Al-Tamhid fi Takhrij al-Furu' 'ala al-Usul

التمهيد في تخريج الفروع على الأصول

By Imam Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi al-Shafi'i (d. 772 AH / 1370 CE)

With Tajwid al-Tamhid, the supercommentary of Shihab al-Din Ibn Aqbaras al-Shafi'i (d. 862 AH)

This critical edition of Al-Tamhid fi Takhrij al-Furu' 'ala al-Usul presents one of the most influential classical works on the relationship between Usul al-Fiqh (legal theory) and Furu' al-Fiqh (positive law). Authored by the eminent Shafi'i jurist Imam Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi, the work is a foundational text in the discipline of Takhrij al-Furu' 'ala al-Usul—the science of demonstrating how detailed legal rulings are derived from their underlying legal principles.

Rather than treating legal theory as an abstract discipline, al-Isnawi illustrates how the principles of Usul al-Fiqh directly shape practical juristic rulings. Drawing extensively from the Shafi'i school, he traces individual legal decisions back to their juristic foundations, linguistic principles, legal maxims, and methods of legal reasoning. For centuries, the work has served as an indispensable reference for advanced students seeking to understand the relationship between legal theory and applied jurisprudence.

This edition is of exceptional scholarly importance because it includes, for the first time in print, Tajwid al-Tamhid, the extensive supercommentary of the distinguished Egyptian Shafi'i scholar Shihab al-Din Ibn Aqbaras. His commentary clarifies difficult passages, discusses alternative interpretations, corrects textual issues, and expands the legal analysis, making the original work considerably more accessible and valuable for researchers.

Equally significant is the preservation of substantial portions of the long-lost Nukat al-Tamhid by Imam Ibn Jama'ah. Although the original manuscript of this celebrated supercommentary has not survived, Ibn Aqbaras frequently quotes, discusses, and responds to Ibn Jama'ah throughout his own work. As a result, this publication preserves and makes available many of the insights of that otherwise lost commentary, offering scholars a rare window into an important stage in the development of Shafi'i legal thought.

The edition has been prepared according to rigorous academic standards through the comparison and collation of six manuscript copies, selected from twelve manuscripts examined by the editor. This careful textual verification restores the most reliable reading of both al-Isnawi's original text and Ibn Aqbaras's commentary, resolves manuscript variations, and clearly distinguishes between the primary text, the supercommentary, and the recovered quotations from Ibn Jama'ah.

A landmark publication in Shafi'i legal scholarship, this edition combines a foundational work of legal theory with a newly published classical supercommentary and the preservation of material from a lost masterpiece, making it an indispensable resource for scholars, researchers, advanced students of Usul al-Fiqh, and specialists in Islamic jurisprudence.

Features

• One of the foundational works on Takhrij al-Furu' 'ala al-Usul in the Shafi'i school.
• Demonstrates the relationship between legal theory and practical jurisprudence.
• Includes Tajwid al-Tamhid by Ibn Aqbaras, published for the first time.
• Preserves extensive quotations from the otherwise lost Nukat al-Tamhid of Imam Ibn Jama'ah.
• Critically edited from six manuscript copies.
• Clearly distinguishes the original text, the supercommentary, and the recovered material from the lost work.
• An essential reference for advanced students and researchers of Usul al-Fiqh, Furu' al-Fiqh, and Shafi'i jurisprudence.