Irshad al-Salik ila Ashraf al-Masalik fi Fiqh al-Imam Malik
- Author died
- 732 AH
- Editions
- Sharikat Maktabat wa-Matba'at Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi wa-Awladih
Irshad al-Salik ila Ashraf al-Masalik fi Fiqh al-Imam Malik (Arabic: إرشاد السالك إلى أشرف المسالك في فقه الإمام مالك, lit. 'Guiding the Traveler to the Noblest of Paths in the Jurisprudence of Imam Malik') is an abridged manual (mukhtasar) of Maliki jurisprudence by the Iraqi jurist Ibn Askar al-Baghdadi (d. 732 AH / 1331–1332 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Ibn Askar wrote the treatise at the request of his son, who approached the age of discernment and asked his father to compile a jurisprudence handbook that was rich in meaning yet concise in phrasing, making it accessible to understand and easy to memorize . Seeking guidance from God (istikhara), the author complied by gathering legal points and subordinate rulings (furu') into a condensed text .
Methodology and Scope
The manual follows the doctrinal approach of the Iraqi branch of the Maliki school (tariqat Malikiyyat al-Iraq) . Because of this regional transmission, several positions favored in the text diverge from the rulings found in standard Egyptian and North African Maliki references, such as al-Risala of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani or Mukhtasar Khalil; opinions considered strong and preponderant among the Iraqi scholars may be deemed weak elsewhere in the school, and vice versa .
The jurist Ibn Farhun praised the work in his biographical dictionary al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab, noting that Ibn Askar demonstrated remarkable ingenuity by packing into a brief compass many legal branches not readily found in extensive treatises, all while maintaining eloquent concision . The text opens with the chapter on purification (Kitab al-Tahara) and covers standard legal subjects across worship and transactions . In its preface, Ibn Askar referred to Malik ibn Anas using the honorific "the Greatest Imam" (al-Imam al-A'zam), an attribution noted by later commentators as uncommon among Maliki authors .
Commentaries and Editions
A number of scholars authored commentaries on the work, including:
- Ahmad Zarruq .
- Sulayman ibn Shu'ayb al-Buhayri al-Qahiri, whose commentary drew on the works of Ibn Abd al-Salam, Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi, and Taj al-Din Bahram .
- Taj al-Din Bahram .
- Abu Bakr ibn Hasan al-Kashnawi, who composed Ashal al-Madarik: Sharh Irshad al-Salik fi Fiqh Imam al-A'imma Malik, published in three volumes in Cairo by Matba'at Isa al-Babi al-Halabi .
- al-Hajj Ahmad Sa'id al-Tijani, titled Fath al-Jawad fi Sharh al-Irshad .
The text was printed in Cairo at al-Matba'a al-Tijariyya, and in 1392 AH at Matba'at al-Fajjala al-Jadida with annotations and corrections by the hadith scholar Abu al-Fadl Abd Allah ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari . It was also issued by Matba'at Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi wa-Awladuh with marginal annotations by Ibrahim ibn Hasan .
Answer updated