Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-Musamma Shuruq Anwar al-Minan al-Kubra al-Ilahiyya bi-Kashf Asrar al-Sunan al-Sughra al-Nasaiyya

Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-Musamma Shuruq Anwar al-Minan al-Kubra al-Ilahiyya bi-Kashf Asrar al-Sunan al-Sughra al-Nasaiyya is an extensive commentary on al-Nasai's hadith collection al-Sunan al-Sughra (also known as al-Mujtaba), authored by the Mauritanian-born scholar and teacher at the Prophet's Mosque, Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Shanqiti (d. 1405 AH / 1985 CE) Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M…+1.

Background and Purpose

In his introduction, al-Shanqiti explained that among the primary canonical hadith collections (al-usul al-sitta), the other major compendia possessed comprehensive, detailed commentaries, whereas al-Nasai's Sunan lacked an exhaustive commentary and had only brief marginal glosses that addressed difficult vocabulary Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M…. Despite his advancing age and bouts of illness, he undertook the commentary with the aim of creating a comprehensive reference work that would spare readers the need to consult other sources for biographical and textual explanations Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M…+1.

Methodology

The work follows the sequential order of al-Nasai's collection, beginning with an exhaustive explanation of the Quranic verse on ablution (Ayat al-Wudu) before commenting on individual hadiths Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M…. Al-Shanqiti structured the commentary of each hadith according to a distinct four-part framework:

1. Biographies of Narrators (Tarajim al-Rijal): An examination of each narrator in the chain of transmission, mentioning their teachers and students, drawn primarily from Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's Tahdhib al-Tahdhib without being strictly bound to its phrasing Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M….
2. Cross-Referencing (Takhrij): Attribution of the core text to other compilers among the major hadith collections, noting variant wordings or differing chains of transmission only when necessary for legal or textual clarification Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M….
3. Linguistic and Grammatical Analysis (al-Lugha wa-l-I'rab wa-l-Ma'na): Explanation of uncommon vocabulary, grammatical parsing, and the overall linguistic meaning of the narration Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M….
4. Legal Rulings and Derivations (al-Ahkam wa-l-Fawa'id): Detailed juristic implications, legal extrapolation, and a concise comparative analysis of differing opinions and their proofs Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M….

Al-Shanqiti sequentially numbered the hadiths throughout the book and cross-referenced earlier biographical entries and discussions by hadith numbers rather than page numbers Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M….

Scope and Publication

The author died in Medina in 1405 AH before completing the entire work Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M…+1. During his lifetime, he reviewed and corrected the first three volumes with the assistance of Shaykh Muhammad Nadhir Hamid al-Halabi:

• Volume 1 review was completed on 29 Rajab 1400 AH and finalized in the Prophet's Mosque on 17 Ramadan 1403 AH Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M….
• Volume 3 correction was finished at the author's home on 4 Sha'ban 1403 AH Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M….
• Volumes 4 and 5 remained in preliminary draft form (musawwada), containing occasional blank spaces marked by ellipses where the author intended to add further material before death intervened Sharh Sunan al-Nasai al-M…+1.

The commentary covers the early legal chapters of the Sunan and was printed in five volumes, with editions issued by Matba'at al-Madani (1410 AH / 1989–1990 CE) and later by Matabi' al-Humaydi in Riyadh (1425 AH / 2004 CE) al-Qawaid wa al-Dawabit a…+1.