Risalat Inqadh al-Halikin fi Hukm Akhdh al-Ujra ala Tilawat al-Quran al-Karim
- Author died
- 981 AH
- Editions
- al-Duktūr Ḥusām al-Dīn ibn Mūsá ‘Afānah
Risalat Inqadh al-Halikin fi Hukm Akhdh al-Ujra ala Tilawat al-Quran al-Karim (Rescuing the Perishing: On the Legal Ruling of Taking Wages for Reciting the Holy Quran), commonly known as Inqadh al-Halikin, is a legal treatise by the Ottoman Hanafi jurist Muhammad ibn Pir Ali al-Barkawi (d. 981 AH / 1573 CE) examining the prohibition of receiving monetary payment for reciting the Quran and gifting its reward to the dead .
Purpose and Composition
Al-Barkawi composed the treatise to refute what he identified as a widespread corruption in his time: using Quranic recitation as a source of worldly income and trading God's verses for trivial gain . According to Katip Celebi in Kashf al-Zunun, al-Barkawi completed writing the work in Dhu al-Hijjah 967 AH . Al-Barkawi cross-referenced Inqadh al-Halikin in several of his other writings, including his al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya and Iwqaz al-Na'imin .
Structure and Contents
The treatise is organized into an introduction, a central core (al-maqsad), and a conclusion :
- Introduction (al-Muqaddima): Divided into four discourses (maqalat):
- The Nature of Intention (al-Niyya): Defining intention in language and law as a heart-state prompting deeds for God's sake, rather than mere verbal utterance or fleeting thoughts .
- Ostentation (al-Riya'): Condemning ostentation and seeking worldly gain through deeds meant for the hereafter, drawing upon Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, and interpretations by al-Zamakhshari and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi .
- Distinction Between Lawful Gifts and Wages: Differentiating between a gratuitous benevolent gift (al-sila al-shar'iyya) and a contractual wage (al-ujra) .
- Delimitation of the Claim: Clarifying the core legal dispute from adjacent and similar scenarios .
- The Core Theme (al-Maqsad): Subdivided into two tracks of legal proof:
- Textual and Verificational Proof (al-Ithbat al-Tahqiqi): Establishing the illegality of hiring for recitation through verses of the Quran, hadiths—such as اقرؤوا القرآن ولا تأكلوا به ("Recite the Quran and do not consume wealth by it")—the consensus of scholars regarding intention and the prohibition of hypocrisy, and legal analogy (qiyas) comparing recitation to prayer and fasting . Al-Barkawi argues that no reward accrues to a reciter motivated by money, leaving no spiritual benefit to bestow upon the deceased .
- Doctrinal Hanafi Proof (al-Ithbat al-Taqlidi): Demonstrating that classical Hanafi jurists disallowed wages for acts of worship. Although later authorities permitted compensation for teaching the Quran, leading prayer (imama), and calling the adhan due to necessity, this dispensation never extended to hiring individuals purely to recite and dedicate rewards .
- Conclusion (al-Khatima): Addressing and reconciling contradictory evidence and refuting counter-arguments raised by proponents of the practice .
Reception and Editions
The positions formulated in Inqadh al-Halikin became a central reference for later Hanafi scholars opposing commercial recitation and post-mortem bequests for reciters; Ibn Abidin notably drew upon al-Barkawi's arguments in his treatise Shifa' al-'Alil wa-Ball al-Ghalil . Al-Barkawi also authored a marginal supercommentary (Hashiya) on his own work .
The treatise was printed in Rajab 1326 AH in Istanbul at Matba'at al-Iqdam on the margins of Ya'qub ibn Sayyid Ali's commentary on Shir'at al-Islam, though that edition contained omissions and textual errors . It was later edited critically by Husam al-Din ibn Musa 'Afana, based on a manuscript dated 1113 AH preserved in the al-Aqsa Mosque Library, and published in Jerusalem in 1423 AH / 2002 CE .
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