What are the books of Islamic jurisprudence that you recommend?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The books of Islamic jurisprudence that people refer to and read in have multiplied. What are the balanced books of Islamic jurisprudence that you can recommend us to refer to and read in?

The Shaykh : In general, we recommend all existing books of Islamic jurisprudence that are based on the methodology of the Book and the Sunnah and the Salafi reports, and are not based on sectarian fanaticism. This is a general recommendation. As for a specific recommendation, we recommend the books of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his pious student Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. Then we recommend the books of those who followed their path and walked in their way, such as al-Shawkani and al-Siddiq Hasan Khan. And finally, in this age, Sayyid Sabiq in his book *Fiqh al-Sunnah*. However, Sayyid Sabiq, although he walked on this path, is far behind those we mentioned before him in terms of knowledge. He does not match al-Siddiq Hasan Khan or al-Shawkani, let alone Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. But the methodology is this. Therefore, his book contains some errors that are far from the truth, whether they are hadith-related or jurisprudential. This is what led me, when I found some time in my schedule, to write a commentary on some of its parts. It was published under the title *Tammam al-Mannah fi al-Ta'liq 'ala Fiqh al-Sunnah*. So, I advise the student of knowledge who wants to begin seeking knowledge to start with this book, but not to rely on it or depend on it, for the reasons I mentioned earlier. He should then progress to the book *al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah Sharh al-Durar al-Bahiyyah* by al-Siddiq Hasan Khan. This man is a noble, distinguished, and excellent Salafi scholar, and one of the people of jurisprudence, hadith, and knowledge of the Arabic language and its literature. *al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah* is his commentary on *al-Durar al-Bahiyyah*, which is by al-Shawkani. Al-Shawkani is one of the distinguished scholars of the Zaydis of Yemen, whom Allah blessed with liberation from the Zaydi school to the Salafi school in creed and jurisprudence. He has a book that is a summary of his great, well-known book *Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntakha al-Akhbar*. It is a summary of this book, which is called *al-Sayl al-Jarrar*. The summary of this *al-Sayl al-Jarrar* and its essence is found in the text that al-Siddiq Hasan Khan commented on with the aforementioned commentary, *al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah Sharh al-Durar al-Bahiyyah*. And whoever wants detail in knowing these rulings with their detailed evidence, and clarification of what is in their favor and against them, whether from the hadith perspective or the jurisprudential perspective, must return to the extensive and detailed books of hadith and their commentaries. Among these books is Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah's *Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-'Ibad*. However, the author of this book wrote it while traveling, and this is one of the wonders of preservation in a state of travel. Therefore, you rarely find scientific tracing of the hadiths in the book, which are in the hundreds, or rather thousands. Accordingly, the student of knowledge, if he studies an issue in this book with its detailed evidence, must verify the authenticity of its evidence, whether they are affirmative or negative. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah has the well-known *Fatwas*, formerly known as *al-Fatawa al-Misriyyah* in five volumes, and recently printed, as you know, by the effort of some Saudi scholars under the title *Majmu'at al-Fatawa* in about thirty-five volumes. So here is the vast sea. But Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah has a summary of his jurisprudential opinions by one of the scholars, not from him, in a well-known book called *al-Ikhtiyarat al-'Ilmiyyah li-Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah*. We recommend referring to this book. And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.