Irshad al-Faqih ila Marifat Adillat al-Tanbih
- Author died
- 774 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
Irshad al-Faqih ila Marifat Adillat al-Tanbih (Arabic: إرشاد الفقيه إلى معرفة أدلة التنبيه, lit. 'Guiding the Jurist to Knowing the Evidences of al-Tanbih') is a book of hadith extraction (takhrij) by the Shafi'i scholar and historian Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH / 1373 CE), documenting and evaluating the textual proofs underpinning the legal rulings in Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi's foundational Shafi'i legal manual, al-Tanbih .
Background and Titles
Ibn Kathir stated in his introduction that al-Tanbih was among the most renowned and beneficial works in Shafi'i jurisprudence, and having memorized it himself, he noted that its utility was incomplete without identifying its textual proofs . He initially compiled an extensive rough draft (musawwadah) gathering rulings and evidences across its chapters and issues, from which he subsequently extracted and condensed this concise work .
The work is also known by alternative titles, including Adillat al-Tanbih, Ahkam al-Tanbih, al-Ahkam al-Saghir, and al-Ahkam ala Abwab al-Tanbih . In his Ikhtisar Ulum al-Hadith, Ibn Kathir referred back to this book alongside his unfinished larger legal compilation under the names al-Ahkam al-Kabir and al-Ahkam al-Saghir .
Methodology and Scope
Ibn Kathir structured the work by following the legal chapters and issues of al-Tanbih, citing a hadith or authoritative report (athar) admissible as legal proof for each issue . His stated method entails:
- Attributing traditions primarily to the Six Books (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and the Sunan collections of Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah) or other standard compilations .
- Citing only Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim whenever a narration appears in both or either of them, without needing to list additional sources .
- Identifying the narrators and collections for traditions outside the two Sahihs while clarifying their degree of authenticity or defectiveness (sahih versus saqim) .
- Avoiding exhaustive citations for every issue to maintain conciseness, relying on a single comprehensive proof when sufficient, or bringing corroborating reports when reinforcement of the chain of transmission or meaning was necessary .
- Where al-Shirazi left internal legal disagreement (khilaf) open, Ibn Kathir first presented the evidence supporting the dominant sound position (al-sahih) among Shafi'i scholars, followed by the proof for the alternate view .
- Restricting discussion to opinions recorded in al-Tanbih, unless an unmentioned position was the correct or preponderant one (al-rajih), and explaining the derivation of the legal implication (wajh al-dalalah) from the hadith whenever it was obscure .
Reception
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali noted that Ibn Kathir authored Ahkam al-Tanbih during his youth . Upon completing it, he presented the work to his teacher Burhan al-Din al-Fazari, who admired it and praised his effort .
Manuscripts and Editions
Surviving manuscripts of the work include a copy in the Feyzullah Efendi Library in Istanbul (no. 783/1 hadith), transcribed by Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Zahir al-Shafi'i together with Ibn Kathir's Tuhfat al-Talib in a single volume . Another manuscript originates from the endowment of al-Madrasah al-Umariyyah in Damascus .
The book has been edited and published in modern times:
- Edited by Bahjat Yusuf Hamad Abu al-Tayyib and published in two volumes by Mu'assasat al-Risalah in Beirut (1st ed., 1416 AH / 1996 CE), where the first volume covers acts of worship (ibadat) through sacrifice (udhiyah), aqiqah, and vows (nadhr), and the second volume begins with commercial transactions (buyu') .
- Edited by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Samarra'i .
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