Khabaya al-Zawaya
- Author died
- 794 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs - Kuwait
Khabaya al-Zawaya (Hidden Matters of the Corners), also known as Khabaya al-Zawaya fi al-Furu', is a specialized treatise on Shafi'i substantive law (furu') by Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi (745–794 AH / 1344–1392 CE) .
Purpose and Method
The work addresses secondary legal questions that are difficult to locate because earlier Shafi'i authorities had discussed them outside their standard or intuitive chapters (fi ghayr mazinnatiha) . Specifically, al-Zarkashi gathered subsidiary legal points scattered throughout the monumental Shafi'i references of Abu al-Qasim al-Rafi'i (such as his commentary on al-Wajiz) and Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (particularly Rawdat al-Talibin) .
Al-Zarkashi restructured these misplaced rulings systematically, returning each legal form to its proper category and each branch (far') to its primary subject heading . The text opens with the praise: «الحمد لله الذي لم تزل نعمته تتجدد» ("Praise be to God whose blessing never ceases to be renewed") . In the course of legal discussions across the book, al-Zarkashi frequently cites earlier authorities such as Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, referring to him simply as "al-Imam" .
Reception and Scholarly Apparatus
Khabaya al-Zawaya became a recognized reference in Shafi'i legal bibliography, prompting subsequent scholars to write continuations and glosses:
- Supplement: The Shafi'i genealogist and jurist al-Sharif 'Izz al-Din Hamza ibn Ahmad al-Husayni al-Dimashqi (d. 874 AH) authored a supplement (istidrak) titled Baqaya al-Khabaya (Remnants of the Hidden Matters) .
- Glosses: Badr al-Din Abu al-Sa'adat Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Bulqini (d. 890 AH) composed a marginal supercommentary (hashiya) on the work .
In his bibliographical survey Kashf al-Zunun, Katib Celebi recorded the author's death date erroneously as 749 AH .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the treatise have survived in several international and Middle Eastern repositories, including the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the Research Library in Gotha, al-Azhar Library and the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo, and the Awqaf Library in Aleppo .
The work was critically edited by 'Abd al-Qadir 'Abd Allah al-'Ani as a master's thesis at the Faculty of Sharia at al-Azhar University and was first published in 1402 AH / 1982 CE .
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