capital of Khorafan. He attained to fuch eminence in the law, as to be
appointed to the dignity of fupreme Mooftee throughout all the region of
Maveralne'r, CTranfoxania;) and by his fuperior excellence acquired
the title of Haneefa Sanee, or Haneefa the Jecond.-—He died at Bokhara,
A . H. 362 ; and it is faid that, on the day of his deceafe, a multitude
of Jews and idolators were converted to the faith, by beholding his
piety and abftinence, and the fortitude with which he1 met his diffolution.
— A boo Mohammed a l K asim (commonly called Aboo Hareera) derives
his appellation, Hareera, from the place of his refidence, Herat, a
city of Perjia.— He was born at Bafra, (whence he is alfo by fome termed
alBafreea,) A. H. 446. He compofed," at the inftance of A boo Sherwan
K halid, the Vizir of the Seljucidian Sultan Mahmood, a work intitled
Makamat, (occafionally mentioned in this commentary,) confiding of
fifty difcourfes on various fubjedts of law and morals. He died A. H,
515.— His authority has great weight in all legal difcuffions.— T h e doctor
mentioned under the title of P’ehavee is A boo F a k a , Kazee of Paha, a
town in Upper Egypt.— A bdoola Bin MobArick (commonly ftyled
Ibn a l Mobdrick) was a perfon of eminent piety, who died at Heet, a
city of Irak, (Chaldea,) where his tomb ftill continues to be vifited by
the devout, as the Maufoleum of a faint.— T ameem Bin T irfa was
one of the Sahabh, or companions o f the Prophet, of whom many fabulous
miracles are recorded.
A mong the books quoted, befides what have been already mentioned,
are the following:—
T he Bawdy at Saheeh, or indubitable reports; a title bellowed upon two
different treatifes on the Sonna; the firft, by A boo A bdoola Mohammed
Bin Ismael al Jooji, on which a number of comments have been written
at different times; and the fecond, by ZAk-ad-deen al Mandree. T he y
are both confidered as of good authority.— T h e Bawdy al Majh'hoor (celebrated
reports') Hadees Majtihoor, (celebrated traditions,) NaklSaheeh, (true
relations,) and Moontakkee, (feledtions,) are alfo approved works by dif-
8 ferent
ferent uncertain authors on' the fame fubjeft. T h e Amdke (mifcellany)
is a -eneral commentary upon the law, attributed, by fome, to Moham- H BB Moslem M who is faid to have beemthe firft compiler
■ traditions, and the preceptor of Imdm M A L IK Bin A ns, the head of he
fecond orthodox fe£t, already mentioned.-The Fatdvee Shaeei, Fatdvee
KAzee Khan, Fatdvee T imoor-tashee, and Fatdvee Imam Sir-
ruckhsh, are all colleftions of the decifions paffed by the perfons whofe
names they bear, or upon their authority, and have been compiled with
a view to ferve as precedents in praftice. Shafei has already been mentioned
as the head of the third orthodox M Kazee Khan was the
diftinguifhing appellation of F akhr-ad-’deen Hasan Bin Mansoor, a
native of M B B S « who for fome years fupenntended the admini-
ftration of juftice in Damafcus, and afterwards at Isfahan. He died A. H.
592._ O f the other two nothing particular is recorded. They were probably
magiftrates in fome part of Perjia.
F rom a confideration of the nature of this work, and of the authorities
principally quoted in it, we proceed to notice certain peculiarities
ih i c h will occur I the perufil of it, and »■ > g B E V | | § H I
requifite to the elucidation of what might otherwtfe appear unintelligible
or obfeure.
A l l laws muft derive the prominent features of their character from
the peculiar manners, cuftoms, and language, of the people among whom
they have originated.-In order, therefore, to enter fully into the fpirit of
the text it is requifite that we keep in mind the ftate of fociety in Arab,a
at the time when M oh ammed and his companions began to in‘ r°du=e
fomething like a fyftem of jurifprudence among the followers and fubjefts
of Warn. T o enter into this particularly would be much beyond the
Tranflator’s defign, and would occupy more room than a mere preface can
admit of. It is fufficient for our purpofe to remark, that the Arabians
were divided into two claffes or defections of men, the inhabitants o f
eities, and the Bidweens, or wanderers in the defert. T h e former
’ purfued