Sifat al-Fatwa
- Author died
- 695 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktab al-Islāmī
Sifat al-Fatwa (Arabic: صفة الفتوى, full title: Sifat al-Fatwa wa-al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti, "The Description of the Legal Verdict, the Jurisconsult, and the Inquirer") is a treatise on the jurisprudence and etiquette of legal verdict (fatwa) and the qualifications of the jurist, written by the Hanbali jurist and judge Ibn Hamdan (603–695 AH / 1206–1295 CE; another report gives his birth year as 631 AH) .
Title and Authorship
The book appears under several closely related titles in classical bibliographical and legal literature :
- Sifat al-Fatwa wa-al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti, found on the title leaf of manuscript copies and cited in modern Hanbali reference works .
- Sifat al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti, the title recorded by Ibn Rajab in Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila, as well as by al-Tufi, al-Ulaymi, and several manuscript witnesses .
- Adab al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti or Adab al-Fatwa, the name by which it is frequently cited by later Hanbali authorities such as al-Mardawi, Ibn al-Najjar al-Futuhi, and Ibn al-Qayyim .
- Sifat al-Mufti wa-al-Fatwa wa-al-Mustafti, mentioned by al-Zabidi .
Scope and Contents
The work provides a systematic legal and ethical framework governing the process of ifta (issuing non-binding legal responses) and istifta (seeking legal answers) . Ibn Hamdan opens by defining the mufti as one capable of discerning the legal rulings of actual occurrences through legal evidence while memorizing the majority of positive law (fiqh), or as an informant conveying God's ruling .
The topics covered include:
- Prerequisites of the Mufti: The consensus conditions for issuing valid fatwas—adherence to Islam, moral integrity ('adala), and legal majority/sanity (taklif)—alongside the prerequisites of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), such as competence in Quranic legal verses, prophetic traditions, Arabic language, principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), and points of scholarly consensus (ijma') .
- Tiers of Jurisconsults: Classification and grading of absolute (mutlaq) and affiliated or school-bound (muqayyad) mujtahids .
- Hermeneutical Rules and School Terminology: A dedicated chapter on the nuances of legal texts and authorial phrasing (ma'rifat 'uyub al-ta'alif). This part provides detailed interpretative keys for understanding the customary vocabulary used by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and his companions—such as phrases denoting prohibition, dislike, recommendation, or indifference (akrah, la ba's, ahabb ilayya, akhsha)—to ensure accurate transmission and attribution of the madhhab's positions .
- Etiquette of Fatwa and Questioning: The decorum of the mufti when writing fatwas, avoiding undue haste, handling convoluted inquiries, and the obligations incumbent upon the petitioner (mustafti) .
Sources and Method
In compiling the manual, Ibn Hamdan drew heavily on earlier procedural and methodological treatises. Chief among his sources was Adab al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti by the Shafi'i scholar Ibn al-Salah (d. 643 AH), as well as foundational Hanbali works on school transmission and textual reconciliation, particularly Tahdhib al-Ajwiba by Ibn Hamid (d. 403 AH) . Ibn Hamdan synthesized these earlier materials into the Hanbali framework, often citing contrasting views among earlier authorities—such as Abu Bakr al-Khallal, al-Qadi Abu Ya'la, and Ibn Hamid—before evaluating their evidence and assigning weight according to contextual indicators (qara'in) .
Reception and Influence
The treatise became one of the standard Hanbali references on legal verdict methodology and school transmission:
- Ibn al-Qayyim made extensive use of Ibn Hamdan's work alongside Ibn al-Salah's treatise when drafting the fatwa chapters of his I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in .
- Al-Mardawi relied upon it in the introduction to al-Insaf and incorporated its entire chapter on interpreting school terminology and text composition at the end of al-Insaf, while noting that Ibn Hamdan himself had occasionally lapsed in some of his own later writings .
- Ibn Muflih likewise drew upon its principles and adapted Ibn Hamid's material via Ibn Hamdan in the preface to al-Furu' .
Manuscripts and Printed Editions
Manuscripts of the treatise survive in several collections, including a copy in the library of Abd al-Malik ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh (comprising 80 folios in Naskh script) and a copy held at the Chester Beatty Library .
The work has been published in multiple scholarly editions:
- An edition with hadith verification and notes by Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, first published by al-Maktab al-Islami in Damascus in 1380 AH / 1961 CE, with subsequent printings including a second edition in 1394 AH / 1974 CE (reprinted in 1397 AH / 1976 CE) .
- A critical edition by Mustafa ibn Muhammad Salah al-Din al-Qabbani (under the title Sifat al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti), published by Dar al-Sumay'i in Riyadh in 1436 AH / 2015 CE in a single volume (444 pages) .
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