26/11/2024
al-Nahr al-jārī fī jamʿ al-Zāhid wa-l-sufun al-jāmiʿa li-l-taqrīb bi-ghāyat al-ikhtiṣār" is “Jamʿ al-mutūn” (Collection of Core Texts):
This compendium represents a significant collection of six fundamental Shāfiʿī legal texts (mutūn) arranged according to traditional Islamic jurisprudential (fiqh) ordering. The compiler, Shaykh Muḥibb al-Dīn Abū Mālik Ādam al-Shāfiʿī al-Minhajī, has assembled these essential primers. The earliest of the text is, following chronologically is:
* “Matn al-Ghāya wa-l-taqrīb” (also known as “Matn Ghāyat al-ikhtiṣār” or “Matn Abī Shujāʿ”) by Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn Abū Shujāʿ al-Aṣfahānī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 500 AH/1107 CE). It is renowned for its concise presentation of essential Shāfiʿī fiqh.
* “al-Sittīn masʾala fī madhhab al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī” (Sixty Issues in Imām al-Shāfiʿī's School) by the ascetic jurist Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Shihāb al-Dīn al-Miṣrī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 819 AH/1416 CE), focuses on sixty fundamental issues of worship and transactions.
* “al-Mukhtaṣar al-ṣaghīr fī-mā lā budda li-kulli muslim min maʿrifatihi fī l-ʿibādāt” (The Minor Compendium of Essential Knowledge for Every Muslim Regarding Acts of Worship) by ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Bāfaḍl al-Ḥaḍramī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 918 AH/1512 CE) specialises in worship-related matters.
* “al-Risāla al-jāmiʿa wa-l-tadhkira al-nāfiʿa” (The Comprehensive Epistle and Beneficial Reminder) by Ḥabīb Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Ḥabashī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 1144 AH/1731 CE) offers a broader treatment combining legal rulings with spiritual reminders.
* “Safīnat al-ṣalāh” (The Ship of Prayer) by ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar al-Ḥaḍramī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 1265 AH/1849 CE) focuses specifically on prayer-related matters.
* “Safīnat al-najāh fī mā yajibu ʿalā l-ʿabd li-mawlāh” (The Ship of Salvation Concerning What a Servant Owes to His Lord) by Sālim ibn Samīr al-Ḥaḍramī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 1271 AH/1855 CE) covers essential obligations.
"Knowledge is vast, and its path is challenging. We often find young students stumbling at the beginning of their journey, requiring repeated revision of foundational texts (muqaddimāt) until the information becomes firmly established, enabling them to progress in both their religious and worldly affairs. Similarly, we have observed that advanced students transitioning to the primary texts (mutūn) - which do not encompass every issue of each chapter but rather focus on the most important ones - miss some benefits they previously encountered in the introductory texts due to their length. Therefore, I have compiled these primary texts to assist beginners (mubtadiʾ) and complete the benefit for advanced students. We ask Allāh, Glory and Exalted be He, to accept this compilation from us, and [grant] His pleasure upon me, my loved ones, and all Muslims.”
- Shaykh Muḥibb al-Dīn Abū Mālik Ādam al-Shāfiʿī al-Minhajī
العلم كثير، وطريقه وعر، وكثير ما نجد الشباب يتعطلون في أول طريقه، فيكرر بعض المقدمات مرارًا حتى تسكن له المعلومة ويتقدم بها في دينه ودنياه. وكذا وجدنا المنتهي ينتقل إلى الكتب المتون المتقدمة، التي لا تشمل كل مسائل الباب ولكن أهمها، فيفوته بسبب طولها بعض الفوائد التي مر عليها في المقدمات. فقمت بجمع هذه المتون الأولية لإعانة المبتديء وإتمام فائدة المنتهي، فنسأل الله سبحانه وتعالى أن يتقبل منا هذا الجمع، ورضوانه عني وعن أحبائي وسائل المسلمين.
