Mirat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih
- Author died
- 1414 AH
- Editions
- Idārat al-Buḥūth al-‘Ilmīyah wa-al-Da‘wah wa-al-Iftā’ - al-Jāmi‘ah al-Salafīyah
Mirat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih (The Mirror of Keys: Commentary on the Niche of Lamps) is an extensive Arabic commentary on al-Khatib al-Tibrizi's hadith compendium Mishkat al-Masabih, authored by the Indian scholar Ubayd Allah al-Rahmani al-Mubarakfuri (1327–1414 AH / 1909–1994 CE).
Purpose and Scope
The work was conceived to address perceived limitations in earlier major commentaries on Mishkat al-Masabih—such as al-Kashif 'an Haqa'iq al-Sunan by al-Tibi (d. 743 AH), Mirqat al-Mafatih by al-Mulla 'Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH), and Lama'at al-Tanqih by Abd al-Haqq al-Dihlawi (d. 1052 AH). While acknowledging their breadth in textual explanation, publishers and scholars noted that earlier commentators frequently adhered to specific legal schools (madhhabs) and did not provide sufficient critical evaluation (naqd) or source documentation (takhrij) for the traditions, particularly those in the third section (al-fasl al-thalith) of the chapters.
Al-Mubarakfuri did not live to complete the entire commentary; he died before beginning the book of sales (Kitab al-Buyu'), leaving the work unfinished at that point.
Methodology and Features
The work provides a thorough examination of hadith texts, lexical difficulties, narrators, and juristic deductions. Its distinctive features and method include:
- Dual Numbering System: The author assigned continuous sequential numbers to all hadiths across the book, alongside secondary sequential numbers for traditions within each individual chapter placed in parentheses.
- Hadith Criticism and Takhrij: Emphasizing chain verification, grading, and identifying variant paths of transmission.
- Juristic Analysis: In legal matters, the author avoided partisan adherence to any specific legal school, citing the arguments of various scholars and adopting positions based on textual evidence from the Quran and Sunnah.
In subsequent editions, the author's son, 'Abd al-Rahman 'Ubayd Allah al-Rahmani al-Mubarakfuri, supplemented the text with introductory materials, including an author biography, an analysis of the work's scholarly merits, and a short treatise on the technical terminology of hadith sciences (mustalah al-hadith).
Publication and Reception
Portions of Mirat al-Mafatih were initially printed in Pakistan and India before being comprehensively published by the Administration of Scholarly Research, Da'wah, and Guidance at al-Jami'ah al-Salafiyyah in Banaras, India, projected in twelve large-format volumes of approximately six hundred pages each. The commentary gained wide scholarly esteem; among contemporary scholars, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz utilized it as one of his consulted reference works in hadith and legal analysis.
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