 An old manuscript | |
| Author | Ibn al-Mulaqqin |
|---|---|
| Original title | التوضيح لشرح الجامع الصحيح |
| Language | Arabic |
| Subject | Sahih al-Bukhari |
| Genre | Commentary |
| Published | 14th century |
| Media type | |
Al-Tawdhih li-Sharh al-Jami' al-Sahih (Arabic:التوضيح لشرح الجامع الصحيح), often referred to asAl-Tawdhih, is a classical commentary onSahih al-Bukhari written by theShafi'i scholarIbn al-Mulaqqin. It is the largest and most detailed commentary onSahih al-Bukhari. Modern printed editions comprise thirty-six volumes. Ibn al-Mulaqqin worked on this commentary for more than two decades, beginning around 763AH and completing it in 785 AH.
Ibn al-Mulaqqin began writingAl-Tawdhih in 763 AH and continued until 785 AH. Records indicate that the manuscript was completed on a Sunday in the month of Muharram 785 AH, while its final annotations (ta'liq) were finished on 13 Jumada al-Akhirah 780 AH.[1]
According toIbn Hajar al-Asqalani, the work originally consisted of about twenty volumes. He stated that Ibn al-Mulaqqin drew heavily from the commentaries of his teachers Qutb al-Din al-Halabi andMaghlatay ibn Qalij, while adding his own material and interpretations. Manuscripts of different parts of the work are preserved in several libraries, most notably the Millet Library.[2][3]
Some sections from the chaptersAnbiya (Prophets) andManaqib (Virtues) were later edited and published by Ahmad Hajj Muhammad Uthman under the titleQasas al-anbiya wa manaqib al-qaba'il min al-Tawdhih li-sharh al-Jami al-sahih.[2]
The printed edition ofAl-Tawdhih is organized into thirty-six volumes. The first volume is divided into two main parts: the first is the editor's introduction, and the second contains the author's own introduction. Volumes two to thirty-three form the main body of the commentary, while volumes thirty-four to thirty-six contain the index and table of contents.[4]
The editor's introduction provides an overview ofSahih al-Bukhari and a short biography of Ibn al-Mulaqqin. The author's introduction includes a biography ofal-Bukhari and a discussion of the reliability of narrators mentioned inSahih Muslim.[4]
The main commentary begins in the second volume. Ibn al-Mulaqqin starts by analyzing the grammatical structure of the chapter titles, then explains how the Quranic verses cited by al-Bukhari relate to each section.[4]
Ibn al-Mulaqqin follows a consistent method throughout his commentary. He begins with an explanation of the chapter heading (tarjamah al-bab), analyzes the grammatical and linguistic aspects of key words, and connects their usage to examples from the Quran and Hadith. His discussion of language is often extensive, and sometimes a single word is analyzed across several subsections.[4]
He then traces the sources (takhrij) of each hadith, identifying its origins and noting where it reappears withinSahih al-Bukhari. The biographies of narrators are discussed in detail, from the earliest generation (tabaqah) to the latest, and he often distinguishes between narrators with similar or identical names.[4]
His method combines linguistic, textual, and legal analysis. Each section begins with linguistic explanation (lughawi), followed by an analysis of narrators (ruwat), and then the interpretation of the hadith's meaning and its legal or ethical implications. The commentary is highly detailed and includes numerous opinions from early scholars (ulama al-mutaqaddimin).[5]
The commentary includes a wide range of references from earlier scholars. Ibn al-Mulaqqin cites works from nearly every field of Islamic learning, including hadith, hadith sciences, criticism and validation (jarh wa ta'dil), jurisprudence, legal theory (usul al-fiqh), Arabic grammar,morphology,lexicography, and biography (sirah).[4]
