Ijmal al-Isaba fi Aqwal al-Sahaba
- Author died
- 761 AH
- Editions
- Jam'iyyat Ihya' al-Turath al-Islami
Ijmal al-Isaba fi Aqwal al-Sahaba (The Sum of Attainment Regarding the Sayings of the Companions) is a treatise on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Shafi'i scholar Salah al-Din al-Alai (d. 761 AH / 1359 CE), examining the legal authority and evidentiary status of the rulings and opinions of the Companions of the Prophet .
Subject Matter and Arguments
The work focuses on the principle of qawl al-sahabi (the legal opinion of a Companion) and its validity as a source of Islamic jurisprudence . Al-Alai presents detailed research establishing that the agreement of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs serves as a binding legal proof (hujja) rather than a full scholarly consensus (ijma'), refuting the objections of dissenting scholars on this matter . He reasons that textual and rational proofs for the authority of consensus apply to the entire Muslim community, whereas the Four Caliphs do not represent the whole community, even though following their agreed-upon rulings remains legally binding .
In analyzing the doctrine of Imam al-Shafi'i, al-Alai highlights that al-Shafi'i's statements in both his early (qadim) and later (jadid) legal periods—including his discourse on his differences with Malik—indicate that when the Companions held conflicting opinions, preference was given to the rulings of the Four Caliphs, demonstrating the fundamental authoritativeness of their legal pronouncements .
Publication
The treatise was edited by Muhammad Sulayman al-Ashqar and published in Kuwait by Jam'iyyat Ihya' al-Turath al-Islami (1st edition, 1407 AH / 1987 CE) .
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