Mughni al-Muhtaj ila Marifat Maani Alfaz al-Minhaj
- Author died
- 977 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah
Mughni al-Muhtaj ila Ma'rifat Ma'ani Alfaz al-Minhaj (Enriching the Needy for Knowing the Meanings of the Words of al-Minhaj) is a comprehensive commentary on al-Nawawi's (d. 676 AH / 1277 CE) legal manual Minhaj al-Talibin, authored by the Shafi'i jurist al-Khatib al-Shirbini (d. 977 AH / 1570 CE) . It is one of the principal reference works of late Shafi'i jurisprudence .
Composition and Purpose
In his introduction, al-Khatib al-Shirbini relates that after completing his commentary on al-Tanbih by Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi, several associates requested that he author a similar commentary on al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin . He hesitated for some time until he traveled for pilgrimage and visited the Prophet's ﷺ mosque in Medina at the beginning of 959 AH (1551–1552 CE) . After performing two units of prayer in the Rawdah and offering the consultation prayer (istikhara), he resolved to compose the work upon his return . He stated that he titled the book Mughni al-Muhtaj because perusing it relieves the reader of hardship and replaces the poverty of need with ease and self-sufficiency .
Method and Structure
The commentary is designed as an intermediate-length work (mutawassit al-hajm) that avoids superfluous digression while detailing legal proofs (dalil) and rationales (ta'lil) . It clarifies obscure textual points in the Minhaj, draws out explicit and implicit meanings, and identifies authoritative positions relied upon (al-mu'awwal 'alayh) by late Shafi'i authorities and school companions . The text incorporates the legal verifications and rulings of al-Shirbini's teachers following the era of Zakariyya al-Ansari .
Al-Khatib al-Shirbini established specific technical conventions in his preface for citing school authorities:
- Shaykhuna ("our teacher") refers to Zakariyya al-Ansari .
- Shaykhi ("my teacher") refers to Shihab al-Din al-Ramli .
- Al-Sharih ("the commentator") refers to Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli, author of Kanz al-Raghibin .
- Al-Shaykhan ("the two shaykhs") refers to Abd al-Karim ibn Muhammad al-Rafi'i and al-Nawawi; unqualified preference (tarjih) in the book generally reflects their determinations .
Reception and Editions
The work was received with wide acclaim during al-Shirbini's lifetime, with scholars and students actively reading, transcribing, and utilizing it alongside his other legal writings . In later Shafi'i legal tradition, it came to be regarded as one of the definitive late commentaries on the Minhaj, alongside Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's Tuhfat al-Muhtaj and Shams al-Din al-Ramli's Nihayat al-Muhtaj .
The book has been printed in multiple editions, including a four-volume edition published in Cairo by Matba'at Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi (1352 AH and 1377 AH), and a six-volume edition edited by Ali Muhammad Mu'awwad and Adil Ahmad Abd al-Mawjud, published in Beirut by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah (1415 AH / 1994 CE) .
Answer updated