Usul al-Fiqh Ijabat al-Sail Sharh Bughyat al-Amil
- Author died
- 1182 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah
Ijabat al-Sa'il Sharh Bughyat al-Amil (Answering the Inquirer: Commentary on the Seeker's Desire) is a work on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by the Yemeni scholar Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani (1099–1182 AH / 1688–1768 CE) . It serves as an explanatory commentary on his own didactic poem, Bughyat al-Amil .
Origin and Composition
The base text, Bughyat al-Amil, is a versification composed by al-San'ani based on the legal theory manual al-Kafil bi-nayl al-sul fi 'ilm al-usul by Muhammad ibn Yahya Bahran (d. 957 AH) . Al-San'ani's student, Isma'il ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq, originally authored an expansive commentary on the poem entitled al-Fawasil Sharh Bughyat al-Amil, which he reviewed and revised with al-San'ani directly .
Following Isma'il's death, several students of knowledge requested that al-San'ani abridge the extensive commentary by clarifying its expressions, focusing on the strongest textual and rational proofs for each issue, and limiting discussions to the soundest and preferred positions among scholars; al-San'ani complied with their request and produced Ijabat al-Sa'il .
Method and Sources
In his commentary, al-San'ani clarifies the verses of the poem while citing and assessing the positions of prominent legal theorists across various schools of Islamic jurisprudence . In particular, he references classical works of legal theory, such as al-Amidi's al-Muntaha and Imam Yahya's al-Shamil, and cites the Shafi'i scholar Shams al-Din al-Birmawi in ten separate instances .
Publication History
The work has been edited jointly by Judge Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Siyaqi and Dr. Hasan Muhammad Maqbuli al-Ahdal . It was published in a single volume by Mu'assasat al-Risalah in Beirut and Maktabat al-Jil al-Jadid in Sanaa (first edition in 1406 AH / 1986 CE; second edition in 1408 AH / 1988 CE) .
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