Nihayat al-Sul Sharh Minhaj al-Wusul
- Author died
- 772 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah
Nihayat al-Sul Sharh Minhaj al-Wusul (The Attainment of the Request in Explaining the Path of Attainment) is a major commentary on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) written by the Shafi'i jurist Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi (d. 772 AH / 1370 CE) . It serves as an exposition of Minhaj al-Wusul ila Ilm al-Usul, a concise primer on legal theory authored by Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi (d. 685 AH / 1286 CE; another report gives 691 AH) .
Sources and Composition
In his introduction, al-Isnawi traces the textual lineage of al-Baydawi's Minhaj, observing that al-Baydawi drew his work from al-Hasil by Taj al-Din al-Urmawi, which was an abridgment of al-Mahsul by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi . Al-Razi's al-Mahsul, in turn, relied principally upon al-Mustasfa by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and al-Mu'tamad by Abu al-Husayn al-Basri, from which al-Razi would cite passages almost verbatim, reportedly because he had committed both to memory .
To ensure precision in interpretation and to resolve compressed or ambiguous passages in al-Baydawi's text, al-Isnawi systematically cross-referenced these foundational predecessor works, seeking to reconstruct the exact intent and arguments of the earlier authorities . He composed the commentary during a period in which he dedicated himself fully to writing and teaching in Cairo, aiming to present a balanced exposition that was neither too obscure for beginning students nor too drawn out for advanced scholars .
Structure and Scope
The book is arranged according to the topical layout of al-Baydawi's Minhaj al-Wusul, beginning with an introductory treatment of the definition, subject matter, and proofs of usul al-fiqh . The subsequent sections address:
- Legal Rulings (al-Ahkam): Definitions of legal address (khitab), categories of obligatory (wajib), prohibited (haram), soundness (sihhah), invalidity (butlan and fasad), fulfillment (ijza' and ada'), and dispensations (rukhsah) .
- Constituents of Rulings: Detailed examinations of the Lawgiver (al-Hakim), the subjects bound by law (al-mahkum alayh), and the acts governed by law (al-mahkum bih) .
- Evidences and Hermeneutics: Detailed treatises on the agreed-upon textual proofs—the Quran and the Sunnah—followed by consensus (ijma'), analogical reasoning (qiyas), legal deduction (ijtihad), issuing fatwas (istifta'), and resolving conflicting evidences .
Reception and Print History
Nihayat al-Sul achieved broad recognition in Islamic scholarly curricula as one of the clearest and most authoritative commentaries on al-Baydawi's text, serving as a primary reference for the methodology of the scholastic theologians (tariqat al-mutakallimin) and for the Shafi'i legal school . It was singled out in Rawdat al-Jannat as a famous commentary given precedence over competing commentaries written on the Minhaj .
Later scholars wrote annotations and supercommentaries on al-Isnawi's work, including:
- Sullam al-Wusul by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i (d. 1354 AH / 1935 CE) .
- Bughyat al-Muhtaj, comprising glosses on al-Isnawi's commentary on the introduction of the Minhaj, by Yusuf ibn Musa al-Marsafi (d. 1370 AH / 1951 CE), published in Cairo in 1346 AH .
The text was printed for the first time in Cairo (1316–1317 AH / 1898 CE) on the margins of al-Taqrir wa-al-Tahbir (also recorded as al-Tanwir wa-al-Tahrir) by Ibn Amir Hajj in three volumes . It was subsequently published with al-Muti'i's Sullam al-Wusul in four volumes by al-Maktabah al-Salafiyyah / Maktabat al-Arab (1343–1345 AH), alongside another edition in two volumes featuring al-Ibhaj by the Subkis on its margins, and an undated three-volume edition with the commentary of al-Badakhshi .
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