Islamic Sciences Catalogued: Jurisprudence and Legal Theory

The jurisprudential literature catalogued in Kashf al-Zunun is among the most extensive sections of the encyclopedia, reflecting the central role of fiqh in Islamic civilization as the practical science governing every dimension of Muslim life. Hajji Khalifa organizes the legal literature by school, providing substantial entries for the foundational texts and their commentary traditions across all four recognized Sunni schools of law: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. The coverage reflects an Ottoman context in which the Hanafi school was the officially patronized legal tradition, and Hanafi works consequently receive the most detailed treatment. Nevertheless, the coverage of the other three schools is substantial, reflecting Hajji Khalifa's commitment to documenting the full breadth of Sunni legal scholarship rather than simply the tradition dominant in his own political environment.

The Hanafi legal literature catalogued includes the foundational works of the school's classical period: the Mukhtasar of al-Quduri, the Hidaya of al-Marghinani with its numerous commentaries (including the Fath al-Qadir of Ibn al-Humam, one of the most important entries in the Kashf al-Zunun's legal section), the Kanz al-Daqaiq of al-Nasafi, and the massive compilations of the later Ottoman period. The Ottoman legal tradition receives particular attention given Hajji Khalifa's own historical moment: he documents the standard madrasa texts used in Ottoman legal education, the fatwas collections of the great Shaykhulislams, and the theoretical works that updated classical Hanafi doctrine to address the commercial and administrative realities of the early modern Ottoman state. This section of the Kashf al-Zunun is an invaluable guide to Ottoman legal culture.

The coverage of usul al-fiqh in the Kashf al-Zunun is particularly detailed, reflecting the high theoretical sophistication of this discipline. Hajji Khalifa catalogs the major usul works across traditions: the Shafi'i-Ash'ari works of al-Juwayni, al-Ghazali, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (the Mahsul itself receives an entry), al-Amidi, and al-Baydawi; the Hanafi works of al-Bazdawi and al-Sarakhsi and their commentaries; and the bridging works that attempted to synthesize the two traditions. He notes the educational use of each work, distinguishing the texts studied as advanced texts for specialists from those used as introductory madrasa textbooks. The entries for the major usul works include lists of commentaries, super-commentaries, and marginal glosses, making the Kashf al-Zunun an essential guide to the commentary tradition that was the primary medium of advanced Islamic legal education.

The fatwas literature receives careful coverage. Hajji Khalifa catalogs the great fatwas collections of each school: for Hanafi law, the Fatawa Alamgiri (still being compiled in his era), the Fatawa Qadi Khan, and the works of the Ottoman Shaykhulislams; for Maliki law, the fatwas collections of al-Wansharisi and Ibn Rushd the grandfather; for Shafi'i law, the Fatawa of al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami; for Hanbali law, the Fatawa of Ibn Taymiyya. These collections represent the living application of legal theory to practical life, and their systematic documentation in the Kashf al-Zunun makes it possible for later scholars to trace the development of legal practice across multiple legal systems and historical periods. Hajji Khalifa's even-handed treatment of all four schools within a single reference work itself reflects the Sunni principle that all four are valid expressions of Islamic legal understanding.