Mirqat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih

Mirqat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih is an extensive Arabic commentary on al-Khatib al-Tabrizi’s hadith collection Mishkat al-Masabih, authored by the Hanafi jurist and traditionist al-Mulla Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH / 1606 CE) Mawizat al-Habib wa Tuhfa…+1. Considered one of al-Qari’s largest and most significant writings, it serves as a comprehensive synthesis of earlier hadith commentaries and juristic expositions Mawizat al-Habib wa Tuhfa…+1.

Scope and Method

The work is arranged as an integrated running commentary (sharh mamzuj) that explicates the base text word by word and phrase by phrase Masabih al-Sunnah+1. In his exposition, al-Qari addresses rare vocabulary (gharib al-alfaz), precise vocalization and orthography, grammatical construction, and textual variants among narrations Masabih al-Sunnah+1.

A central feature of the book is its exhaustive compilation of material from earlier commentaries and marginalia on Mishkat al-Masabih and its antecedent, Masabih al-Sunnah al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1. Al-Qari treats juristic differences (masa'il al-khilaf) at length, detailing evidential proofs and legal deductions with a primary focus on defending and clarifying the positions of the Hanafi school while addressing the arguments of other legal schools Mirat al-Mafatih Sharh Mi…+1.

Reception and Scholarly Standing

Mirqat al-Mafatih achieved wide circulation and became one of the standard reference commentaries on Mishkat al-Masabih across the Muslim world Mirat al-Mafatih Sharh Mi…+1. The 17th-century historian al-Muhibbi described it as al-Qari’s greatest and most magnificent composition Mawizat al-Habib wa Tuhfa…. In the introduction to his own commentary al-Ta'liq al-Sabih, Muhammad Idris al-Kandahlawi lauded the work for encompassing all earlier commentaries and supercommentaries without omission, remarking that no other printed commentary on Mishkat al-Masabih equaled it in depth of investigation, deduction, and thoroughness al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar….

Later scholars, such as Ubayd Allah al-Mubarakfuri, acknowledged the work's vast compilation of explanatory material while noting that it adhered strictly to the representation of a specific school of jurisprudence in legal matters, and observed that researchers seeking exhaustive hadith sourcing (takhrij) and chain criticism might require supplementary works, particularly for the third section (al-fasl al-thalith) of the chapters of al-Mishkat Mirat al-Mafatih Sharh Mi….

Publication History

The commentary was published early in India in the margins of Mishkat al-Masabih, and issued as an independent work in Cairo in 1309 AH (in five volumes) Masabih al-Sunnah+1. It was subsequently reprinted in Pakistan, and published in Beirut in 1413 AH Kashf al-Manahij wa al-Ta…. Numerous manuscript copies survive across libraries in Istanbul, Cairo, London, Germany, India, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia Khizanat al-Turath - Fihr….