“The Mukhtasar lil-Kudúrí, by Abú ul-Husain Ahmad Bin Muhammad al-Kudúrí (A.H. 228) is among the most esteemed of the works which follow the doctrines of Abú Hanífah. There is a well-known commentary on the Mukhtasar lil-Kudúrí, entitled Al-Jauharat un-Nayyirah, which is sometimes called Al-Jauharat ul-Munírah. The digest, entitled the Mabsút (al-Mabsūt̤), was composed by Shams-ul-Aïmmah Abú Bakr Muhammad as-Sarakhsi whilst in prison at Uʾzjand. This is a work of great extent and authority. He was also the author of the most celebrated work entitled Al-Muhít (al-Muḥīt̤), which is derived in a great measure from the Mabsút, the Ziyádát, and the Nawádir of Imám Muhammad. The work entitled the Muhít, by Burhán-ud-dín Mahmúd Bin Ahmad, already spoken of, is not so greatly esteemed as the Muhít as-Sarakhsi (Muḥīt̤u ʾṣ-Ṣarak͟hsī). A compendium of Al-Kudúrí’s Mukhtasar, which he entitled the Tuhfat-ul-Fukahá (Tuḥfatu ʾl-Fuqahāʾ), was composed by Shaikh Alá-ud-dín Muhammad as-Samarkandí. The work of Alá-ud-dín was commented upon by his pupil Abú Bakr Bin Masuúd.
“There are several Arabic works on philosophical and theological subjects which bear the name of Al-Hidáyah (the guide). The work entitled Al-Hidáyah fí-al-Farú, or the guide in particular points, is a digest of law according to the doctrines of Abú Hanífah and his disciples Abú Yusuf and Imám Muhammad. The author of this work is Shaikh Burhán-ud-dín Alí (A.H. 593), whose reputation as a lawyer was beyond that of all his contemporaries. This Hidáyah is a commentary on the Badáya-ul-Mubtadá, an introduction to the study of law, written by the same author in a style exceedingly concise and close. In praise of the Hidáyah, Hájí Khalífah says, ‘It has been declared, like the Kurán, to have superseded all previous books on the law; that all persons should remember the rules prescribed in it, and that it should be followed as a guide through life.’ The Hidáyah has, besides the Kifáyah, many other commentaries, as a work of so great celebrity and authority is expected to have. The principal ones are the Ináyah (ʿInāyah), the Niháyah, and the Fath-ul-Kabír.
“The name Ináyah, however, is given to two commentaries on the Hidáyah. Of these, the one composed by Shaikh Kamál-ud-dín Muhammad Bin Mahmúd, who died A.H. 786, is highly esteemed and useful. Supplying by way of innuendoes what was omitted or left to implication, also expressing what was understood in the Hidáyah, and explaining the words and expounding the passages of the original by the insertion of explanatory phrases, the author of the Ináyah has rendered the work such as to be considered of itself one of his own principal works, with citations of passages from the Hidáyah.
“The Niháyah is composed by Husám-ud-dín Husain Bin Alí, who is said to have been a pupil of Burhán-ud-dín Alí. This is said to be the first commentary composed on the Hidáyah; and it is important for having added the law of inheritance to the Hidáyah, which treats only of the Fikah. The commentary, entitled the Kifáyah, is by Imám-ud-dín Amír Kátib Bin Amír Umar, who had previously written another explanatory gloss of the same work, and entitled it the Gháyat-ul-Bayán. The Kifáyah was finished A.H. 747, and, besides the author’s own observations, it gives concisely the substance of other commentaries.
“The Fath-ul-Kabír lil-Aájiz ul-Fakír, by Kamál-ud-dín Muhammad as-Siwásí, commonly called Ibnu Hammám, who died A.H. 861, is the most comprehensive of all the comments on the Hidáyah, and includes a collection of decisions which render it extremely useful. The short commentary entitled the Fawáid, written by Hamíd-ud-dín Alí, Al-Buk͟hárí, who died A.H. 667, is said to be the first of all the commentaries on the Hidáyah. The Wáfí, by Abú-ul-Barakát Abd ullah Bin Ahmad, commonly called Háfiz-ud-dín an-Nasafí, and its commentary the Káfí, by the same author, are works of authority. An-Nasafí died A.H. 710.
“The Vikáyah (al-Wiqāyah), which was written in the seventh century of the Hijrah by Burhán ash-Shariyat Mahmúd, is an elementary work to enable the student to study and understand the Hidáyah. The Vikáyah is printed, and invariably studied, with its celebrated commentary, the Sharh ul-Vikáyah, written by Ubaidullah Bin Masuúd, who died A.H. 745. The Sharh-ul-Vikáyah contains the text of the Vikáyah, with a gloss most perspicuously explanatory and illustrative; so much so, that those chapters of it which treat of marriage, dower, and divorce, are studied in the Madrassahs of India in preference to the Hidáyah itself. There are also other commentaries on the Vikáyah, but not so useful as the above. On the Sharh-ul-Vikáyah, again, there is an excellent commentary, entitled the Chalpí, written by Akhí Yusuf Bin Juníd, who was one of the then eight professors at Constantinople. This work was commenced to be written about A.H. 891, and completed A.H. 901; and the whole of it was published in Calcutta A.H. 1245, and extracts therefrom have been printed.
“The Nikáyah (an-Niqāyah), another elementary law book, is the work of the author of the Sharh-ul-Vikáyah. It is sometimes called the Mukhtasar ul-Vikáyah, being, in fact, an abridgment of that work. Three comments on the Nikáyah are much esteemed: they were written respectively by Abú ul-Makárim Bin Abd-ullah (A.H. 907), Abú Alí Bin Muhammad al-Birjindí (A.H. 935), and Shams ud-dín Muhammad al-Khurásání Al-Kohistání (A.H. 941). The last commentary is entitled the Jámi-ur-Rumúz (Jāmiʿu ʾr-Rumūz), which is the fullest and the clearest of the lot, as well as one of the most useful law books.
“The Ashbah wa an-Nazáïr (al-Ashbāh wa ʾn-Naz̤āʾir) is also an elementary work of great reputation. It was composed by Zain-al-Aábidín, the author of the Bahr-ur-Ráïk already mentioned. Hájí Khalífah speaks of this work in high terms, and enumerates several appendices to it that have been composed at different times. The treatise on exegesis entitled the Núr-ul-Anwár fí Sharah ul-Manár (Nūru ʾl-Anwār fī Sharḥi ʾl-Manār), by Shaikh Jún Bin Abú Sayyid Al-Makkí (Shaik͟h Jīwan ibn Abū Saʿīd), was printed in Calcutta (A.D. 1819), and is frequently referred to as a book of authority. A small tract on the sources of the Sharaa, entitled the Usúl-ush-Sháshí, together with an explanatory commentary, was printed in lithography, at Delhi, in the year A.D. 1847.
“The Tanvír-ul-Absár (Tanwīru ʾl-Abṣār), composed by Shaikh Shams-ud-dín Muhammad Bin Abd-ullah-al-Ghazzí (A.H. 995), is one of the most celebrated and useful books according to the Hanífí doctrines. This work has many commentaries. One of them, entitled the Manh-ul-Ghaffár (Manḥu ʾl-G͟haffār), which is written by the author himself, is a work of considerable extent.
“The Durr-ul-Mukhtár, which is another commentary on the Tanvír-ul-Absár, is a work of great celebrity. This work was written (A.H. 1071) by Muhammad Alá-ud-Dín Bin Shaikh Alí al-Hiskafí. Though a commentary, it is virtually a digest, which of itself has several commentaries, the most celebrated of them is the Tahtáví, a work used in India. Another commentary on the Durr-ul-Mukhtár is the Radd-ul-Muhtár. This is a very copious work, comprising an immense number of cases and decisions illustrative of the principles contained in the principal work. The Durr-ul-Mukhtár treats not only of the Fikah but also of the Faráïz. It is used by the followers of the Hanífí doctrines whereever they are, but it is most highly esteemed in Arabia, where it is studied and referred to in preference to other books of law.