Safinat un Naja' – A Shafi'i Primer Translated
Newly Released
Matn Safīnat al-najāʾ: Arabic and English.
by: Shaykh Sālim ibn ʿAbdullah ibn Saʿd ibn Samīr al-Haḍramī al-Shāfiʿī.
The Ship of Salvation:
A classic manual of Islāmic Doctrine and Jurisprudence
In Arabic with English text, commentary and appendices,
Edited and translated by:
ʿAbdullah Muḥammad al-Marbūqī al-Shāfiʿī.
Cover designed by: Mawlānā Yusūf ibn Yaʿqūb
Ṣafar 1430 H
I have read through most of the manual now and have come to the conclusion that this is an excellent primer to begin learning Shafi’i fiqh. It begins with Taharah and ends with Hajj & ‘Umrah. Make du’aa for Sayyidi Abdullah Al-Marbuqi for his efforts!
Download the PDF Here
Part 2: The Beard in the Shafi'i School
The topic of the “Beard” in the Shafi’i school has been dealt with in another article: اللحية The Beard : A Collection of Shafi’i Verdicts.
Some brethren posted some objections, specifically from Sayyidi Taha Karan, to the points made within above article. I also needed further clarification on linguistic usages so I asked the Shafi’i, Shaykh Gibril Haddad to explain further two quotes I thought were pertinent to this issue.
The first quote I asked him about was from the the explanation of the Minhaj of Imam An-Nawawi by Imam Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi (Mughni Al-Muhtaj):
واللحية من الرجل، وهي
بكسر اللام، وحكي فتحها:
الشعر النابت على الذقن
خاصة، وهي مجمع اللحيين
“And the beard for men is with a kasrah beneath the “lam”…it is the hair that grows specifically upon the chin, and it is where the two jaws meet (وهي مجمع اللحيين).”
I needed clarification as to what was intended in the arabic by “where the two jaws meet (وهي مجمع اللحيين)”. It seemed to me that it could mean the inclusion of the two jaws and by extension what is upon them. To this, Shaykh Gibril explained:
- “`ala al-dhaqani khaassatan” means “specifically on the chin,” which implies: “and generally on the rest of the face as well.”
“wa hiya majma`u al-lahyayn” is a gloss for dhaqan (fem.) to which the pronoun hiya refers, i.e. the chin is where the two lateral halves of the jawbone/mandible meet.
Note: The human jaw has two bones: the upper bone or maxilla and the lower or mandible, also called jawbone. In the fiqh texts, the latter is imagined to be two halves (“the two bones out of which grows the lower row of teeth” in al-Ghazzi on Abu Shuja`), hence the dual.
Then I asked the Shaykh to clarify for me nearly the same words by Ibn Hajr Al-Haytami in his Tuhfah:
> واللحية بكسر اللام أفصح
> من فتحها، وهي الشعر
> النابت على الذقن التي
> هيمجتمع اللحيين ومثلها
> العارض وأطلقها ابن سيده
> على ذلك وشعر الخدين
To which he said:
Again a progression from the specific to the less specific:
1. specific = dhaqan
2. less specific, though “identical” (wa-mithluha) = `aaridayn
while Ibnu Siyadah, al-Haytami said, “indifferently referred it” (atlaqaha), i.e. the term lihya, “to that (i.e. al-dhaqan) and the hair of the two cheeks.”
Imam al-Shafi`i has some precise words on what constitutes a specific definition of the beard in al-Umm (`Abd al-Muttalib ed. 2:55). He says:
“The beard consists in two things (wal-lihyatu fa-hiya shay’aan):
“[First,] the cheek-beard connected to the two temples (`idhar al-lihya al-muttasil bil-sudghayn) , under and next to which is part of the face, and which has thin hair: it has the same status as the hair of the two eyebrows and [ablution] is incomplete unless it is washed, because the face borders it as I have described and because its hair is not so abundant as to prevent water from reaching it the way it reaches the eyebrows and moustache;
“[Second,] lower-lip hair (al-`anfaqa) – and that is on the chin (al-dhaqan) – and all of the two jaw bones [hair] that reach to the chin (wa-ma ila al-dhaqani min al-lahyayni) : *the latter is the gathering place of the beard and the beard in the restrictive sense* (fa-hadha mujtama`u al-lihyati bi-munqati`i al-lihya).”
So, stricto sensu, the lihya is the hair on the dhaqan and lahyayn, excluding the `aridayn and khaddayn and Allah knows best.
[end quote]
He also commented upon parts of the article of Shaykh Taha Karan saying:
> The word lihyah, similarly, has a wider, general meaning that
> includesthe hair on the chin as well as the sideburns and even the hair
> on thecheeks; and then it has a narrower meaning that is restricted to
> thehair on the chin. When discussing the washing of the face in wudu,
> ourfuqaha used the word lihyah in its narrower sense.
So then there is agreement on the above on all sides. The disagreement is on the following:
When discussing
> theregulations pertaining to the hair, the manner in which
> theyunambiguously attach the ruling of karahah to the sideburns as
> wellleaves one with little option but to conclude that in this respect
> theyuse the word lihyah in a wider sense than in the case of wudu.
> One is reminded here also of the hadith that states that
> RasuluLlahsallaLlah u `alayhi wasallam shortened his beard by grasping it
> with hishand and removing the excess. The hadith states that this was
> done forboth the length and breadth of the beard. The authenticity of
> thehadith is a matter of dispute. Among our fuqaha Ibn Hajar
> al-Haytamiaffirms that it is authentically documented by Ibn Hibban
> (though Imust confess I have not yet located it in his Sahih). The
> question tobe considered here is this: How does one trim the excess from
> thebreadth of the beard to a fist-length when the beard is only that
> whichgrows on the chin?
The hadith al-Haytami adduced only states that “the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, would trim his beard, from its length and breadth” narrated by al-Tirmidhi. There is no mention of his “grasping it with his hand and removing the excess.” The latter modality is related only from Ibn `Umar and Abu Hurayra.
It is based on the above hadith that al-Haytami and others determined that shaving the sideburns was permissible. His interpretation was that “breadth” (`ard) referred to the sides of the face (`awarid). The contemporary shaykh `Abd al-Rahman Ibn Shumayla al-Ahdal wrote: “What Ibn Hajar determined regarding the permissibility of shaving the sideburns: divergence over it pertains to the sideburns of beards, provided its report is sound.”
Al-Tirmidhi said “gharib.” It was imprudently included among the forgeries by al-Albani and Ibn Baz who said one of its narrators, “a man called `Umar ibn Harun al-Balkhi,” was a liar. True, this hafiz had been accused of lying by Ibn Ma`in in one of two verdicts he gave, the other being “He is nothing.” However, al-Bukhari and al-Tirmidhi, al-Dhahabi and Ibn Kathir did not accept that charge. Ibn Harun belongs in al-Tirmidhi’ s fifth layer of ta`dil and he and al-Bukhari said this is the only munkar report he is known to narrate, so it is between weak and very weak.
Second, there are three other independent Prophetic narrations commanding trimming of the beard:
[1] from Abu Quhafa in Abu Yusuf’s Aathaar (no. 1038);
[2] from Jabir in Abu Nu`aym, Tarikh Asbahan 2:244 and al-Bayhaqi, Shu`ab al-Iman (5:221 no. 6440); and
[3] from Mujahid mursal in Abu Dawud’s Marasil (p. 316 no. 448).
The above reports, although weak in themselves, convey on the whole that al-Tirmidhi’ s narration does have a basis. What further corroborates his instinct in the matter is the fact that light trimming (al-akhdhu min) of the `aridayn – sideburns, cheek hair and upper beard – and the bottom of the beard was the recommendation and/or practice of our liegelords `Ali ibn Abi Talib, `Abd Allah ibn `Umar and Abu Hurayra followed by many a great Imam of the Successors and mujtahid jurists of the Salaf (emphatically in pilgrimage per verse 29 of Surat al-Hajj: {Then let them make an end of their unkemptness} ); and this is the position of the massive majority.
And Allah Most High knows best.
Was-Salam,
GF Haddad
[end quote]
Abul-Hasan Al-Mahamili an Imam of the Shafi'is
Compiled by Abul Layth
The following biography of Imam Abul Hasan Al-Mahamili (المحاملي) is my abridged summation of the introduction of Dr. Abdul Karim Al-’Umari (ghafar Allahu lahu) of Al-Lubab fi Fiqh Ash-Shafi’i. His commentary and notes of the Lubab of Imam Abul Hasan Mahamili is the best published, to my knowledge. For more detail regarding Imam Abul Hasan’s life please refer to his work, or to the Tabaqaat of the Shafi’i scholars such as Ibn As-Subki, Ibn Kathir, Adh-Dhahabi, Ibn Shahbah and others.
His full name:
أحمد بن محمد بن أحمد بن القاسم بن إسماعيل بن محمد بن إسماعيل بن سعيد بن أبان الضبي، المحاملي، البغدادي، الشافعي
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Al-Qasim ibn Isma’il ibn Muhammad ibn Isma’il ibn Sa’id ibn Aban Ad-Dabbi Al Mahaamili, the Baghdadian, the Shafi’i, his kunya being Abul-Hasan. ((See Tabaqat Ash-Shafi’yyah for Imam Al-Isnawi as well as Tabaqat Ash-Shafi’iyyah for Ibn Kathir ))
The Shafi'i Stance on Women Covering Their Face
Compiled by Abul Layth for all English Speaking Shafi’is
Last Updated: Sept 17th 2008
This article is a compilation of all of the statements of the shafi’i jurists that I could find specifically on the issue of covering the face. I am sure there are more, and if I find more, I will add them to this collection. I have taken many of these quotes from the SeekingIlm research paper “Defending the Obligation of Niqab”. Many, however, are newly translated and are taken from my own personal research regarding this legal issue. I hope this collection of statements encourages all Shafi’is to implement the madh-hab’s official stance on the issue.