Ikhtilaf al-Aimma al-Ulama li-Ibn Hubayra
- Author died
- 560 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Ikhtilaf al-Aimma al-Ulama (The Disagreement of the Leading Scholars), also known under titles such as al-Ishraf 'ala Madhahib al-Ashraf and commonly circulated under the title of its parent work, al-Ifsah 'an Ma'ani al-Sihah, is a classical compendium of comparative Islamic jurisprudence by the Hanbali scholar and Abbasid vizier Ibn Hubayra (d. 560 AH / 1165 CE) . It surveys the points of consensus and divergence across the four major Sunni schools of law: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali madhhabs .
Origin and Composition
The text originated as an extensive excursion within Ibn Hubayra's multi-volume commentary on Abu Abd Allah al-Humaydi's (d. 488 AH) al-Jam' bayna al-Sahihayn, entitled al-Ifsah 'an Ma'ani al-Sihah (The Clarification of the Meanings of the Two Sahihs), which spanned ten volumes according to al-Dhahabi . When Ibn Hubayra reached the hadith narrated by Mu'awiya, in which the Prophet stated: من يرد الله به خيرا يفقهه في الدين ("Whomever Allah intends good for, He grants him understanding in religion"), he embarked on a comprehensive exposition of substantive law (furu'), detailing the matters agreed upon and disputed among the four imams: Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal .
Ibn Hubayra authored the work during his tenure as grand vizier . To ensure the authenticity of each school's positions, he invited leading jurists of the various legal rites from across the Islamic world to Baghdad so that the doctrine of each school could be established directly from its authoritative exponents . He funded this undertaking generously, spending 100,000 dinars—with another report citing 113,000 dinars—which covered the expenses and deliberations of the visiting scholars . Large assemblies gathered to hear Ibn Hubayra transmit the work, and copies were dispatched to leaders and regions across the realm, including Sultan Nur al-Din Mahmud . Owing to its practical utility, scholars and copyists separated this legal section from the larger hadith commentary and circulated it as a standalone volume .
Titles and Manuscripts
Because this section was excerpted from al-Ifsah 'an Ma'ani al-Sihah, the title of the original work was frequently applied to the legal extract itself . In manuscript traditions and bibliographic references, it is also titled:
- al-Ishraf 'ala Madhahib al-Ashraf, an appellation found on manuscripts at the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez and the Chester Beatty Library .
- Ijma' al-A'imma al-Arba'a wa-Ikhtilafuhum (or Kitab al-Ijma' wa-al-Ikhtilaf), recorded in the manuscript collection of Hasan Husni Abd al-Wahhab in Tunis and noted by Katib Celebi in Kashf al-Zunun .
- Ikhtilaf al-Aimma al-Ulama or Ikhtilaf al-A'imma al-Arba'a .
Method and Structure
The book is organized according to standard legal chapters, commencing with ritual purity (taharah), prayer, zakat, fasting, and pilgrimage, followed by commercial transactions and subsequent branches of law . Ibn Hubayra's methodology follows a systematic formula:
- In his prologue to the legal section, Ibn Hubayra explicitly defines his scope, stating that his references to "consensus" (ijma') denote the agreement of the four imams (Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad), and "disagreement" (khilaf) denotes divergence among them . As such, the consensus documented in the book is restricted to these four eponyms rather than the broader consensus of all early Muslim generations .
- Each legal topic opens with agreed-upon positions, introduced by phrases such as "They agreed that..." (أجمعوا على كذا) or "They concurred that..." (اتفقوا على كذا) .
- If subordinate issues contain disagreement, he introduces them with "Then they differed over..." (ثم اختلفوا في كذا), or, where there is no initial agreement, "They differed over..." (اختلفوا في كذا) or "They agreed on such and such except so-and-so" (أجمعوا على كذا إلا فلانًا) .
- The work presents comparative legal rulings concisely without burdening the text with lengthy legal disputations or evidential arguments (adillah) .
Reception and Legacy
The work achieved broad circulation and served as a standard reference in mosques and legal circles, where students studied, reviewed, and memorized its contents . The Maliki scholar Muhammad al-Tahir al-Hajwi praised the book in al-Fikr al-Sami, describing it as among the finest and most elegant works composed on the comparative differences of the four schools shorn of polemical proofs .
The parent commentary was abridged by Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Khatir al-Nu'mani al-Farisi (d. 598 AH) . Ibn al-Jawzi produced a selection of its core benefits titled Mahd al-Mahd and recorded his master's oral benefits in al-Muqtabas min al-Fawa'id al-'Awniyya . The book was frequently cited by later authorities, notably Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in Fath al-Bari and Ibn Rajab in Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila .
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