Mabadi al-Usul
- Author died
- 1359 AH
- Editions
- al-Sharika al-Wataniyya lil-Kitab
Mabadi al-Usul (Mabādiʾ al-Uṣūl, "Principles of Jurisprudence") is a concise primer on the fundamentals of Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Algerian scholar and reformer Abd al-Hamid ibn Badis (1308–1359 AH / 1889–1940 CE), dictated to his students in 1356 AH (1938 CE) .
Composition and Transmission
Ibn Badis delivered the text as dictations (imlaʾat) to his students in the city of Constantine in 1356 AH (1938 CE) . The work was preserved through manuscript notes recorded by his students, including Muhammad al-Arabi ibn Salih al-Harkati al-Bina'isi and Salih Bilgharbi .
The text was edited and prepared for publication by Ammar Talbi, who first published it on the fortieth anniversary of Ibn Badis's death . A second edition was later prepared in Algiers (dated 1405 AH / 1984 CE and published in 1988) by collating Muhammad al-Arabi's copy with the copy of Salih Bilgharbi, which was provided to the editor by Abd al-Qadir al-Ashhab .
Structure and Scope
Ibn Badis opens the treatise by defining the science of usul as the knowledge of the rules by which the legal rulings of human actions are derived from the textual proofs of those rulings . Despite its brevity, he structured the treatise into four main chapters (abwab) :
- Chapter One: The Actions of Morally Responsible Agents (afʿāl al-mukallafīn): Examines how divine commands govern human acts, dividing legal rulings into defining obligations (al-ahkam al-taklifiyya: obligatory, prohibited, recommended, disliked, and permissible) and declaratory rulings (al-ahkam al-wad'iyya: causes, conditions, and impediments) . It delineates the distinction between these two categories of rulings, demonstrates how both derive from divine addresses, and covers strict obligations and dispensations (azima and rukhsa) as well as validity and invalidity (sahih and batil or fasid) .
Pedagogical Purpose
Ibn Badis formulated these dictations as part of his educational and reformist curriculum at the Green Mosque in Constantine . His purpose was to revive direct investigation into methodology and universal legal principles (kulliyyat), training students to link applied substantive jurisprudence (furu') back to their primary scriptural proofs and principles rather than relying solely on late secondary summaries and commentaries that encouraged uncritical imitation (taqlid) .
Versification
The Mauritanian scholar Muhammad ibn Mahfuz al-Shinqiti composed a didactic poetic versification (nazm) of the text entitled Jawahir al-Durar fi Nazm Mabadi Usul Ibn Badis al-Abarr ("Gems of Pearls in the Versification of the Principles of Jurisprudence of Ibn Badis") . In his versification, al-Shinqiti followed Ibn Badis's original sequence of chapters and sections to facilitate memorization and study for students . The poem was later prepared for publication by al-Mukhtar ibn al-Arabi Mu'min and published by Dar Ibn Hazm in 1426 AH (2005 CE) .
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