Uyun al-Masail lil-Samarqandi al-Hanafi
- Author died
- 373 AH
- Editions
- Maṭba‘at As‘ad
Uyun al-Masail (The Quintessence of Legal Issues) is a classical Hanafi work on substantive jurisprudence (furu al-fiqh) by the Transoxanian jurist Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi (d. 373 AH / 983 CE) .
Authorship and Content
The work was authored by Abu al-Layth Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Samarqandi, who was commonly titled Imam al-Huda ("Leader of Guidance") . While biographers often report his death in 373 AH / 983 CE, other recorded death dates include 375 AH, 376 AH, 383 AH, and 393 AH .
Uyun al-Masail treats branches of Hanafi jurisprudence, addressing legal inquiries, judicial cases, and doctrinal rulings according to the Hanafi school . It stands among Samarqandi's principal legal compilations alongside his al-Nawazil (The Novel Cases) and Khizanat al-Fiqh (The Treasury of Jurisprudence) .
Commentary
The 6th-century Hanafi jurist Ala al-Din al-Usmandi al-Samarqandi (known as al-Ala al-Alim, d. 552 AH / 1157 CE; also reported as 563 AH) composed a one-volume commentary on the work, which Ibn al-Shihnah and Haji Khalifa recorded under the title Hasr al-Masail wa-Qasr al-Dalail (The Encapsulation of Issues and Restriction of Evidences) .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscript copies of Uyun al-Masail are preserved in various collections worldwide, including the Garrett Collection at Princeton University, the Ez-Zitouna collection and the National Library of Tunisia, and Istanbul collections such as Damat Ibrahim Pasha, Laleli, and Carullah .
The book has appeared in several printed editions:
- An edition published in Hyderabad in 1960 .
- A critical edition edited by Salah al-Din al-Nahi, printed at Matbaat Asad in Baghdad in 1386 AH / 1966 CE .
- An edition edited by Sayyid Muhammad Muhanna, published by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya in Beirut in 1419 AH / 1998 CE .
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