Author: al-‘Allamah Mansur al-Buhuti (r)
Description of the book and the authors style of explanation:
This book has been written on the Fiqh of the Madhhab of al-Imam Ahmad (r) and it is a commentary on the primer in Fiqh called Zadu-l Mustaqni’ by al-‘Allamah al-Hajjawi (r).
Al-Hajjawi (r) abridged it from al-Muwaffaq Ibn Qudama’s book al-Muqni’ and restricted the opinions to that which is the official position of the Madhhab. He also removed some of the more rarely occurring issues of Fiqh and also added some of the more common ones.
Due to the sheer status of the original author (Ibn Qudama), the abridger (al-Hajjawi), and the commentator (al-Buhuti) the book has become an extremely important work for the Madhhab and became the relied upon book for both teaching and delivering formal legal opinions. The authorities of the Maddhab took great care of this book and wrote a number of supercommentaries on it, as we will see soon.
Likewise the book, due to its importance, was assigned for secondary school (college) students where they had to complete the whole book during that course. This was before they began playing around with the curriculum of al-Azhar and disallowed the study of classical/traditional literature which included the books of the four Madhhabs. This was during the time the previous Shaykhu-l Azhar: Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (r). But Allah decreed that these books return once again to al-Azhar and from those books was al-Rawd al-Murbi’.
The book is also one of great importance amongst contemporary Hanbali scholars in many countries, and as a result there are many audio explanations of the book in both, the circles of knowledge in Mosques and also in educational institutes. Furthermore, the loftiness of the book isn’t just due to the loftiness of al-Muwaffaq, al-Hajjawi, and al-Buhuti, rather, the reality of the book is in itself a testimony to its greatness and its effect on the one who has truly accustomed himself to it is something that is well known. It is from those few great books that instil in the student the proper characteristics of a Faqih, whilst nurturing him upon soundness in understanding, accuracy in expression, and the language of the Fuqaha. The book also prepares the student for accessing larger and more voluminous works. The book is also a clear demonstration of the author’s efforts in mentioning textual and rational evidences along with limitations and abstractions of the rules of Fiqh; all of these things, along with what we perceive of the author’s pure intention, grants the book the high status that it has. And that is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.
Sh. Mansur al-Buhuti (r) begins the commentary with a brief bio of al-Hajjawi (r) and describes the commentary as “Latif”, meaning, it is not one of a cryptic nature but one which makes its intent clear for its reader. Sh. Mansur fused his commentary with the original text like the fusion of a body and its soul, thus, making the book into one big manual on its own. This is the best type of commentary for a beginner as there is no word that that requires clarification except that it is touched upon, whether it be through adding conditions to that which seems unconditional or specifying that which appears to be general or by explaining the words on their own whilst adding on extra beneficial points related to the issue; all of this is achieved without even having to disrupt the readers’ thought by making them go back and forth between the text and the commentary.
Zad al-Mustaqni’ is infamous for its difficult wording and excessive abridgment but it becomes very flowing after its fusion with al-Buhuti’s commentary in which he beautifies this text through that which we have just mentioned previously whilst making it rich with textual and rational evidences and various legal maxims and by rearranging the Masa’il in a beneficial manner. He achieved all of this in this commentary without having to make it excessively detailed nor excessively brief.
Sh. Mansur put his effort into explaining the text in a manner that suits the level of student, so it isn’t a case where the author of the text is in one valley and the commentator in another, as is the case with some of the commentators in our times. His purpose was not to mention advanced differences of opinion nor to mention any difference of opinion with the Madhhab itself, unless there was a real need; like when al-Hajjawi (r) would push an opinion and the official position of the Madhhab is something else or when another opinion other than official position is also a strong one etc. This is exactly how it is meant to be, a systematic and progressive method of studying Islamic jurisprudence. This is same path the scholars of old took where they would write a book for beginners and a second for the intermediate and a third for the advanced, just like Ibn Qudama (r) when he wrote al-‘Umdah for the beginners, then al-Muqni and al-Kafi, and then al-Mughni… as opposed to how it is taught today where they teach al-‘Umdah with that which is in al-Mughni!
Sh. Mansur begins the chapters and subchapters by stating the linguistic and technical meanings whenever al-Hajjawi does not do so, or at least most of the time. The shaykh certainly increased Zad (supplement) in its Zad (supplement) by adding many more Masai’l and beneficial points which made the book much more complete. The serious student of al-Rawd al-Murbi’ will almost always find the answers to important and commonly occurring issues in this book, either explicitly or implicitly.
He brings throughout the book a copious amount of consensus of the scholars which is also from the things that make this book so beneficial and important. He does this the same way he demonstrates the methods of extracting rulings through the Divine scriptures, consensus, analogical deduction, and statements of the Companions (r) and other relied upon sources of Fiqh according to the major scholars of the Hanabilah. Sh. Mansur uses a large number of important books of the Maddhab in this commentary and he also quotes from those books; many of which are lost and haven’t yet been found. He also brings benefit from books that are outside the Madhhab (not in order to quote advanced difference of opinions but as supporting information) and also from books of Hadith and the Arabic language and other than these, all of which show how widely read he was.
This book is the tool that prepares its reader to access much larger works like the commentary of al-Muntaha, al-Iqna’, al-Muqni’ and the likes. The student will reach these books after s/he is ready for them and after mastering al-Rawd. Those who have tread this path know what its about…
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