Manzumat al-Bahja al-Wardiya - dimn Majmu al-Rifa
- Author died
- 749 AH
- Editions
- Dār ‘Ammār lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Manzumat al-Bahja al-Wardiyya (also known as Bahjat al-Hawi) is a didactic poem on Shafi'i jurisprudence composed by the Syrian jurist, poet, and historian Abu Hafs Zayn al-Din Ibn al-Wardi (691–749 AH / 1292–1349 CE) . It is a poetic versification of the legal treatise al-Hawi al-Saghir . In modern print, the poem appears as part of the compilation Majmu al-Rif'a .
Composition and Scope
Ibn al-Wardi versified al-Hawi al-Saghir in over 5,000 verses—recorded as 5,063 verses—preserving most of the original prose treatise's terminology . In the introduction of the work, the author relates that he felt motivated to undertake this extensive versification following a dream in which he saw the Prophet ﷺ at al-Masjid al-Haram, praying for him and handing him organized leaves strung together on a thread, which he interpreted as a portent for completing the composition .
Content and Method
The poem adheres closely to Shafi'i legal rulings while functioning as an elucidating versification (ka-l-sharih) . In addition to versifying the source text, Ibn al-Wardi incorporated supplementary rulings and completions from his teacher, the chief judge Sharaf al-Din Ibn al-Barizi . The author noted in his prologue that he flagged minor additions explicitly with the word qultu ("I say"), while leaving more extensive supplementary material embedded directly into the poetic flow without explicit markers .
Reception and Commentaries
The work received considerable acclaim among later Shafi'i authorities. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani remarked with an oath that nobody who composed legal verse after Ibn al-Wardi matched his standard, falling short of his achievement . Zakariyya al-Ansari described the work as being among the finest and most comprehensive texts authored in jurisprudence .
Several scholars wrote commentaries on the poem, including:
- Al-Bahja al-Mardiyya fi Sharh al-Bahja al-Wardiyya by Ibn al-Iraqi (d. 826 AH) .
- Al-Ghurar al-Bahiyya fi Sharh al-Bahja al-Wardiyya by Zakariyya al-Ansari (d. 926 AH), which became the subject of subsequent glosses, including one by Shihab al-Din Ibn Qasim al-Abbadi .
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