The Mayor of Rulings

Additional texts: Student texts

Author's name: Imam Hafiz Abdul Ghani bin Abdul Wahid bin Ali bin Surur Al-Maqdisi

Investigation: Abdul Mohsen bin Muhammad Al-Qasim

Umdat al-Ahkam is one of the most beneficial and valuable books on rulings for the seeker of knowledge. It is the most authentic, as its author selected it from the two Sahihs. Whoever wants to limit himself to the authentic books should use al-Umdah, although he cannot dispense with other books on rulings that are more comprehensive than al-Umdah, such as al-Muharrir and al-Bulugh, and more comprehensive of these is al-Muntaqa by al-Majd Ibn Taymiyyah. All of al-Umdah's hadiths are authentic, so the seeker of knowledge should strive to obtain them. al-Bulugh contains hadiths that are not found in al-Umdah, which the seeker of knowledge needs. al-Muharrir contains rulings and warnings on the hadiths, and clarification of some defects not found in al-Bulugh. If the seeker of knowledge wanted to combine these books into one work, and mention the additions of each to the other, then with this effort these benefits would be proven.

Among the greatest commentaries on Umdat al-Ahkam are Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid's commentary (Ihkam al-Ahkam), and Ibn al-Mulaqqin's (Al-I'lam bi-Fawa'id Umdat al-Ahkam), a good book. Other commentaries include (Taysir al-'Alam wa-Maraadid al-Afham min Salsabil Umdat al-Ahkam), and (Kashf al-Litham fi Sharh Umdat al-Ahkam), which are among the most valuable commentaries. Its publication was delayed due to a slight deficiency in the beginning of it, but it was later printed despite its deficiency. There are more than ten commentaries on al-'Umdat al-Ahkam, but among the most valuable and best for the qualified student of knowledge is the commentary by Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid, despite its difficulty and the complexity of its wording and its sources. Ibn al-Mulaqqin's commentary, despite its length, is easier than Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid's commentary, and al-San'ani's marginal notes on Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid's commentary are very useful and resolve many problems, so the student of knowledge should pay attention to them. The commentary by Sheikh Ibn Bassam is an average and easy commentary that can be understood by ordinary students.