Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani
Risala fi Usul al-Fiqh - ضمن «Athar al-Muallimi»
- Author died
- 1386 AH
- Editions
- Dār ‘Ālam al-Fawā’id lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Risāla fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh (ضمن «آثار المعلمي», Treatise on Legal Theory within the "Works of al-Muʿallimī") is a collection of writings on Islamic jurisprudence and legal methodology by the Yemeni scholar ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Muʿallimī al-Yamānī (1313–1386 AH / 1895–1966 CE) . Published as the nineteenth volume of his collected works (Āthār al-Muʿallimī), the volume brings together five distinct treatises and monographs on legal theory spanning 401 pages .
Background and Manuscripts
During his tenure as head librarian at the Library of the Grand Mosque in Mecca (Maktabat al-Ḥaram al-Makkī al-Sharīf) from 1372 AH until his death, al-Muʿallimī penned numerous scholarly essays, drafts, and notes on theological, hadith, and legal issues . Most of these treatises remained in manuscript form among his working notebooks and loose papers preserved at the library .
As part of the comprehensive project to edit and publish his complete scholarly corpus, these treatises on legal theory were transcribed directly from his holographs in the library's collection (such as manuscript no. 4665) and cataloged under the uṣūl al-fiqh section of the encyclopedia .
Contents and Methodology
The collection gathers five treatises addressing contentious issues in uṣūl al-fiqh where classical theoreticians held conflicting views :
- The Obligation of Following the Sunnah and the Authority of Solitary Reports (Farḍiyyat Ittibāʿ al-Sunna wa-al-Kalām ʿalā Taqsīm al-Akhbār wa-Ḥujjiyyat Akhbār al-Āḥād): Al-Muʿallimī opens by establishing the scholarly consensus on the obligation to follow authentic prophetic traditions as an essential tenet of Islam . He refutes four key arguments raised by rejectors of the Sunnah, addresses the classical tripartite division of reports (akhbār), discusses whether hadiths in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections engender certain knowledge (ʿilm), and presents textual and rational proofs for the necessity of acting upon solitary transmissions (āḥād) .
- Further Uṣūl Treatises: The volume also features writings examining sectarian bias and school partisanship (al-Taʿaṣṣub al-Madhhabī), guidance for the general populace (Irshād al-ʿĀmma), and specific inquiries into legal derivation .
Throughout these works, al-Muʿallimī employs his distinctive analytical style: presenting points of contention calmly with textual evidence, evaluating the authenticity of cited hadiths and narrations, identifying mistakes in prior legal literature respectfully, and offering independent deductions .
Publication
The collection was edited by Muḥammad ʿUzayr Shams, with editorial review by Muḥammad Ajmal al-Iṣlāḥī and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥasan ibn Qāʾid . It was published in Mecca by Dār ʿĀlam al-Fawāʾid in 1434 AH (2013 CE) as part of the 25-volume series Āthār al-Shaykh al-ʿAllāma ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā al-Muʿallimī al-Yamānī under the general supervision of ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-ʿUmrān .
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