed in the margins alongside Ibn Ashur's gloss .
Answer updated