Sharh Mayyara = al-Itqan wal-Ihkam fi Sharh Tuhfat al-Hukkam
- Author died
- 1072 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Maʿrifah
al-Itqan wal-Ihkam fi Sharh Tuhfat al-Hukkam (Arabic: الإتقان والإحكام في شرح تحفة الحكام), widely known as Sharh Mayyara, is an extensive commentary on Ibn Asim’s didactic poem on Maliki judicial practice and contract law, authored by the Moroccan jurist Muhammad ibn Ahmad Mayyara (d. 1072 AH / 1661 CE) .
Background and Composition
The commentary explains Tuhfat al-Hukkam fi nukat al-uqud wal-ahkam (also known as al-Asimiyya), a widely studied versification in the rajaz meter composed by the Granadan chief judge Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Asim (760–829 AH / 1359–1426 CE) . Mayyara completed the writing of his commentary in 1018 AH / 1609 CE .
In his introduction, Mayyara noted that earlier commentaries had distinct limitations: the commentary titled Tuhfat al-fawa'id, written by the author's son, Abu Yahya Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Asim (appointed judge in 838 AH), was rich in reliable citations but left difficult and intricate passages unresolved ; another commentary by Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Yaznasi al-Muradi al-Tilimsani was attentive to grammatical and phraseological breakdown but contained few transmitted rulings; and an Egyptian commentary by a scholar from al-Mahalla was unavailable to him . Having taught and studied the poem and recorded marginal notes that served as a complement to existing works, Mayyara was requested by colleagues to compile a comprehensive commentary that synthesised transmission and textual exposition .
Method and Contents
Mayyara designed the work to combine the strengths of earlier commentaries by providing essential transmitted opinions (naql) alongside clear explications of Ibn Asim's verses . The commentary incorporates legal principles (qawa'id), supplementary benefits (fawa'id), and analytical verifications (tahqiqat) intended to clarify legal ambiguities for judges and scholars . He begins the work with biographical notes on Ibn Asim, his teachers, and his writings, before proceeding to a detailed line-by-line exposition of the didactic text .
Glosses and Editions
The commentary received substantial scholarly attention in North Africa and beyond. The jurist Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Rahhal al-Ma'dani (d. 1140 AH / 1710 CE) authored an extensive supercommentary (hashiya) on it . Sharh Mayyara was published alongside Ibn Rahhal's supercommentary in two volumes in Fes in 1299 AH / 1881 CE and subsequently in Egypt in 1310 AH / 1892 CE .
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