Min Buhuth Mahir al-Fahl
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- Dār al-Maymān lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Min Buhuth Mahir al-Fahl (From the Researches of Mahir al-Fahl) is a collection of academic studies and treatises on Hadith criticism and comparative Islamic jurisprudence by the contemporary Iraqi scholar Dr. Mahir Yasin al-Fahl .
Scope and Method
The collection compiles research monographs addressing specific legal and hadith-critical inquiries, with an emphasis on how variations in chains of transmission (asānīd) and textual wordings (mutūn) generate disagreements among jurists (ikhtilāf al-fuqahāʾ) . The author employs the critical methodology of classical Hadith scholars by collecting divergent transmission routes, identifying hidden defects (ʿilal), and resolving whether narrations are elevated to the Prophet (marfūʿ), halted at a Companion (mawqūf), continuous (mawṣūl), or hurrying/omitted (mursal) .
Content and Topics
The treatises within the work examine distinct legal issues through extensive isnad and matn criticism:
- Ritual Purity: A detailed critique of the narration attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib concerning the manner of purifying the urine of infant boys versus infant girls, examining discrepancies in its transmission through Qatadah, whether it is elevated or halted, and evaluating the variant reports transmitted by Hisham al-Dastawa'i and Sa'id ibn Abi 'Arubah .
- Prayer Rulings: Studies on prayer, including the legal standing of what a latecomer (masbūq) catches behind the imam—whether it represents the beginning or the conclusion of his prayer—evaluating narrations from Abu Hurayrah and positions across the legal schools . It also examines the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal concerning combining prayers during travel and the Expedition of Tabuk .
- Fasting in Shaʿbān: An investigation into the ruling on fasting during the second half of Sha'ban based on the narration of al-Ala ibn Abd al-Rahman from his father from Abu Hurayrah . The author surveys the rulings across different authorities—including Ibn Hazm, al-Ruyani, and the majority—and concludes that the narration is weak, rendering fasting the second half permissible without disapproval .
- Expiation for Fast-Breaking: An analysis of expiation (kaffārah) for intentional marital intercourse during daytime Ramadan, contrasting the hierarchical view with the elective view held by Malik ibn Anas and reported from Ahmad ibn Hanbal, grounded in textual variations within the narrations of Abu Hurayrah and the opinions of Early authorities such as al-Hasan al-Basri, al-Sha'bi, and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri .
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