The Jurisprudential Books the Shaykh Recommends Studying After the Book *Fiqh al-Sunnah*

The Shaykh : Then the student of knowledge should advance and study *Al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah Sharh al-Durar al-Bahiyyah* by al-Siddiq Hasan Khan. For this Imam is among the rare scholars who appeared in the later centuries, those who did not adhere to a specific school of jurisprudence except to what came in the Book and the Sunnah. On this basis, he composed this book called *Al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah*, which is a commentary on *Al-Durar al-Bahiyyah*. And *Al-Durar* is the *matn* (text), which is the composition of Imam al-Shawkani. I think you all know that this man is also among the rarities of his era in that he did not hold to the broad book from which this concise *matn* was derived, which al-Siddiq Hasan Khan commented on. I mean his book *Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntakha al-Akhbar* by al-Shawkani. This al-Shawkani was among the great scholars of the Zaydis, the Zaydis who reside in Yemen and whose school of jurisprudence, which remains distinct from the four schools, is close to the school of the Shi'ah. However, in reality, they are better than the Shi'ah. Evidence of this is that throughout the centuries and ages, no scholar has been found among the Shi'ah, despite having many scholars, who combines, as they claim, the transmitted and the rational. Yet no single person has been found among them who became a Sunni. Throughout these long years, we have not found one of them who left Shi'ism and followed the Sunnah. As for the Zaydis, there are hundreds of scholars who left the Zaydi school and followed the Book and the Sunnah. Among them is Imam al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him). He was among the great scholars of the Zaydis, then Allah guided him, and he held fast to the Book and the Sunnah. This is his constant practice in all his books, including *Al-Durar al-Bahiyyah*. It is a *matn* to which al-Siddiq Hasan Khan came and, as they say in this time, put the dots on the letters. The *matn* contains no verse and no hadith; rather, it contains the jurisprudential rulings in every chapter—in purification, in prayer, in zakah—according to al-Shawkani's independent legal reasoning. Al-Siddiq Hasan Khan provided evidence for every issue al-Shawkani adopted in that *matn* from what came in the Book and the Sunnah. So, when the student of knowledge finishes studying *Fiqh al-Sunnah*, because its phrasing is easier and its phrasing is suitable for the logic of the present era, as for the book *Al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah*, its phrasing is scholarly, and many students often find it difficult to understand his meaning in some phrases. I also mention that al-Shawkani himself has a concise commentary on this *matn*, *Al-Durar al-Bahiyyah*. He has a concise commentary, but al-Siddiq Khan's commentary is broader and more beneficial. So, when the student of knowledge finishes studying this book, he moves on to *Subul al-Salam*, then to *Nayl al-Awtar*, then to the book *Al-Muhalla*, then to the other books that study issues in the manner called today comparative jurisprudence. The best of them, in my opinion, is *Al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab* by Imam al-Nawawi, because he mentions the issue the author established according to the Shafi'i school, then begins to explain the issue, the scholars' statements on it, and their evidence. And sometimes he prefers what is closer to the truth. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.