Ma Sahha min Athar al-Sahaba fi al-Fiqh
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dar al-Kharraz
Ma Sahha min Athar al-Sahaba fi al-Fiqh (What Is Authentic from the Narrations of the Companions in Jurisprudence) is a multi-volume legal and hadith reference work compiled by Zakariya bin Ghulam Qadir al-Bakistani, dedicated to collecting authenticated legal narrations (athar) and verdicts (fatwas) transmitted from the Prophet's Companions .
Purpose and Composition
The author completed the compilation on 3 Ramadan 1419 AH . In the introduction, he states that properly understanding the Quran and the Sunnah requires adhering to the understanding of the Companions, who witnessed the context of revelation and possessed the deepest insight into its implications . He composed the book to ensure that legal rulings and opinions attributed to the Companions are established through sound chains of transmission (isnad), arguing against building legal deductions upon weakly attributed narrations .
Method and Structure
The material in the work was gathered from around one hundred traditional sources and organized according to standard jurisprudence headings (al-abwab al-fiqhiyya), including chapters on purification (Kitab al-Taharah), funerals (Kitab al-Jana'iz), and marriage (Kitab al-Nikah) .
The author applied specific methodological parameters throughout the work:
- He includes only reports established as authentic or good (sahih or hasan) through verified chains of narration back to the Companion .
- Following each report, he records its grading, the early compiler who documented it, and the chain of transmission; he generally cites a single source for each narration unless additional citations provide necessary support .
- Where an athar is transmitted with multiple phrasings, he selects the most comprehensive version and omits the variants .
- He explicitly omits reports containing phrases such as "We used to do..." (kunna naf'al), which represent tacit prophetic approval (taqrir), as well as "It is from the Sunnah" (min al-sunnah), which refers to the Prophet's Sunnah .
- He excludes legal rulings regarding male and female slaves on the grounds that slavery is obsolete .
The author also noted his intention to compile a supplementary appendix (dhayl) to cover narrations found in newly printed works or manuscripts, or cases where revised evaluations warranted inclusion .
Publication and Reception
The book was published in its first edition in 1421 AH (2000 CE) jointly by Dar al-Kharraz in Jeddah and Dar Ibn Hazm in Beirut . It is widely cited in contemporary legal studies and academic research concerning the legal opinions of the Companions .
In his own compilation of narrations, the researcher al-Dani Al Zahwi analyzed the book's scope, noting that al-Bakistani restricted his focus strictly to the Companions (excluding the Successors) and limited his subject matter exclusively to legal rulings (fiqh) rather than general religious topics . Al Zahwi further observed that al-Bakistani missed many relevant reports due to the complexity of arranging such narrations under fiqh chapter headings, and that he relied predominantly on a core group of works, most notably al-Awsat by Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Musannaf by Ibn Abi Shaybah, and al-Musannaf by Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani .
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