Miftah al-Wusul ila Ilm al-Usul fi Sharh Khulasat al-Usul
- Author died
- 1113 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Buḥūth lil-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyyah wa-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth
Miftah al-Wusul ila Ilm al-Usul fi Sharh Khulasat al-Usul (The Key of Attainment to the Science of Legal Theory: A Commentary on the Summary of Principles) is a treatise on the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) by the Moroccan scholar Muhammad al-Tayyib al-Fasi (d. 1113 AH / 1701 CE) . It was written as a commentary on Khulasat al-Usul, a concise primer composed by his grandfather Abd al-Qadir ibn Ali al-Fasi .
Purpose and Method
Muhammad al-Tayyib ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Fasi composed the work to explicate the introductory treatise written by his grandfather, Abu Muhammad Abd al-Qadir ibn Ali al-Fasi . He explains in his preface that the base text contained the fundamental core of legal theory that no student could afford to neglect, yet its extreme conciseness made it difficult for beginning students to comprehend . Consequently, he structured his work as an integrated, blended commentary (sharh mamzuj) to resolve the base text's phrasing and unpack its conceptual meanings .
Manuscripts and Publication
The work was edited by Dr. Idris al-Fasi al-Fihri and published in Dubai by Dar al-Buhuth li-l-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah wa-Ihya' al-Turath as the twenty-first title in its series on legal theory (Silsilat al-Dirasat al-Usuliyyah) . The edition relies on four manuscripts of Miftah al-Wusul and one standalone manuscript of Khulasat al-Usul :
- The primary manuscript of Miftah al-Wusul is preserved at the Allal al-Fasi Foundation in Rabat (MS 231); it was identified as an autograph copy written in Muhammad al-Tayyib al-Fasi's own hand through handwriting comparison with his work Ashas al-Maqasid at the General Library in Rabat (MS 2843 D) .
- The standalone manuscript of the base text, Khulasat al-Usul, is also held at the Allal al-Fasi Foundation (MS 747); it consists of nine pages transcribed in Maghrebi script (khatt mujawhar) by Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Hamza .
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