Sharh al-Muqaddima al-Hadramiyya al-Musamma Bushra al-Karim bi-Sharh Masail al-Talim
- Author died
- 1270 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Minhāj lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ
Sharh al-Muqaddima al-Hadramiyya al-Musamma Bushra al-Karim bi-Sharh Masa'il al-Ta'lim (Arabic: شرح المقدمة الحضرمية المسمى بشرى الكريم بشرح مسائل التعليم, lit. 'The Generous One's Glad Tidings in Explaining the Issues of Instruction') is a nineteenth-century legal commentary on Shafi'i jurisprudence authored by the Hadrami scholar Sa'id Ba'ashan (d. 1270 AH / 1854 CE). The work serves as an explanation of al-Muqaddima al-Hadramiyya (also known as Masa'il al-Ta'lim), a primer composed by Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman Bafadl (850–918 AH / 1446–1512 CE).
Composition and Purpose
Ba'ashan initially composed an extensive, lengthy commentary on Bafadl's text. He subsequently abridged that original draft (al-asl) to approximately half of its size and titled the resulting condensed work Bushra al-Karim Sharh Masa'il al-Ta'lim.
Method and Sources
In Bushra al-Karim, Ba'ashan focuses on adjudicating and recording the legal differences between the two primary late Shafi'i authorities, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and Muhammad al-Ramli. He notes that the positions of other major late scholars—such as Zakariyya al-Ansari (referred to as Shaykh al-Islam), Shihab al-Din al-Ramli, al-Khatib al-Shirbini, Ibn Ziyad, and Abd Allah ibn Umar Makhrama—rarely deviate from the rulings articulated by Ibn Hajar and Muhammad al-Ramli.
To streamline references across the text, Ba'ashan adopted standard abbreviation ciphers for frequently cited jurists and commentators:
- (Haj / حج) for Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Haytami
- (M R / م ر) for Muhammad al-Ramli
- (Sam / سم) for Ibn Qasim al-Ibbadi
- (‘A Sh / ع ش) for Ali al-Shabramallisi
- (Zi / زي) for Ali al-Ziyadi
- (Q L / ق ل) for Ahmad al-Qalyubi
- (H L / ح ل) for Nur al-Din al-Halabi
- (B J / ب ج) for Sulayman al-Bujayrimi
Other scholars are mentioned explicitly by name. Ba'ashan maintains that following any of these scholars' positions is valid for personal religious practice, legal responsa (ifta'), and judicial verdicts (hukm), except on points where consensus deemed a particular stance an error, an oversight, or weak.
Publication History
The work has been printed in several editions, including historical printings by the Bulaq Press in 1293 AH and the al-Maymaniyya Press in 1309 AH, as well as an edition issued by Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi in Cairo in 1367 AH / 1948 CE. It was also published by Dar al-Minhaj in Jeddah in 1425 AH / 2004 CE.
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