Imam Abu Hanifa's Al-Fiqh al-Akbar Explained

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Imam Abu Hanifa’s Al-Fiqh al-Akbar Explained

By Abu ’l-Muntaha al-Maghnisawi, with Selections from 'Ali al-Qari’s Commentary Including Abu Hanifa’s Kitab al-Wasiyya

Al-Fiqh al-Akbar is one of the earliest texts written on Islamic creed and one of the surviving works of Abu Hanifa, the Great Imam of jurisprudence and theology. Studied for centuries in the Muslim world, Al-Fiqh al-Akbar offers a more nuanced, textured approach to understanding divine oneness (tawhid), the focal point of Islamic belief. It refines one’s understanding of the Creator, the messengers and divine communication, and enables one to gain much-needed insight into the realities of this life and the events of the hereafter.

Al-Fiqh al-Akbar not only improves one’s understanding of ‘aqida and deepens one’s appreciation of his or her beliefs, but it endeavors to address questions, which, if left unanswered, could leave insidious doubt and cause communal division. Such questions include: Where is Allah? Does Allah evolve? What constitutes true Islamic belief? Are prophets capable of sinning? Is there creation beyond what we see? What comes after death?

This translation of Al-Fiqh al-Akbar is an unprecedented contribution to the subject of ‘aqida in English. A lucid rendering, unhampered by sterile literalism, it draws on a number of commentaries to unlock a subject that has been largely inaccessible to an English readership. This is due both to the subject’s complexity and the lack of reliable works in English. Combining Maghnisawi’s basic commentary with copious notes carefully selected from ‘Ali al-Qari’s super-commentary and the entire Kitab al-Wasiyya of Abu Hanifa, this edition promises to be an essential guide on the intellectual and rewarding journey through Islamic creed.

Editorial Reviews

Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf has rendered a valuable service to English speaking Muslims. The depth of his scholarship and the accessibility of his language combine to present the reader with a text that elucidates critical aspects of the orthodox Muslim creed, and sheds light on contentious historical and theological issues.

Imam Zaid ShakirNew Islamic Directions USA

A substantial addition to the dismayingly small number of English translations of works of Islamic theology… It is well suited to provide a solid introduction to later Islamic theology, both Maturidi and Ash’ari, as it has been studied in traditional Sunni circles for centuries.

Aron Zysow Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA

A dire need of the hour fulfilled. This is true regarding the sterling compilation of the explanation of “Al Fiqhul Akbar” by Mufti Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf.

Mufti Ebrahim Desai Askimam.org, South Africa

"[Abdur-Rahman] Ibn Yusuf's work stands out as an outstanding example of scholarly reference and citation. A work suitable for both the general reader interested in Islamic doctrine and theology and as a critical and important addition to university libraries and classrooms.''
- Ralph H. Salmi Ph.D. Center for Islamic and Middle East Studies California State University San Bernardino

This is an excellent and highly-recommendable work. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf not only translated one of the great commentaries on Imam Abu Hanifa’s Fiqh al-Akbar, but he also added extensive additional commentary from Mulla Ali al-Qari’s lengthier work, as well as valuable and much-needed footnotes where needed. The language is clear and lucid. This is a work every Muslim should strongly consider reading.

Faraz Rabbani Educational Director, Seekers Guidance, Canada

This book fills a real need, for there has been no rich and yet compressed text on the Islamic Creed (‘Aqidah) in English language that serves that academic goals of education in the west. The translation is a careful work of Mufti Abdr-Rahman Ibn Yusuf whose knowledge, academic qualification, and practice in the legal school of Abu Hanifa made this authentic text readily accessible to scholars, students, and general readers.

Mashhad Al-Allaf, Ph.D.

Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies & Prof. of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Toledo, USA

[Abdur-Rahman] Ibn Yusuf’s work stands out as an outstanding example of scholarly reference and citation. A work suitable for both the general reader interested in Islamic doctrine and theology and as a critical and important addition to university libraries and classrooms.

Ralph H. Salmi, Ph.D.

Center for Islamic and Middle East Studies, California State University, San Bernardino

This represents one of the most comprehensive works written in the English language representing the traditional, true, and authentic teachings of the early predecessors (salaf) in matters of doctrine and tawhid (Islamic monotheism).

Shaykh Abdullah Ali Lamppost Productions, USA

About The Authors

Abu ‘l-Muntaha al-Maghnisawi

His full name is Ahmad ibn Muhammad, Abu ’l-Muntaha Shihab al-Din. He was born in Magnisia (Maghnisa), a town in present-day western Turkey (Al-A’lam 1:234). Very little is known about the life of this great scholar. His date of birth, among other aspects of his life, also seems to be unknown. It is likely that he was born in the very early part of the eleventh century, given that his death was either in 1090/1679 (Mu’jam al-Mu’allifin 2:159; Kashf al-Zunun 5:162) or in 1000/1592 (Al-A’lam 1:234). It is clear however, that he lived around the turn of the first millennium.

Some sources state that he completed his commentary of Al-Fiqh al-Akbar in 989 ah or a year earlier. If this is the case, then it is most likely that the opinion of the Ottoman biographer Muhammad Tahir Barusehli that his death was in 1000 ah is more accurate, and, accordingly, he was born in the early tenth century. This means a difference of ninety years between the two dates of death, and a period of a hundred and one years between the completion of the commentary and his death date given by the others. Zirikli prefers the opinion of Barusehli and disregards that of Haji Khalifa (Al-A’lam 1:234).

‘Allama Maghnisawi was an accomplished jurist of the Hanafi school and a master in the science of Qur’an Recitation (muqri’). Aside from his commentary on Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, he authored many books, including Izhar al-Ma’ani fi Sharh Hazr al-Amani (The Explanation of the Meanings: An Exposition of the Assessment of Aspirations), a commentary of Shatabi’s Qasida in qira’a (Qur’anic recitation) in Turkish, and the Qasida Nuniyya on Islamic theology (Osmanli Müellifleri 228). With the exception of his commentary on Shatabi’s Qasida, all his other works were in Arabic.

Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari

‘Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Qari, more popularly known as Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari, was an ascetic, hadith scholar, jurist, theologian, and author of what has been hailed as the most comprehensive Arabic commentary on the Mishkat al-Masabih, entitled Mirqat al-Mafatih. He is also famous for his commentary on Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, called Minah al-Rawd al-Azhar (Gifts of the Blooming Gardens). Qari was born in Herat, Afghanistan, where he received his primary years of Islamic education. Thereafter, he traveled to Makka, where he studied under numerous scholars, including Shaykh Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki and Qutb al-Din al-Hanafi. He was called Al-Qari, “The Reciter,” because of his mastery of the science of Qur’anic recitation. Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari remained in Makka, where he taught until his death in 1014/1606. His written works include a two-volume commentary on Qadi ‘Iyad’s Al-Shifa’ (The Cure); a two-volume commentary on Imam Ghazali’s abridgment of the Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), entitled ‘Ayn al-’Ilm wa Zayn al-Hilm (The Spring of Knowledge and the Adornment of Understanding); and a book of prophetic invocations, Al-Hizb al-A’zam (The Supreme Daily Dhikr).

Abu Hanifa Nu’man ibn Thabit (Imam A’zam)

Nu’man ibn Thabit, better known as Abu Hanifa, was born in 80 AH in the Iraqi city of Kufa, which, through the legacy of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud and ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with them), had by this time become one of the major centers of learning in the world. Imam Abu Hanifa was a Follower (tabi’i), having had the good fortune of seeing some of the Companions (sahaba) of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace). Born in a family of traders, Imam Abu Hanifa excelled in his family’s business, but it was his keen intellect and his passionate pursuit of Islamic knowledge that secured his position as eponym of the Hanafi school of law and altered the development of Islamic sciences. His first areas of concentration were the foundations of faith (usul al-din) and theology, which he skillfully mastered. He studied hadith from Salama ibn Kuhayl, Sha’bi, Qataa, and many other renowned scholars who had studied hadith under Companions. He then turned his focus to jurisprudence, mastering all of its subtle points. Under his direction, he and 40 of his most exceptional students, all master scholars, formed the principles that founded what soon after became known as the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It is also his teachings in creed that form the basis of the Maturidi school of thought in theology. He passed away in 150 AH in Baghdad.

Additional Product Information

ISBN 1: 978-1-933764-03-0
ISBN: 2: 9781933764030
SKU: 9781933764030
Publisher: White Thread Publishers
Imprint: White Thread Publishers
Cover: Paperback
Format: Paperback
Binding: Paperback
Author: Abu ‘l-Muntaha al-Maghnisawi / Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari / Abu Hanifa Nu’man ibn Thabit (Imam A’zam)
Translated By: Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera
Dimensions Inches: 6" x 9" Aprox
Dimensions Cm: 23.7 x 15.8cm Aprox
Pages: 240
Publication Year: June 2007
Weight: 525g