Al-Qadi Abu Shuja’ Al-Asbahani and His Matn Ghayat At-Taqrib
He was the Qadi (judge), Imam, scholar of high repute, the ascetic (zahid), a tenacious Faqih (jurist), a righteous and humble ruler (wazir). All such characteristics have been attributed to him by his contemporaries and biographers throughout the ages, such as in the Tabaqat Ash-Shafi’yyah of Qadi ibn Shuhbah, the Tabaqat of As-Subki, and within the many works of the scholars that are commentaries and supra-commentaries upon his famous”Ghayat At-Taqrib”.
His agnomen (kunya) is Abu Shuja’ as well as Abu Tayyib. His full name is Shihabud-Din Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn [and it reads Al-Hasan in some works] ibn Aḥmad al-Aṣfahānī.
Al-Hafith Abu Tahir As-Silafi once reported a hadith from him in his Mu’jam As-Safr up to Uthman ibn ‘Affan (radiya Allahu Anhu) that the Prophet Muhammad 
said, “Whomever builds a masjid for Allah 
the mighty and majestic…Allah will build something like it for him in Jannah!”
Abu Tahir As-Silafi [died 576 A.H] said after reporting this narration,
“This Qadi Abi Shuja’ is from the most impeccable men of his time! He studied and taught the school of Imam Ash-Shafi’i for 40 years in Basrah. He mentioned this [hadith] to me around 500 A..H. and he lived for an extremely long time after that. I asked him about when he was born and he told me 434 A.H. in Basrah, and that his father was born in ‘Abadaan and his grandfather was from Asbahan.”1
His biographers mention that when he was the Wazir (vizier), he was just and cared for justice for all. While being a wazir, he would not leave his house until he prayed and recited much of the Qur’an. After retiring from his position of wazir, he traveled to Medinah and became an ascetic, divorcing the needs of this world. He became the custodian, cleaning and arranging the Masjid of the Prophet Muhammad until he died! Imam Al-Bayjuri in his Hashiyah states that Imam Abi Shuja’ died in 488 A.H. and that his grave is near the grave of the Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet Muhammad at Al-Baqi’. This date was also professed by Ibn Al-Athir as well. However, 488 is disputed by the witnessing of Abu Tahir As-Silafi of the the Qadi at 500 A.H.! [See معجم البلدان ج4/ص74 and طبقات الشافعية الكبرى ج6/ص15]
Sidi Omar Qureshi in his class on the Matn of Abi Shuja’ stated that Abi Shuja’ died in 593 A.H. putting his lifespan at nearly 160 years old! He accepts this opinion though states that some say he died in 488 A.H. Al-Azhar University, has his death at 593 as well2 Allah Knows best the truth of his death!
His Works:
Qadi Abi Shuja’s most renown work is known as Mukhtasar Abi Shuja’ or Ghayat Al-Ikhtisar and also Ghayat At-Taqrib (also called the Matn of Abi Shuja’). This work is considered one of the most useful and widely studied Shafi’i primers in the Muslim world today. Several commentaries have been written on it and we shall mention these later. Another famous work he wrote was the commentary upon Imam Al-Mawaardi’s Al-Iqna’.
The Matn (Ghayat At-Taqrib) & Its Versification and Commentaries
The Matn of Abi Shuja’ has also been versified, so the student can memorize it with ease. The most famous of versifications is Sharaf al-Dīn Yaḥyā al-ʿAmrīṭī’s (989H) versification in 1225 (and in some 1220) lines, entitled Nihāyat al-tadrīb fī naẓm Ghāyat al-taqrīb (نهاية التدريب في نظم غاية التقريب).
You can download it from ShafiiFiqh.com by clicking the following link:
نهاية التدريب في نظم غاية التقريب Nihayat At-Tadrib of Al-'Amriti - 1.17 MB, Downloaded 180 times
Less popular attempts for versification include but are not limited to works by:
The versification has a commentary Tuḥfat al-Ḥabīb by Shaykh al-Fashanī.
Commentaries and meta-commentaries upon Ghayat At-Taqrib of Abi Shuja’:
al-Iqnā‘, Aḥmad bin Muḥammad (931H), with its meta-commentary Tashnīf al-Asmā’ bi Ḥalli Alfāẓ Abī Shujā‘, by Aḥmad bin Muḥammad (931H).
Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar Abī Shujā‘, by Aḥmad al-Akhṣāṣī (889H)
Tuḥfạt al-Ḥabib, by Ibn Daqīq al-‘Īd (702H)
Kifāyat al-Akhyār, by Taqiyud Din al-Husnī (829H) : Kifayat Al-Akhyar Sharh Ghayat Al-Ikhtisar (150)
Al-Nihāyah fī Sharḥ al-Ghāyah, by Walī al-Dīn al-Baṣīr (972H)
Al-Iqnā‘ fī Ḥall Alfāẓ Abī Shujā‘, by Muḥammad al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī (977H). It has numerous meta-commentaries:
Taqrīrāt, by al-Bājūrī (1277H) and Shaykh ‘Iwaḍ
al-Bujairmī (1221H)
al-Mudābighī (1170H)
al-Ajhūrī (1190H)
al-Nabrāwī
Fatḥ al-Qarīb al-Mujīb, by Ibn Qāsim al-Ghazzī (918H). Fathul-Qarib Al-Mujib Fi Sharh Alfaath At-Taqrib - 478 KB, Downloaded 665 times
It has numerous meta-commentaries:
al-ʿAzīzī
al-Qalyūbī (1069H)
al-Barmāwī (1106H)
al-Bājūrī (1277H)
Qūt al-Ḥabīb al-Gharib, by al-Nawawī al-Jāwī
We ask Allah to bless the efforts and works of Qadi Abi Shuja’ and make them a light for the Ummah until the hour. Amin!
- You can read some of this quote from Tabaqat Ash-Shafiyyah Al-Kubra here: http://www.al-eman.com/Islamlib/viewchp.asp?BID=401&CID=35#s5 [↩]
- http://193.227.11.162:8080/dspace/handle/123456789/381 [↩]
Shaykh Habib Umar has arabic lessons on Ghayat At-Taqrib here:
http://www.alhabibomar.com/Lessons.aspx?SectionID=7&CatID=2
salam bro.. may Allah
reward for this! Do you know if the versification is in mp3 format too please? Easier to memorise that way inshAllah
wasalam,
I have not found as of yet. If anyone knows if it has been recorded, we will certainly host it!
Thanks bro! btw I posted a question on shafi’i fiqh a couple of days back asking about a list of books I had and wanted your commentary on it.. however I forgot where I posted it! (very little sleep lately bro so memory is a bit mashed)
.. also can you please give me a non-partisan opinion of Albani may Allah 
have mercy on him? I personally don’t take from him as I am not comfortble with DIY methodology of studying but I keep reading refutations of him and refutations of those refutations so I am getting a bit confused about the truth of what is quoted.. finally and more importantly- where can I study shafi’i fiqh with a scholar online (apart from sunnipath as they dnt have course running right now).. sorry for thislong question(s)!!
I am not sure what you mean by a “non-partisan” opinion on Al-Albani. Al-Albani did not adhere to any Sunni madh-hab, especially the Shafi’i guild, nor did he study fiqh traditionally from any of them. That is all I can say about him in regards to fiqh.
A great place to study shafi’i fiqh online is at Seekersguidance.com with Shaykh Omar Qureshi:
http://seekersguidance.org/site/online-academy.html
I’m taking one of their classes to see how the classes are, how their curriculum is, how their programs work, and of course for some self-benefit. The classes are pre-recorded, and they utilize the translation of Ghayat At_taqrib (the matn of Abi Shuja’) by Sidi Musa Furber (a gem)! I hope they will publish his translation in book format, insha’Allah
, as it is very viable translation. You can’t go wrong with it!
Was-Salam,
Abul Layth
Thanks bro.. indeed very helpful.. may Allah
reward you.. will be checking out the sight now inshaAllah!
(p.s. mean ‘objective’ when I say non-partisan.. apologies if I offended you!.. will use less emotive vocab next time inshaAllah)
Bro, you did not offend me. The problem is Al-Albani, may Allah
bless him and have mercy upon him in his grave, was one who seperated from the established four schools. That, in itself, is a seperation from the Sunni methodology when dealing with fiqh. That is all I can say “objectively”.
Was-Salam,
Abul Layth
Salam bro. I do find it troubling when people move away from the norm of the greatest scholars of the ummah. However I don’t his sincerity even if I do doubt his scholarship.
Bro I want to get a few books on fiqh and wanted your advice as a student of knowledge about the best publisher. Can you recommend one?
These are the books I want to get:
1. Minjah Il Talibeen
2. Rawdat Il Talibeen
3. Majmu’ Al Mohathab
4. Tuhftul Muhtaaj
5. Nihayatul Muhtaj
6. Fatḥ al-Qarīb al-Mujīb
7. Kifāyat al-Akhyār
JazakAllah bro.. apologies for the numerous posts!
wasalam
Wa’alaykum Salam wr wb,
Some I will be able to assist with, others I will not, and so other brethren may, and I hope they do, help you out.
The work I am most familiar with is Kifayat Al-Akhyar of Taqiyud-Din Al-Husayni Al-Hisni (r).The pdf we have available in Maktabah section is a fantastic print (that of Dar Al-Kutub Al-’Ilmiyyah), and their works on shafi’i fiqh are well bound, well researched, and one can tell that they take the time to reference and cross check manuscripts.
The other print that I am willing to recommend, which I received from a friend studying in Medinah, is from Dar-Al-Minhaj (http://www.alminhaj.com/book.aspx?id=43). Their print is based off of the sub-commentary and manuscript of the late Shaykh(s) Abdur-Rahman Rashid Al-Khatib (r) as well as Shaykh Muhammad Hashim Al-Majdhub. They include in the footnotes comments by the two shaykhs as well, so there is extensive benefit.
The best publisher I know of for Tuhfatul Muhtaj, Majmu’ Sharh Al Muhadhdhab (although Matriji’s edition published by Dar Al Fikr is not bad either), Rawdat At-Talibin (though I like Dar Al-Ma’rifah’s as well) is also Dar al Kutub Al Ilmiyyah. If you are looking for a good print of the Minhaj, then be sure it has the tashkeel, and at least proper footnotes.
was-Salam,
Abul Layth
BarakAllahu feek bro. I will keep this in mind. Although litrally 1 min ago I read on sunni path that one should avoid Dar Al Kutub Al ‘Ilmiyah. I qoute:
“Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah is a disaster, avoid.”
The link to this is:
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=8910&CATE=91
This was in response to a question about Hanafi fiqh books. Any ideas?
JazakAllhu khairan
Well bro Dimashqi, he is talking about a specific work “Majma’ Anhur”. I am not certain why he thinks it is a disaster. What I can say is that on occasions the one commenting will be influenced in the hadith sciences by Al-Albani, and so many of the Sunni Imams of Hadith of old are ignored and preference is given to Al-Albani or his students who are of his persuasion. Such is not the soundest method. Nevertheless, the print is there and the quality of the print is generally scholarly. That is one reason why I recommend their works.
Assalamu alaikum
I am surprised you are recommending darul Kutub al Ilmiyyah, because I have been warned numerous times to stay away from it as well. However, most of the books that I have asked about were of Hanafi fiqh, so it is possible that their Shafi’i works are top notch because they have a good Shafi’i muhaqqiq, whereas their Hanafi works are not because they don’t have a good Hanafi muhaqqiq. That’s just conjecture though.
May Allah
reward you
As-Salamu ‘alaykum. Would it be possible to post Musa Furber’s translation of Matn Abi Shuja? I signed up for the Seeker’s Guidance course but they have cancelled due to a variety of problems.
Wa’alaykum Salam,
We do not have the authority to do so as it is copyrighted by Br. Musa.
Jazakum Allahu Khayran,
Abu Layth
Salam,
There is an English translation of the matn of Abu Shujaa, which can be bought from the internet, under the title:
“A Sunni Shafi’i Law Code” by Anwar Ahmad Qadri from Pakistan.
It was one of the first books I bought on islamic law, years ago and one of the few available in English. It is not a very good translation though.
Hope this helps a little insha’Allah
.
Take care wa salam,
Harun
Yes I reviewed the book personally some years ago and found over 200 mistakes in translation.
As Salamu Alaykum
Sidi Isa Ali, is it possible for you to email Ustadh Musa Ferber’s translation of matn abu shuja?