The Legacy of Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī
In this section, we will cover the century-long legacy of the Mukhtaṣar, discovering the most famous works that stem from it. Use the links below to access the PDF or image. You can download them by clicking the three dots at the top of the viewer.
The Legacy of The Mukhtaṣar [pdf]
The Legacy of The Mukhtaṣar [png]
Commentaries and Footnotes
The clarity and brevity of Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī inspired many scholars to elaborate upon its contents through detailed commentaries. Among the earliest of these was al-Aqṭaʿ (d. 474 AH), a direct student of Imām al-Qudūrī, who produced one of the first known explanations of the text. His contribution laid the groundwork for a long-standing tradition of scholarly engagement with the Mukhtaṣar.
In the centuries that followed, a number of prominent figures continued this tradition. Al-Zāhidī (d. 658 AH) authored al-Mujtabā, Al-Ḥaddādī (d. 800 AH) composed al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah, Al-Kādūrī (d. 832 AH) followed with Jāmiʿ al-Muḍmarāt wa’l-Mushkilāt, and al-Maydānī (d. 1298 AH) later wrote al-Lubāb, a work that continues to be studied today. These are only a few commentaries, otherwise if the footnotes and commentaries authored on the work were to be gathered, they would be close to one hundred, if not more.
Poetic Renditions
Because of its precision and conciseness, Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī also lent itself to poetic form. Two well-known versifications were composed to make its study and memorization easier: one by Sirāj al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī (d. 769 AH) and another by al-Khalwatī (d. 1140 AH). Traditionally, Muslim scholars often convert their books to poem to make it easier for the student to memorize.
Derivative and Supplementary Works
Beyond commentaries and poetry, Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī inspired numerous derivative works aimed at refining, summarizing, or contextualizing its discussions. Among these was al-Taṣḥīḥ wa’l-Tarjīḥ by Qāsim ibn Quṭlūbughā (d. 879), in which the author cited the muʿtamad (relied-upon) positions of later authorities, especially when these differed from what is found in the Mukhtaṣar itself.
Another major work that emerged from the Mukhtaṣar’s influence was the legendary Bidāyat al-Mubtadī by Imām al-Marghīnānī (d. 593 AH). In this text, Imām al-Marghīnānī combined al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr of Imām Muḥammad al-Shaybānī (d. 189 AH) with Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī, focusing exclusively on legal discussions (masāʾil) without mentioning evidences. He later authored two commentaries on it: a longer one, titled Kifāyat al-Muntahī, and thereafter a shorter one that became far more famous, al-Hidāyah. By summarizing the contents of this larger commentary into a smaller one, literally every line in the Hidāyah has pages of information hidden within it. As such, it remains one of the most influential works in Islamic jurisprudence and continues to be studied across the Muslim world.
The Scholarly Tradition of al-Hidāyah
Al-Hidāyah itself gave rise to a rich scholarly tradition. Among the earliest were Nihāyat al-Kifāyah of Tāj al-Sharīʿah al-Maḥbūbī (d. after 696 AH). He was shortly followed by al-Sighnāqī’s (d. 711 AH) al-Nihāyah fī Sharḥ al-Hidāyah, the contents of which, along with other commentaries, was summarized by al-Bābirtī (d. 786 AH) in his ʿInāyah, making his more appropriate for delivering lessons. Al-Atqānī (d. 758 AH) wrote an extensive commentary titled Ghāyat al-Bayān, providing excellent insight and critical analysis in many areas. After him, al-ʿAinī (d. 855 AH) authored al-Bināyah, a comprehensive commentary that often critiques and refines the arguments of earlier scholars, especially al-Atqānī (d. 758 AH). Ibn al-Humām (d. 861 AH) then produced his masterpiece, a valuable commentary that contributed significantly to the understanding of al-Hidāyah and juristic reasoning in general. His Fatḥ al-Qadīr remains one of the most precise and detailed books in defending the views of the school. Later, Saʿdī Chalabī (d. 945 AH) explained the ʿInāyah to a few of his students, one of whom later converted his lessons into a ḥāshiyah (marginal gloss) on al-ʿInāyah.
Many of these commentators benefited tremendously from Jamāl al-Dīn al-Zaylaʿī’s (d. 762 AH) masterpiece Naṣb al-Rāyah, in which he gathered many of the narrations quoted in the Hidāyah and referenced them back to their original sources. This was later summarized by the famous Shāfiʿī scholar Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalanī (d. 852 AH) in his Dirāyah. His student Qāsim ibn Quṭlūbughā (d. 879) thereafter penned a short work titled Munyat al-Almaʿī in which he aimed to gather the narrations that al-Zaylaʿī, Ibn Ḥajar, and al-ʿAinī had not referenced.
Aside from commentaries and ḥadīth-referential works, several additional works were derived from al-Hidāyah. Burhān al-Sharīʿah al-Maḥbūbī (d. 673 AH) produced a concise primer titled Wiqāyat al-Riwāyah fī Masāʾil al-Hidāyah that summarized its rulings without their evidence. His grandson, Ṣadr al-Sharīʿah al-Thānī (d. 747 AH), then wrote an extensive commentary on this primer, which later became the basis for several glosses penned by jurists such as Mullā Khusraw (d. 885 AH), Ināyat Allah al-Qādirī, and the Lakhnawīs (d. 1253 AH and 1304 AH).
The grandfather’s primer was then abridged by his grandson into al-Nuqāyah, which in turn became the subject of two renowned commentaries: Fatḥ Bāb al-ʿInāyah by Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014 AH) and Jāmiʿ al-Rumūz by al-Quhustānī (d. 953 AH). Ibn Kamāl Pāshā followed in his footsteps, summarizing the grandfather’s Wiqāyah in al-Iṣlāḥ. He then authored al-Īḍāḥ, a commentary on this work, in which he aimed to correct the views held by the grandfather Burhān al-Sharīʿah and his grandson Ṣadr al-Sharīʿah al-Thānī. These objections however were later corrected in other glosses and commentaries on the Wiqāyah.
From al-Qudūrī to al-Nasafī and Beyond
The influence of Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī extended far beyond these centuries. Al-Nasafī (d. 710 AH) explicitly stated in the introduction of his al-Wāfī that he relied on al-Qudūrī’s work. He later composed al-Kāfī as a commentary on this work, in which he makes it a point to clarify points of ambiguity found in al-Hidāyah. Subsequently, he abridged al-Wāfī into his well-known primer Kanz al-Daqāʾiq, which remains widely studied in Ḥanafī circles today.
Major commentaries on Kanz al-Daqāʾiq include Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Zaylaʿī (d. 743 AH), which is an excellent read for Fiqh, Ramz al-Ḥaqāʾiq by al-ʿAinī (d. 855 AH), which is an excellent work for understanding the Kanz, and al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq by Ibn Nujaym (d. 970 AH), which is essentially the encyclopedia of the school. Ibn Nujaim’s younger brother, Sirāj al-Dīn (d. 1005 AH), then authored al-Nahr al-Fāʾiq, correcting the errors presumably made by his older brother. Ibn ʿĀbidīn (d. 1252 AH) later wrote his invaluable gloss, Minḥat al-Khāliq, on al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq, expanding on the work’s content and serving as the judge between the two brothers!
Other Major Derivative Works
The scholarly chain inspired by al-Qudūrī also includes Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn by Ibn al-Sāʿātī (d. 694 AH), who gathered between the Mukhtaṣar and Abu Ḥafṣ’s Manzūmat al-Khilāfiyyāt. His work became the subject of multiple commentaries, including those by Ibn Malak (d. 854 AH) and al-ʿAinī. Later, al-Ḥalabī drew from the Mukhtaṣar when he composed Multaqa al-Abḥur, a comprehensive synthesis between the Mukhtaṣar, Mukhtār, Wiqāyah, and Kanz, that served as a primary text for Ottoman-era scholars. Two famous commentaries accompanied it: Majmaʿ al-Anhur by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Shaykhī Zādah (d. 1078 AH) and al-Durr al-Muntaqā by al-Ḥaṣkafī (d. 1088 AH).
Conclusion
The far-reaching influence of Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī is evident in the centuries of scholarship it inspired. From detailed commentaries and concise primers to poetic renditions and derivative manuals, its intellectual legacy shaped the course of Ḥanafī jurisprudence across generations. Each subsequent work, whether al-Hidāyah, Kanz al-Daqāʾiq, or Multaqa al-Abḥur, carries the imprint of al-Qudūrī’s clarity, structure, and precision.
Enroll in the Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī courses right now at https://talweehacademy.com/course/ to attend our live classes! Use the coupon code: alquduri10 when purchasing both courses to get a monthly discount of $10
