Nathr al-Wurud Sharh Maraqi al-Suud
- Author died
- 1393 AH
- Editions
- Dār ‘Aṭā’āt al-‘Ilm
Nathr al-Wurud Sharh Maraqi al-Suud (The Scattering of Flowers: Commentary on the Ascents to Felicity) is a commentary on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Mauritanian scholar Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti (1325–1393 AH / 1905–1974 CE) . It explains the didactic poem Maraqi al-Suud, composed by Sidi Abd Allah ibn al-Hajj Ibrahim al-Alawi (d. c. 1230 AH / 1815 CE) to versify Taj al-Din al-Subki's (d. 771 AH) Jam al-Jawami according to the Maliki school in 1,001 verses .
Background and Title
The commentary was not originally intended by al-Shinqiti as an independent written work . While teaching at the College of Sharia in Riyadh, he gave morning lessons on Maraqi al-Suud to his relative and student Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Shinqiti . At the student's insistence, al-Shinqiti began dictating or recording the lessons in writing each afternoon . The original manuscript was completed on 22 Rajab 1375 AH (1956 CE) .
Because the author left the work untitled, various names were assigned to it . His student Ahmad titled it Ward al-Khudud ala Maraqi al-Suud . It was subsequently edited and published by Muhammad walad Sidi walad Habib under the title Nathr al-Wurud ala Maraqi al-Suud, while Ali ibn Muhammad al-Imran published it simply as Sharh Maraqi al-Suud with reference to its printed title .
Content and Structure
The commentary does not cover every line of the poem in the author's original dictation . The opening twenty verses were skipped because dictation had not yet begun during the initial lesson . Later in the text, approximately 164 verses—spanning from the section on metaphor (majaz) to the end of the discussion preceding specification (takhsis)—were omitted from the dictation when al-Shinqiti and his student paused their recording to prepare a fair copy of his book Daf Iham al-Iqtirab for publication, resuming dictation at the point reached in oral class rather than retroactively .
In terms of methodology, al-Shinqiti presents the verses concisely, provides an overall paraphrase of each line's meaning, and then explains vocabulary, grammar, and technical terms . He avoids convoluted dialectical and logical debates common in later glosses, maintaining an accessible style . While relying heavily on the author's own commentary, Nashr al-Bunud, and classic treatises like Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi's Sharh Tanqih al-Fusul, al-Shinqiti frequently critiques and departs from the views of the author and other legal theorists . Among his notable departures are his rejection of metaphorical language in the Quran, his refutation of the Ash'ari tenet regarding the non-persistence of accidents across time, and his rejection of the obligation to follow only the four established schools or the impossibility of ijtihad before the end times .
Publication History
The commentary was first published in two volumes by Dar al-Manarah in Jeddah in 1415 AH (1995 CE), edited by Muhammad walad Sidi walad Habib al-Shinqiti, who completed the explanation of the missing verses and supplied editorial notes . It was later edited by Ali ibn Muhammad al-Imran under the supervision of Bakr Abu Zayd and published jointly by Dar Ataat al-Ilm and Dar Ibn Hazm as part of the collected works of Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti .
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