The Efforts of Mālikī Scholars in the Development of Jurisprudential Theory through the Compositional Approach and Its Impact on the Formulation of Fatwas

Abstract

This article examines the efforts of Mālikī scholars in the development of jurisprudential thought through the compositional approach and its impact on the formulation of fatwas. The Mālikī school has been distinguished by the diversity of its scholarly production, encompassing abridgments (mukhtaṣarāt), didactic poems (manẓūmāt), extensive treatises, and encyclopedic works of jurisprudence. These writings addressed the needs of students, jurists, and muftis, while facilitating the transmission and dissemination of Mālikī jurisprudence across generations. This study focuses on the significance of juridical works devoted to identifying the authoritative sources of fatwas within the school and to elucidating the methodologies employed by scholars in classifying legal texts and distinguishing authoritative works from non-authoritative ones. It does so through prominent scholarly models, including Nūr al-Baṣar fī Sharḥ Khuṭbat al-Mukhtaṣar by Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Hilālī (d. 1175 AH), the Būṭalīḥiyyah didactic poem by Muḥammad al-Nābighah al-Ghalāwī al-Shinqīṭī (d. 1245 AH), and ʿAwn al-Muḥtasib fīmā Yuʿtamad min Kutub al-Madhhab by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Sālik al-ʿAlawī (d. 1398 AH), which is a commentary on the poem of Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Fāl al-Tandaghi. The study further demonstrates that the methodology of abridgment constituted an important stage in the development of Mālikī legal writing, as it facilitated the presentation of juristic issues and ensured a gradual process of learning. Students would begin by memorizing legal texts and didactic poems before progressing to the study of their commentaries and marginal glosses, thereby developing their juristic competence. Nevertheless, abridgments were not intended to replace the original and comprehensive works; rather, they served as a means of systematizing jurisprudence and facilitating its acquisition. The study concludes that Mālikī legal writing in the field of fatwas was not merely a compilation of legal issues, but rather an integrated scholarly enterprise aimed at preserving the school, organizing its sources, and defining the principles governing ijtihād, juristic preference (tarjīḥ), and the issuance of fatwas. It also confirms that the major Mālikī legal works, with their rigorous methodologies of transmission, verification, and juristic preference, have remained fundamental references for judges, muftis, and researchers in the application of Islamic legal rulings and the treatment of emerging legal issues.