Idah al-Mahsul min Burhan al-Usul
- Author died
- 536 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Gharb al-Islami
Idah al-Mahsul min Burhan al-Usul (Clarification of the Harvest from the Proof of Principles) is a commentary on al-Juwayni's treatise on legal theory, al-Burhan fi Usul al-Fiqh, written by the Maliki jurist and legal theorist al-Mazari (d. 536 AH / 1141 CE).
Composition and Title
The work is among the earliest commentaries composed on al-Burhan and originated as dictations (imla') delivered by al-Mazari while teaching the text to his students. Al-Mazari did not complete the commentary.
Historical references cite the work under varying designations. Qadi Iyad noted that al-Mazari wrote a commentary on al-Burhan without recording a specific title, whereas Ibn Farhun recorded its full title as Idah al-Mahsul min Burhan al-Usul. Taj al-Din al-Subki stated in his biographical dictionary that al-Mazari authored a separate treatise on the difficult points of al-Burhan titled Mushkilat al-Burhan alongside his commentary; however, modern editor Ammar al-Talibi concluded that al-Imla' 'ala al-Burhan, Mushkilat al-Burhan, Sharh al-Burhan, and Idah al-Mahsul all designate the same work.
Content and Reception
The book engages directly with the intricate theoretical positions of al-Juwayni's al-Burhan, clarifying complex passages and offering critical rectifications (istidrakat) on al-Juwayni's views.
Al-Subki remarked on the intellectual daring of the work, noting that al-Mazari possessed one of the sharpest minds among western Islamic scholars for undertaking an exposition of al-Burhan, which al-Subki described as "the enigma of the community" (lughz al-ummah) that only a profound scholar with piercing intellect could decipher. The commentary served as an important reference for subsequent legal theorists, and Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi drew upon it extensively, citing it frequently in his compendium al-Bahr al-Muhit.
Publication
The surviving portion of the work was edited by Ammar al-Talibi and published in a single volume by Dar al-Gharb al-Islami in Beirut in 2001.
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