Jewel H Jalil

This chapter provides the historical development of the ‘law-related narrations’ genre (aḥādīth al-aḥkām) in Islamic scholarship. It outlines the contents and characteristics of this genre which became prevalent after the 6th/11th century. The chapter critically explores the possible premeditated motives behind its compilations, the target readership, and how it became associated with epitomes (mutūn al-fiqh) of different law schools. It also highlights the competition between the law schools to articulate their respective legal doctrines through this genre of literature. The works of ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Ishbīlī (d. 581/1185), ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisī (d. 600/1203), and others are explored to address their different approaches, originality, geographical concentrations, and how the genre has been received in modern times.

This chapter provides an overview of the historical development and concept of the official opinions (mu‘tamad) among the later-generation Hanbali scholars on the aspects of ritual worship. It outlines why and how the official opinions became crucial for studying law for all the law schools. The chapter explores the different approaches of the early-, mid-, and later-generation Hanbali scholars in affirming the official opinions for the overall Hanbali school. Occasionally, former opinions of the early- and mid-generation Hanbali scholars were replaced by the official opinions of the later-generation scholars. In light of some case studies, the chapter critically explores and attempts to encapsulate the main elements for this noticeable shift in the Hanbali law manuals, and whether it generally helped to consolidate the Hanbali school further.

Fasting is a pillar of Islam and its one of the greatest acts of worship to draw close to Allāh. And to get the best out of fasting, it’s important to understand the evidences, rulings, and it’s manners and inner secrets. This book presents different genres of Islamic literature on the topic of fasting. It will hopefully show how the different genres fits together even through the texts were authored from different angles of Islamic scholarship. The first section of the book is a rendition of the chapters of fasting and devotional seclusion from Majd al-Dīn b. Taymiyya’s (d. 652/1254) law-related ḥadīth work, al-Muntaqā. The second section is a rendition of the same chapters but from Muwaffaq al-Din b. Qudāma’s (d. 620/1223) fiqh work, al-Muqniʿ. And in the final section, the chapters of inners secrets of fasting from Najm al-Dīn b. Qudāma’s (d. 689/1290) tarbiya work, Mukhtaṣar minhāj al-qāṣidīn were added to complete the theme of fasting. This bilingual edition, with its parallel Arabic text, will allow readers to access the original Arabic and hopefully help with vocabulary building, oracy, and future translations.

Foreword by Dr Fāris b. Fāliḥ al-Khazrajī

Available from: https://www.daral-arqam.co.uk/product/fasting-and-i-tikaf

This book is a translation of Ibn ʿAqīl al-Ḥanbalī’s (d. 513/1119) essay on Islamic manners, Fuṣūl al-ādāb wa makārim al-akhlāq al-mashrūʿa. It presents a significant number of commendable etiquettes Muslims are required to observe for everyday living and dealings. Ibn ʿAqīl’s essay is considered to be the shortest, and the earliest extant work from the Ḥanbalī school on Islamic manners. The language employed in the translation has been kept simple, straightforward, and modern to make the work accessible to everyone. This bilingual edition, with its parallel Arabic text, will allow readers to access the original Arabic and hopefully help with vocabulary building, oracy, and future translations. In Islam, good manners (ādāb) are required and admired; and it’s developed through study and practice. It is hoped the translation, Ibn ʿAqīl al-Ḥanbalī’s essay on Islamic Manners becomes a means to refine manners better.

Available here: https://daralarqam.bigcartel.com/product/essay-on-islamic-manners

This book is a translation of Marʿī b. Yūsuf al-Karmī’s (d. 1033/1623) classical Ḥanbalī law manual, Dalīl al-Ṭālib. In 1961 George M. Baroody translated the section of criminal law as part of a Masters’ thesis. The present work focuses on the sections of worship (ʿibādāt). It clearly presents the rules and regulations the Muslim community requires for purification, prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage, and warfare. A lengthy introduction to Islamic law and the Ḥanbalī school has been included to prepare the readers. The language employed in the translation has been kept simple, straightforward, and modern to make the work accessible to everyone who speaks English – law student or otherwise. This bilingual edition, with its parallel Arabic text, will allow readers to access the original Arabic and hopefully help with vocabulary building, oracy, and future translations. Muslims for many centuries have turned to Dalīl al-Ṭālib for study, and ultimately to be informed of their religious practices. It is hoped the translation, The Student’s Guide, will produce a similar response and convey the spirit and manner of the original owing to its style and simplicity.

Forewords by Professor Robert Gleave (University of Exeter) and Dr. Faris b. Falih al-Khazraji (Turkey).

Available here: https://daralarqam.bigcartel.com/product/the-students-guide

This book is a translation of Yūsuf b. ʿAbd al-Hādī’s (d. 909/1503) Ḥanbalī law manual, Kitāb furūʿ al-fiqh. The purpose of this rendition is to present the main aspects of Islamic law in a simple and modern manner. The manual at hand is considered to be the shortest law manual in the Ḥanbalī school. The translation covers the articles of law pertaining to the aspects of worship (ʿibādāt) and social dealings (muʿāmalāt). The appendix contains a translation of the chapters of fasting and devotional seclusion from Ibn Qudāma’s (d. 620/1223) Ḥanbalī law manual, al-Muqniʿ. A rendition of Ibn ʿAqīl’s (d. 513/1119) treatise on Islamic manners, Fuṣūl al-ādāb wa makārim al-akhlāq al-mashrūʿa, has been included to compliment the articles of law.

Foreword by Dr. Mustafa Baig (University of Exeter)

Available here: http://daralarqam.bigcartel.com/product/an-epitome-of-hanbali-substantive-law

The sources of the Islamic law are of two types: revealed by God and non-revealed,  the latter being rational proofs. Despite the Qurʾān being a primary source of law, it is not a legal text  such as a manual of jurisprudence. The Qurʾān contains some six thousand two hundred and thirty five verses and not all of these passages deal with judicial issues, hence it would be inappropriate to equate the Qurʾān as a legal text. A closer analysis of the Qurʾānic text will show that only a very small portion of the passages deals with legal and judicial issues.

The function of this essay is to study the usages of the term ‘shahīd’ [شهيد pl. شُهَدَاء] in the Prophetic reports, and investigate whether if there is any ‘commonality’ for its utilization. The Arabic word shahīd linguistically denotes ‘present’ or ‘witness’. It is often translated as ‘a martyr’ and ‘martyr’ is a word that originates for the Old English word ‘martir’, via ecclesiastical Latin from the Greek word, ‘martur’ which means ‘witness’.  The technical meaning of the word shahīd refers to a person that was killed while fighting in the cause of God to make His word supreme.  The linguistic meaning of the word is used in the Qurʾān, in its singular form; “and so that the Messenger will be a witness [شهيد] over you”  as well as in its plural form; “while you are witnesses [شُهَدَاء]” . The technical meaning of the word in its plural form is utilized in the Qurʾān; “that God may test those who believe, and that He may take martyrs [شُهَدَاء] from among you.”  The singular form of the word denoting the technical meaning is not used in the Qurʾān. The focal point of this essay will be on the martyrs, who were not killed in the battlefield.

The focal point of this essay will be to examine and evaluate the use of the term “sunnah” in the early era of Islam, and determine whether it went through any development in its usage amongst the earlier Muslims. The term “sunnah” when mentioned in our present time, for example, in a Friday sermon or generally between Muslims, it is commonly understood by the general masses to mean something, “that was done by the Prophet Muhammad, which is good to do.” This is a very confined meaning of the term “sunnah” – but, is this how the early generation of Muslims understood this term? Did the meaning of the term “sunnah” develop and undergo changes over the passage of time amongst the earlier Muslims? To answer such questions, this essay will seek to analyse and investigate the different contextual use of the term “sunnah”.

The Qur’an is taken as the verbatim words of God. The Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed in the Arabic language over a period of twenty three years. Owing to this belief, any given translation of the Qur’an is not deemed as the verbatim words of God, rather, translations of any nature is merely deemed as an approximate interpretation of God’s words. The aim of a translation is to present to the foreign readers what Muslims hold to be the meaning of the words of the Qur’an. This very reason leads Pickthall, at the start of his translation of the Qur’an to write, “The Qur’an cannot be translated.”  The diverse translations of the Qur’an cannot be a replacement for the Arabic Qur’an in any case, whether the translation style was literal or anti-literal. The various translators acknowledge this point, regardless the choice of their translation style.