Nihayat al-Iqdam fi Maakhidh al-Ahkam
- Author died
- 656 AH
- Editions
- Dār Asfār
Nihayat al-Iqdam fi Maakhidh al-Ahkam (The Ultimate Endeavor in the Foundations of Legal Rulings) is a treatise on comparative jurisprudence and dialectics (ilm al-khilaf) by the Shafi'i jurist Shihab al-Din al-Zanjani (d. 656 AH / 1258 CE), examining the underlying evidentiary bases of legal rulings across the Shafi'i and Hanafi schools .
Purpose and Background
In his introduction, al-Zanjani states that he composed the book after observing contemporaries in Khurasan and Transoxiana deviating from sound methodology in legal disputation, occupying themselves with artificial arguments and weak formulations without understanding the authentic foundations (ma'akhidh) of legal rulings or engaging deeply with the Quran and the Sunnah . Having already authored other treatises in this field—such as Takhrij al-Furu' 'ala al-Usul, his commentary Durar al-Ghurar wa-Nata'ij al-Fikr, and Tafsir al-Wusul ila 'Ilm al-Jadal wa-l-Usul—he complied with requests from fellow scholars to write a concise work encompassing the fundamental points of divergence and school principles . Al-Zanjani also intended it as a structured reference for his son to study from an early age and rely upon in adulthood, sparing students the burden of memorizing voluminous commentaries .
Method and Structure
The book is structured around comparative legal questions between the Shafi'i and Hanafi schools, consistently presenting the Shafi'i position first . Al-Zanjani sets forth each school's reasoning and doctrinal foundations at the peak of their arguments before demonstrating the preferred legal deduction according to the intent of the Lawgiver .
The content is organized primarily into distinct issues (masa'il), occasionally grouped under standard legal book headings (kutub) . It spans standard chapters of Islamic jurisprudence, covering acts of worship (such as zakat and pilgrimage), commercial transactions and gifts, marriage (nikah), blood money (diyat), and concluding with the fourth issue of the chapter on slave-manumission contracts (kitaba) .
Manuscript and Publication
The work is preserved in a complete manuscript at the Ayasofya Library (no. 1498), consisting of 308 folios divided across three volumes, copied in black ink with chapter headings, legal foundations, and responses rubricated in red ink . The manuscript contains ownership and reading notations, including a reading note dated 662 AH by 'Umar al-Hanafi and a birth inscription from 892 AH, and was later placed as an endowment by Sultan Mahmud Khan . The text was published for the first time by Mashru' Asfar as the thirty-sixth release in its publication series .
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