الاشباہ والنظائر کی تدوین میں ابن نجیم کا منہج واسلوب

Methodology of Ibn e Nujaym in authoring of Al-Ashbah wal-Nazair

Abstract

This article is about a great work in Islamic jurisprudence namely al-Ashbahwa-al-Nazair by Ibn Nujaym al-Hanafi (970H).  It is considered to be one of the most comprehensive and well-organized works in the Hanafi school of law. The book has seven chapters: (1) al-qawaid al-fiqhiyyah, (2) al-fawaid (the benefits), where he mentioned around 500 fawaid, including classifications, conditions and other useful intellectual fiqhi items related to the different chapters and themes of fiqh, (3) al-jamawa-al-farq, In Which he narrated the similarities and differences amongst many fiqhi themes, (4) al-algha'z (the riddles), (5) al-Haiyal (the tricks), which are interesting suggestions, based on deep knowledge of fiqh, which one may need to learn to extricate oneself  legally out of trouble, (6) al-furuq, i.e. those issues which are similar, but certain considerations make them different in their legal rulings, (7) Different events and stories of the scholars on fiqhi issues, and a number of intellectual anecdotes. Ibn Nujaym started his book with an index, in which he displayed the contents of the first three chapters in detail, and the contents of the last four chapters in general. After that, he presented an introduction in which he stated that why he wrote his book. He also described the significance of legal maxims. He depended on more than seventy sources in writing his book.