Mashariq al-Anwar al-Wahhaja wa Matali al-Asrar al-Bahhaja fi Sharh Sunan al-Imam Ibn Majah
- Author died
- 1442 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Mughnī
Mashariq al-Anwar al-Wahhaja wa Matali al-Asrar al-Bahhaja fi Sharh Sunan al-Imam Ibn Majah (The Brilliant Dawning Lights and the Radiant Rising Secrets in Explaining the Sunan of Imam Ibn Majah) is a commentary on the hadith collection Sunan Ibn Majah by the Ethiopian scholar and teacher at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Adam al-Ityubi (d. 1442 AH / 2020 CE) .
Background and Objectives
In his introduction, al-Ityubi noted that although Sunan Ibn Majah was widely studied across the Islamic world, earlier scholars had primarily produced marginal notes and short glosses that did not adequately resolve difficulties or provide an extensive analysis of its text and chains of transmission . He authored the work to offer a detailed exposition clarifying obscure vocabulary, uncovering underlying legal rulings, and evaluating weak narrations contained in the compilation .
The author identified the works of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani as the primary source material for his commentary, singling out Fath al-Bari as essential to the preparation and completion of his text .
Method and Content
In the introductory volume, al-Ityubi provides a study of Ibn Majah and his collection. He addresses critical assessments made by earlier authorities, evaluating the claim cited by al-Mizzi that singular narrations found only in Sunan Ibn Majah among the six books are generally weak; al-Ityubi argues that this generalization is inaccurate, maintaining that several narrations unique to the collection are authentic (sahih) or acceptable (hasan), and that it includes unique trustworthy narrators . He also analyzes the spelling and vocalization of "Ibn Majah," arguing that it should be pronounced and written with a quiescent ha' (ha' sakinah) rather than a ta' marbutah, criticizing modern editions that permit the latter .
The commentary provides detailed analyses of each hadith's chains of narration (isnad), biographical profiles of the transmitters, explanations of obscure terminology, and jurisprudential discussions on the legal texts .
Scope and Publication
The initial four volumes of the work cover the extensive theoretical Muqaddima (Introduction) of Sunan Ibn Majah, spanning 266 hadiths and concluding with the chapter refuting the Jahmiyyah (Bab fi ma ankarat al-Jahmiyyah) . The author completed writing the fourth volume on Monday, 20 Jumada al-Akhirah 1424 AH (18 August 2003 CE), intending for subsequent volumes to begin with the Book of Purification (Kitab al-Taharah) at hadith 267 .
The four-volume edition was published in Riyadh by Dar al-Mughni in 1427 AH / 2006 CE .
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