Imam al-Shuburi and His Methodological Approach in His Marginalia on Tuhfat al-Tullab: A Commentary on al-Ansari’s Sharh al-Tahrir

Abstract

The libraries across the world still abound with tens of thousands of Islamic manuscripts left behind by our virtuous scholars, in which they recorded their creativity and filled them with various sciences and knowledge. This is the wealth they left behind, and successive generations continue to testify to the esteemed status those scholars attained in knowledge, authorship, and writing. Today, I present this research entitled “Imam al-Shubari and His Methodology in al-Shubari’s Gloss on Tuhfat al-Tullab, the Commentary on al-Tahrir by al-Ansari.”. I seek to highlight Imam al-Shubari’s methodology through his gloss. The problem of this research lies in the fact that Imam al-Shubari, the author of al-Shubari’s Gloss, was one of the distinguished and proficient scholars of the Shafi‘i school, yet his gloss remained locked away for many years. It was therefore important to draw attention to it and to demonstrate the merit of this great Imam by studying his biography and his jurisprudential methodology in this significant gloss. The research aims to introduce Imam al-Shubari, to show the scholarly value of his gloss, to explain the methodology he followed in presenting and selecting his expressions, to clarify his approach in studying jurisprudential issues, and to highlight his most important preferences in the chapters of Jihad and Hudud. The researcher employed the descriptive-analytical method. The study covers: the personal life of the author (al-Shubari), his methodology in the gloss, the sources he relied upon, his way of addressing issues, and his main preferences in the books of Jihad and Hudud. Among the most important findings: al-Shubari used diverse methods in his gloss, paying attention to the precision of words and defining terms linguistically and legally. Most of his references were from Shafi‘i scholars, and he rarely mentioned other schools. He supported his discussions with both textual and rational evidence, cited the authoritative opinions of the Shafi‘i school, refuted objections and opposing arguments, and made numerous preferences most often siding with the authoritative Shafi‘i position. In some issues, however, he differed from the school or the main text. Among his preferences: he favored not applying retribution (qisas) to the Khawarij who acted based on interpretation, instead obligating them to pay blood money and expiation; he favored the requirement of Qurashi lineage for the Imam or Caliph; he favored the permissibility of striking with a shield if it served the interests of Muslims. The most important recommendations of the research: the necessity of paying attention to editing and verifying heritage books, and studying the methodologies of their authors.