The Jurisprudential Choices of Abd al-Rabb ibn Mansur al-Ghaznawi in His Commentary on al-Quduri's Book, Known as "The Brothers' Sought-after and the Beloved and Fellows' Coveted"

Abstract

Objectives:

This research aims to highlight the juristic preferences  (legal opinions) of Imam ʿAbd al-Rabb ibn Mansur ibn Ismaill al-Ghaznawī al-Ḥanafi, as presented in his commentary titled “Multamas al-Ikhwan wa Mubtagha al-Ahbab wa al-Khillan”. The study examines the juristic issues and subtopics that the author addressed in his commentary, mentions the opinions on the issues along with his choice in these issues, then shows places of dispute with evidence of both sides, and presents the accreditable opinion of Hanafi jurists, as well as displays the ruling on the other opinion and cause of difference. All of that in the framework of Hanafi school: opinions, denotation, clarification and weighing, as discovered during the researcher's verification and critical edition of the manuscript.

The study adopts three scholarly approaches:

1. 1. The Inductive Approach: through tracking all the legal issues mentioned by the commentator in his work Multamas al-Ikhwan.
2. 2. The Analytical Approach: by comparing the commentator’s opinions with the established (authorized) positions of the Ḥanafi school.
3. 3. The Deductive Approach: through deriving legal conclusions based on the analysis of the commentator’s discussions.

Among the key findings of the research is that the commentator, the jurist Abd al-Rabb ibn Mansur ibn Ismāʿīl al-Ghaznawi al-Ḥanafi—who lived during the 5th century AH—is a scholar of well-developed legal insight.