Al-Mabsut fi fiqh al-Imamiyya (book)

Al-Mabsut fi l-fiqh al-Imamiyya

Author	Al-Shaykh al-Tusi
Language	Arabic
Subject	Fiqh

Al-Mabsūṭ fī l-fiqh al-Imāmīyya (Arabic: المبسوط في الفقه الإمامية) is a jurisprudential work written by al-Shaykh al-Tusi (b. 385/995 d.460/1067-8) in Arabic. Al-Mabsut was written in response to opponents of the Shi'a who claimed that the Shiite fiqh (or jurisprudence) was very small. According to the author, the book contains all jurisprudential sections and ancillaries discussed by Sunni jurisprudents. Al-Mabsut was cited by Shiite jurisprudents in their work.

The Author

Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Tusi, known as al-Shaykh al-Tusi (b. 385/995 d.460/1067-8), was a Shiite scholar in the 5th/11th century. He was an expert in fiqh, the exegesis of the Qur'an, rijal, kalam (theology), and usul al-fiqh. His most important jurisprudential works written before al-Mabsut include al-Tahdhib, al-Istibsar, al-Nihaya, and al-Khilaf.

Significance

Al-Mabsut is regarded as a complete compilation of the Shiite jurisprudence. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi believed that the book was unique among the Shiite and Sunni jurisprudential books, because it contained all jurisprudential principles and ancillaries. Al-Mabsut was frequently cited in Shiite jurisprudential works.

Motivation for Writing

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi says that his motivation for writing the book, al-Mabsut, was to give a practical response to the anti-Shiistic claim that the Imami jurisprudence was too small, that is, it had few ancillaries and problems, because it rejects the methods of qiyas and ijtihad. However, al-Shaykh al-Tusi tried to show that all such ancillaries and problems could be found in hadiths from the Shiite Imams (a). Thus, in his al-Mabsut, he cited many hadiths from Ahl al-Bayt (a) about jurisprudential problems and ancillaries.

In his book, al-Jumal wa l-'uqud, al-Shaykh al-Tusi had promised to devote a book to jurisprudential ancillaries so that the combination of this book and al-Nihaya could cover all jurisprudential issues. However, he changed his mind on the grounds that jurisprudential ancillaries could be fully understood only if they were put beside jurisprudential principles. He later wrote al-Mabsut for this purpose.

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi says that he knew of no book in which all jurisprudential principles and ancillaries were discussed in terms of Shiism.

Contents

Al-Mabsut is devoted to jurisprudential rulings, such as those concerning tahara (cleanliness), prayer, fasting, khums, zakat, hajj, i'tikaf, marriage, divorce, usurpation, renting, waqf (endowment), charity (sadaqa), gifts (hiba), mudaraba, rida', hudud, diyat, and so on. He refers to the main parts of al-Mabsut as "kitab" (book), and then divided every "kitab" into chapters. Al-Tusi compiled jurisprudential ancillaries within 30 or 80 kitabs.

Features

Al-Mabsut is characterized as covering all jurisprudential sections, its restriction to jurisprudential issues, its avoidance of mentioning prayers and manners, and brevity. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi does not mention the names of the scholars whom he cites. There is only one case in which he mentions "Ibn al-Barraj".

Time of Writing

The author of al-Rawdat appeals to the opening sermon of al-Mabsut to show that the book was the last jurisprudential work written by al-Shaykh al-Tusi. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi cites or mentions other books by himself, including Misbah al-mutahajjid, al-Khilaf, al-Nihaya, al-Jumal wa l-'uqud. However, since in his book, al-Iqtisad al-hadi ila tariq al-rashad, he refers to al-Mabsut, the latter was probably written prior to the former.

Publication

Al-Mabsut was lithographically printed with the handwriting of Muhammad 'Ali Khwansari as edited by Mirza Masih in 1270/1853-4 in Iran. Also, the book was published by al-Maktabat al-Murtadawiyya in 1387/1967-8 with the marginal commentaries of Muhammad Taqi Kashfi as edited by Muhammad Baqir Bihbudi in 8 volumes.

Aqa Buzurg al-Tihrani refers to two old manuscripts of al-Mabsut dating back to 586/1190 and 613/1216-17. The book, Muqaddami'i bar fiqh-i Shi'a (an introduction to the Shiite jurisprudence), refers to various manuscripts of the book the oldest of which dates back to 507/1113.