Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Tawdih al-Tarjih

Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Tawdih al-Tarjih (Arabic: ترشيح التوشيح وتوضيح الترجيح, Endorsing the Embellishment and Clarifying the Preponderance) is a Shafi'i jurisprudential work by the judge and scholar Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 771 AH / 1370 CE) dedicated to compiling and evaluating the legal weightings (tarjīḥāt) and choices (ikhtiyārāt) of his father, Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 756 AH / 1355 CE) Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1.

Title and Composition

The author originally referred to the work as Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Tarjih al-Tashih, a title that appears on several manuscripts and in early citations, reflecting its initial form before he composed his versified treatise (urjūzah) titled al-Tarjih Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1. He also titled it Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Tawdih al-Tarjih, under which it acts as an extensive commentary and exposition (tawḍīḥ) of his poem, while serving as a supplement (tarshīḥ) to his earlier work al-Tawshih (fully titled Tawshih al-Tashih wa Hijaj al-Minhaj) Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1. Across scholarly literature and manuscript copies, it is also cited in abbreviated forms such as Tarshih al-Tawshih, al-Tarshih 'ala al-Tawshih, and simply al-Tarshih Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw….

The core of the book grew out of four quires (kurrāsāt) that Taj al-Din had written as an epilogue to al-Tawshih, completing them on 28 Sha'ban 768 AH Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…. He had composed the poem al-Tarjih while imprisoned, writing from memory without access to reference texts Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…. He later expanded the material into an independent prose volume, finishing it on Saturday, 22 Sha'ban 770 AH Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1. His student al-Dadanji read the text back to him in several sessions and received a formal authorization (ijāzah) in Muharram 771 AH Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…. In Safar 771 AH, the author sent the draft to his brother, Baha' al-Din Abu Hamid Ahmad, requesting his critique—especially on the section of rectifications—and subsequently integrated his brother's written reply verbatim into the work's conclusion on the eve of Monday, 12 Rabi' al-Awwal 771 AH Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw….

Structure and Content

The text opens with an introduction discussing the motives behind the composition, praising the scholarly rank of his father, and demonstrating through concrete legal examples that major Shafi'i authorities such as Abd al-Karim ibn Muhammad al-Rafi'i, Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, and Taqi al-Din al-Subki did not strictly confine themselves to the majority opinion within the madhhab Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1.

The main body of the work is divided into three primary divisions (abwāb):

• The First Chapter (al-Bāb al-Awwal): Covers issues in which Taqi al-Din al-Subki diverged in his legal weightings from both or either of the two paramount Shafi'i authorities, al-Rafi'i and al-Nawawi Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1.
• The Second Chapter (al-Bāb al-Thānī): Examines ambiguous or unresolved disagreements (al-khilāf al-mursal) recorded by al-Rafi'i or al-Nawawi without preference, where Taqi al-Din evaluated and determined the preferred position Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1. Appended to this chapter are two extensive sections:
  • al-Mustadrak 'alā al-Shaykh al-Imām: In this section, Taj al-Din reviews and critiques certain inadvertent slips made by his father, compares them with similar occurrences among other scholars such as Ibn al-Rif'ah, and outlines scholarly excuses for such lapses, such as corrupt manuscripts or reliance on earlier citations Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw….
  • al-'Ajā'ib wa al-Gharā'ib: A section devoted to curious and intricate legal problems, constituting more than a third of the entire work Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw….
• The Third Chapter (al-Bāb al-Thālith): Gathers the positions that Taqi al-Din chose via independent legal reasoning (ijtihād) outside the established boundaries of the Shafi'i school Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw…+1. The author noted that while the first two chapters are indispensable for Shafi'i jurists, this final chapter is of narrower utility for those strictly bound by the school's doctrine Tarshih al-Tawshih wa Taw….