Sharh al-Talqin
- Author died
- 536 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī
Sharh al-Talqin (شرح التلقين, "Commentary on the Inculcation") is an extensive commentary on Maliki jurisprudence by the North African jurist al-Mazari (453–536 AH / 1061–1141 CE; another report gives his birth as 443 AH) on the legal manual al-Talqin by al-Qadi Abd al-Wahhab al-Baghdadi (d. 422 AH / 1031 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
The base text, al-Talqin, was authored by the Baghdadi jurist al-Qadi Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ali al-Baghdadi, one of the foremost authorities of the Iraqi school of Maliki jurisprudence . Al-Mazari composed his commentary in al-Mahdiyya towards the end of his life, dictating its contents during lectures that were recorded by his students .
Through this commentary, al-Mazari synthesized the dialectical, evidence-centered approach of the Iraqi Maliki tradition with the text-critical methodology of the school of al-Qayrawan . The work was designed to train students in legal derivation (tafaqquh), linking subsidiary rulings (furu') to their foundational legal principles (usul), and encouraging fairness and independence from rigid partisanship or uncritical imitation (taqlid) .
Structure and Methodology
Al-Mazari employed a distinct pedagogical framework in Sharh al-Talqin:
- He divided the base text of al-Talqin into discrete thematic passages .
- Following each passage, he posed a series of structured questions—ranging from two to as many as twenty—aimed at dissecting the text and drawing out its underlying issues .
- He then answered each question sequentially, substantiating rulings with textual proofs from the Quran and Sunnah, clarifying underlying legal causes ('ilal), and resolving complex legal problems .
Al-Mazari's legal treatment was characterized by rigorous analytical precision, such as refining standard legal definitions, and occasionally integrating medical knowledge into legal arguments . In supporting his positions, he cited early foundational Maliki sources, quoting extensively from the Mawwaziyya of Ibn al-Mawwaz and transmitting from the Asadiyya .
Scope and Incompletion
Biographers note that al-Mazari did not complete the entire commentary before his death . Survived sections cover chapters on acts of worship—such as ritual purification, prayer, and funerals—as well as detailed treatises on commercial transactions and civil matters, breaking off around the chapters on bankruptcy (taflis), interdiction (hajr), and pledges (rahn) . Consequently, roughly one-third of al-Talqin remained without commentary .
Reception and Editions
Sharh al-Talqin held high esteem among Maliki scholars. Al-Qadi Iyad and Ibn Farhun stated that the Malikis had produced no book like it . Al-Ubbay cited it as al-Kitab al-Kabir ("The Great Book"), while Ibn Buzayza noted that its depth and scope made it an independent reference work for the whole school rather than a conventional commentary . A manuscript copy bore the variant title al-Mu'in 'ala al-Talqin .
The available parts of the work were edited and published in multiple volumes by Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Salami .
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