Lists in order of reliable Hanafi Fiqh books

[nuaym]

As salamu aleykum,

I know Hanafi scholars have made in the past lists with in order the reliablest Hanafi Fiqh books such as Allamah al-Luknawi.

Presenting these lists would be very usefull.

Was salaam

[Saad]

Famous mufassir, faqih and mutakallim 'Allamah Abd al- Haq Haqqani Dahlawi has listed some reliable and unreliable Hanafi fiqh and fatawa books in Aqaid Islam p 114-116. This book of his has the approval of Qasim al-'Ulum Mawlana Nanautwi, Imam Sayyid Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Mufti Kifayat Allah Dahlawi and Mawlana Habib al-Rahman 'Uthmani (may Allah have mercy on them).

He explains,

There are three ranks of Masa'il Hanafiyyah:

[1] In first rank are those masa’il that are established from Dahir al-Riwayah (manifest narrations), and Dahir al-Riwayah is a reference to these six books of Imam Muhammad:

1. Mabsut [also called the Al-Asl].
2. Ziyadat.
3. Jami' al-Saghir.
4. Jami' al-Kabir.
5. Siyar al-Saghir.
6. Siyar al-Kabir.

In these six books Imam Muhammad has written all agreed and differed upon masa’il from Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Abu Yusuf and himself. These books are called Dahir al-Riwayah because these are mass-transmitted (tawatur) from the author or with well-known chains (mashur)..

[2] In second rank are those masa’il that are narrated from mujtahid imams from books beside Dahir al-Riwayah, like Muhit and Raqqiyyat meaning those masa’il that Imam Muhammad gathered while in the city of Raqiyyah. And Kaysaniyyat A’ni that Imam Muhammad had Ibn ‘Umru Sulayman bin Shuayb Kaysani write down. And Haruniyyat that were gathered during the reign of Harun Rashid and Kitab Amali that is copied from Imam Abu Yusuf, and other such books. And these are also known as Nawadir.

[3] In third rank are those masa’il that the later-day scholars (muta'akhkhirin) deduced according to the Hanafi principles as needed. These are also known as Fatawa and Waqi’at. And the first book in this rank, Al-Nawazil, was authored by Faqih Abu Layth al-Samarqandi who was a great muhaqqiq. After him many such books were authored in this rank, such as Majmu’ al-Nawazil wa al-Waqi’at al-Natifi by Sadr al-Shahid. Then the later-day scholars (muta'akhkhirin) mixed these masa’il from the first, second and third ranks, and compiled them in one place like Fatawa Qadi Khan.

Reliable Books

Following books are very reliable according to muta'akhkhirin:

1. Wiqayah. 2. Mukhtasar al-Quduri. 3. Kanz al-Daqa’iq. 4. Mukhtaar. 5. Majma’ al-Bahrayn. So, when masa’il in these books differ from other books then these should be relied upon; even though authors of these [above mentioned] books were [faqihs] of high rank, they only wrote masa’il from Dahir al-Riwayah in these books. And beside these books there are many other Fiqh books mutawan, commentaries and fatawa that are reliable but there is no room for their names here, e.g. 1 Sharh Wiqayah. 2. Hidayah. 3. Fath al-Qadir. 4 Bahr [al-Ra’iq]. 5 Fatawa Qadi Khan. 6 Fatawa Zahiriyyah. 7 Tanwir al-Absar. 8 Sharh Durr al-Mukhtar, etc. and other books by mutaqaddimin and muta'akhkhirin. But a general principle regarding the books of Fiqh is that any book which has masa’il of Dahir al-Riwayah and its author is well-known and accepted, that book is among the high rank in Fiqh. And that which doesn’t have this attribute is among the lower rank and there are many ranks among these. And according to these principles the following books are unreliable:

Unreliable Books

1. Quniyah. 2. Muhit Burhani. 3. Siraj Wahhaj. 4. Sharah Mukhtasar al-Quduri . 5. Mushtamil al-Akham by Fakhr al-Din Rumi. 6. Kanz al-‘Ibad authored by ‘Ali bin Ahmad Ghori. Mulla ‘Ali Qari has mentioned in Tabaqat al-Hanafiyyah that he has a book Mufid al-Mustafid which he has filled with makruhat of Madhhab and one Kanz al-‘Ibad which he has filled with many absurd hadiths that have no chains of narration anywhere. 7. Matalib al-Mu’minin, authored by Shaykh Badr al-Din Taj bin ‘Abd al-Rahim Lahori. 8. Khazanah al-Riwayat, authored by Qadi Juggan Hanafi Hindi of village Kun which is located in Gujarat. 9. Sharat al-Islam, authored by Muhammad bin Abi Bakr Choghi. Chogh is a village located near Samarqand. 10. Fatawa al Sufiya, authored by Fadhlullah Muhammad bin Ayyub. 11. Fatwa al-Tura. 12. Fatawa Ibn Nujaym. 13. Fatawa Barhanah, as mentioned in the books of Tabaqat. Beside these there are many other books that are unreliable so be careful when giving a fatwa. Whoever wishes to know more should look into the bigger books of this field.

[mospike]

I like the discussion on this topic which appears in the first 20 or pages of Al Khulasatu al Bahiya fi Mathahib al Hanafia...

[Ansari]

I like the discussion on this topic which appears in the first 20 or pages of Al Khulasatu al Bahiya fi Mathahib al Hanafia...

By who is it, and is this book perhaps available online?

[Husain]

Then he has listed some unreliable books including:
2. Muheet Burhani.

Some Ulama, including Ml. Abd al-Hay al-Laknawi have erroneously classified al-Muhit al-Burhani as a weak and unreliable book, when it is from amongst the most reliable books in the madhab.

When Moulana Abd al-Hay later on got hold of the book and had the chance to study it, he immediately retracted his previous ruling of weakness on the book.

It should be borne in mind that this issue of reliable and unreliable books, is a very delicate issue, which many Muftis haven't even properly grasped, never mind laymen.

There are a number of reasons why a book would be considered unreliable and the ruling on the use of the book would be based on this reason.
A book being unreliable, doesn't mean that it can never be quoted, instead there are rules regulating the usage of such books and the quoting of masail therefrom.

[Abu Shayba]

السلام عليكم

When Moulana Abd al-Hay later on got hold of the book and had the chance to study it, he immediately retracted his previous ruling of weakness on the book.

Mufti saheb can you provide a reference for this; its an important statement. And also what do think of allama Ibn Abidin's views on the Muhit.

and can you suggest any works which give a good analytical treatment of the works of the madhhab.
thanks

[Husain]

I like the discussion on this topic which appears in the first 20 or pages of Al Khulasatu al Bahiya fi Mathahib al Hanafia...

That discussion isn't part of the book. It is part of the "Muhaqqiqs" muqammimah to the Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah edition.
His muqaddimah is a copy and paste job, mainly from Sh. Ali Jumah's "al-Madkhal ila al-Madhahib al-Ara'ba'ah", which in turn is a copy and paste job from a few other works!
They copy exactly what is in their sources, with all the mistakes, without any mention of the source most of the time!

Ml. Abd al-Hay wrote a commentary to al-Jami as-Saghir titled "an-Nafi al-Kabir".

It is in this book that he mentioned al-Muhit to be a weak book, however he later retracted this statement and clearly mentioned his retraction in the footnotes of an-Nafi' al-Kabir.
Yet, Sh. Ali Jumah quotes Ml. Abd al-Hay's entire discussion on weak books, including the classification of al-Muhit as weak and does not mention the retraction!
Then the turkish "Muhaqqiq" of al-Khulasah al-Bahiyyah "Ilyas Qablan" comes along and copies exactly what Sh. Ali Jumah mentioned, without listing him as the source and he also didn't mention Ml. Abd al-Hay's retraction!

It is a sad mess.

[Husain]

Mufti saheb can you provide a reference for this; its an important statement.

It is mentioned in Ml. Abd al-Hays footnotes to an-Nafi' al-Kabir pg 28, as well as in al-Fawaid al-Bahiyyah pg 271.

النافع الكبير ص28 ونصه:
فقد وفقني الله بعد كتابه هذه الرسالة بمطالعة ((المحيط البرهاني)) فرأيته ليس جامعاً للرطب واليابس، بل فيه مسائل منقحة وتفاريع مرّصصة ثم تأملت في عبارة ((فتح القدير)) وعبارة ابن نجيم فعلمت أن المنع من الإفتاء منه ليس لكونه جامعاً للغث والسمين، بل لكونه مفقودا نادر الوجود في ذلك العصر وهذا الأمر يختلف بحسب اختلاف الزمان فليحفظ هذا

And also what do think of allama Ibn Abidin's views on the Muhit.

I am unaware of any view of Ibn Abidin concerning Muhit. He has quoted extensively from it, via other sources as he never had the book. Yes, towards the end of his life he acquired a copy of the mukhtasar of al-Muhit ie. az-Zakhirah.

If you are referring to what Mufti Taqi saheb attributed to the Sharh al-Uqud of ibn Abidin in his muqaddimah to the Idarah a-Quran print of al-Muhit, then that is an error on Mufti Taqi saheb's part.

Ibn Abidin never made such a statement and especially not in Sharh al-Uqud.
Mufti Taqi probably got mixed up with Ml. Abd al-Hay's stance on the book or ibn Nujayms stance.

I have clarified this issue in my Ta'liq on Sharh al-uqud.
Make dua I get the tawfiq to finish it of quickly.
Mufti Rafi' saheb has been asking me for it for a while, however it just can't seem to get it completed.

and can you suggest any works which give a good analytical treatment of the works of the madhhab.

There is nothing good written on the issue.
The best available is al-Madhab al-Hanafi of Ahmed an-Naqib, published in 2 volumes by Maktabah ar-Rushd in Saudia. It is out of print at the moment, but copies can be still found in the market.

I am working on a madkhal to the books of the madhab at the moment.
I teach this every weekend at the Dar al-Ifta in Camperdown.
I am trying to cover all the important works in the madhab, including a critical analysis of the status of each book, the different prints of them etc.
This will probably take a few years though!

[Abu Shayba]

I have clarified this issue in my Ta'liq on Sharh al-uqud.
Make dua I get the tawfiq to finish it of quickly.
Mufti Rafi' saheb has been asking me for it for a while, however it just can't seem to get it completed.

I am working on a madkhal to the books of the madhab at the moment.
I teach this every weekend at the Dar al-Ifta in Camperdown.
I am trying to cover all the important works in the madhab, including a critical analysis of the status of each book, the different prints of them etc.
This will probably take a few years though!

وفقكم الله وفقكم الله وفقكم الله
Mufti Saheb may Allah ease you path and fulfill your goals, this is a truly noble effort and something we are in clear need of. May Allah give us an opportunity to study with you and benefit from your expertise, Masha Allah

[nuaym]

What about these beside Mukhtasar al Quduri;


Mukhtasar al Tahawi by Imam Tahawi (d. 321 AH)

Al-Kafi by Imam Hakim ash-Shahid (d. 334 AH)

Mukhtasar al Karkhi by Imam Al-Kharkhi (d. 340 AH)

Mukhtasar al Jassas by Imam al Jassas (d. 370 AH)