BOOK REVIEWS

1. Majid Khaddmi, I S L A M I C JURISPRUDENCE-SH&FI'T'S RISALAH, translated into English with an Introduction. The Johns Hopkins Press. Baltimore. 1961. pp. 376.

2. ghalil I. Semaan, ASH-SH - AFI'I's RIS ALAH: BASIC IDEAS. with English trans- lation of the Chapters on an-N&i& wa-al-Mansiia. Sh. Muhammad Ashraf. Lahore, 1961 : pp. x i i t 69.

. - By a coincidence. both of these works deal with al-Sefi'i 's Risiilah, the work

which. for the first time, formulated the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence a t the turn of the third century A.H. The second of the two works offers a brief Introduction. mainly consisting of a life-sketch of a l -aaf i ' i , a summary or the "Basic ideas" of the Risalah and a translation of the Chapter on abrogation in the Risiilah. The brief Preface laments the unobjective and prejudicial character of many Western studies of Islam. especially in the past. The com~la in t in itself is true but one fails t o see its connection with the body of the work and one cannot help feeling that i t is probably made to ensure the sympathy of the Muslims. Whlle the Introduction, giving a general survey of the basic concepts of the Risiilah. is useful for a general reader. i t is obvious that i t does not emanate from the pen of a mature scholar: no attempt has been made t o present the various elements of this fundamental work as a legal &trine. The quality of the transla- tion is also not satisfactory and wherever the two translations differ. as they do

so not infrequently. Khadduri's translation is always better. One would also have liked t o know why, among all the doctrines of the Risiilah, the one

concerned with the question of abrogation was singled out for translation. Let us hope, however, that Khalil Semaan will give us in future a comprehensive work on the Risdlah of al-ShBfi'i.

prof. Majid Khadduri's translation is a much mors mature and scholarly work. The translation is accompanied by foot-notes explaining technical terms and tracing references of Hadz&s etc. t o later collections. The translator has, however, based his work on Ahmad a g k i r ' s edition of the text (Cairo. 1358/1940) without any textual emendations and has contented himself with the admission that the text needs to be critically edited (p. 52). On the translation some comments will be offered presently.

The method adopted in the description of a l - a l f i ' i s life in the Introduction is not satisfactory. Little attempt has been made a t a crltical appraisal of tradi- tional reports about al-aafi ' i and especially his relation t o the Iraqi school and particularly al-aaybsni-reports which abound in contradictions. Instead of resolving contradictions. we have mere reports prefaced by "some authorities state". "most authorities believe", "some authorities stress", etc. (see particularly pp. 12-13), Did al-aaybiini really intercede on behalf of the captive al-a8fi.i before the Caliph 7 If so. are the stories of a subsequent public conflict between the two quite cred~ble ? If these stories cannot command much credence and if

Islamic Studies (Islamabad) 1:3 (1962)

© Dr Muhammad Hamidullah Library, IIU, Islamabad. http://iri.iiu.edu.pk/