Books of Fiqh that the Shaykh Recommends Studying After the Book *Fiqh al-Sunnah*

The Shaykh : Then the student of knowledge should advance and study the book *Al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah Sharh al-Durar al-Bahiyyah* by Sidiq Hasan Khan. For this Imam is among the rare scholars who were born in the later centuries, who did not adhere to a specific school of jurisprudence except to what came in the Book and the Sunnah. 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 fast to the broad book from which he derived this concise matn that Sidiq Hasan Khan commented on, which I mean by his book *Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntakha al-Akhbar* by al-Shawkani. So, al-Shawkani was among the great scholars of the Zaydiyyah. The Zaydiyyah, who reside in Yemen and whose school of jurisprudence is still not one of the four schools, is close to the school of the Shi'ah, but in reality they are better than the Shi'ah. And what indicates this is that throughout the centuries and ages, no scholar has been found among the Shi'ah, although they have many scholars who, as they say, combine the transmitted and the rational. But no single person has been found among them who became a Sunni. The Shi'ah, throughout these long years, we have not found one of them who left Shi'ism and followed the Sunnah. But among the Zaydiyyah, there are hundreds of scholars who left the Zaydi school and followed the Book and the Sunnah. Among these is Imam al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him). He was among the great scholars of the Zaydiyyah, 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*, a matn that Sidiq Hasan Khan came to, and as they say in this time, he put the dots on the letters. The matn contains no verse and no hadith, only the jurisprudential rulings in every chapter, in purification, in prayer, in zakah, according to the ijtihad of al-Shawkani. Sidiq Hasan Khan provided evidence for every issue that 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 wording is easier and its wording is suitable for the logic of the present era, whereas the book *Al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah* has scholarly wording, and many students often find it difficult to understand his meaning in some expressions. And I also mention that al-Shawkani himself has a concise commentary on this matn, *Al-Durar al-Bahiyyah*, has a concise commentary, but Sidiq Khan's commentary is broader and more beneficial. So, when the student of knowledge finishes studying this book, he moves 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 way called today comparative fiqh. And the best of them, in my opinion, is *Al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab* by Imam al-Nawawi, because he mentions the issue that the author established according to the Shafi'i school, then he begins to explain the issue and the sayings of the scholars in that and their evidence, and sometimes he prefers what is closer to the truth. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The student : My friend, this is good.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : What appears from your question, first, is the division of the excuse of the one who is absent from the congregational prayer for a worldly matter.

The questioner : No, the first question is finished.

The Shaykh : Ah, it is finished.

The questioner : This question...

The Shaykh : So I will speak about this issue, because many of our brothers, the students of knowledge, ask a question and the answer comes, and then they start talking. I, at least, understand that this is not a new question. For this reason, I tell them that your clarification must be clear. So, distinguish between the question and the question so that one does not get mixed up with the other, with a dot, in the manner of the hadith scholars.

The questioner: Yes.