Overview

This is a work of fiqh that focuses on ‘ibada (ritual), which involves obedience, submission, and humility in relation to Allah with broad applications for social practice such as eating a halal diet and maintaining ritual purity.  Together with Furu‘ al-Masail wa Usul al-Wasail, this is Shaykh Daud al-Fatani’s most extensive contribution to Malay-language literature on Shafi law and has been noted as the most comprehensive work on ‘ibada ever written in Malay. He drew mainly from commentaries of Nawawi’s Minhaj al-Talibin, including Khatib al-Sharbini’s (d. 977/1569) Mughni al-Muhtaj, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami’s Tuhfah, Ramli’s Nihayah, and al-Ansari’s Fath al-Wahhab. This work may have also been completed under the guidance of Shaykh Daud Fatani’s teacher, al-Marzuqi.  Furthermore, it provides a collection of ḥadīth and provides a short history of Imam Shafi’i, which may well be the first of its kind in Malay. This text also served as a model for several later works, such as Shaykh Muhammad Salih b. Murid al-Rawa’s Fath al-Mubin (The Clear Opening; completed 1272/1855) and the grandnephew of Shaykh Daud Fatani, Shaykh Muhammad b. Ismail Daudi al-Fatani’s Al-Bahr al-Wafi (The Overflowing Sea; completed 1333/1914).

Authorship

Completed “hari Rabu 10 Safar” by Shaykh Daud b. ‘Abd Allah al-Fatani, in Mecca. The earliest manuscript copy dates to 15 Jumada al-awwal 1243 AH [4 Dec 1827]. It was likely composed among the author’s earliest writings during his first legal period (1809-12).

Manuscripts

This is one of the longest of Shaykh Daud al-Fatani’s works, ranging from 500-800 pages, according to variant copying styles.  Despite this, the book reached moderate reproduction rates within the Patani knowledge network, gaining popularity in the period 1820s-80s.

Manuscripts with dated colophons (5):

1. 1827, Dec 4. Copied by Ibrahim b. Wan Su Fatani, “hari Isnin, 15 Jumada al-awwal 1243 AH.” PNM 2539: 399 ff. Folios 1-3 are frayed very badly, but the rest of the manuscript is perfectly clear.
2. 1853/4. Copied “hari Khamis 15 [month unclear] 1270 AH” in Mecca. PNM 2225: 507 pp., incomplete.
3. 1864, May 2. Copied by Muhammad Nur b. Tuan Haji Muhammad Salih, “hari Selasa 25 Dhu al-Qadah 1280 AH,” in Mecca. PNM 270: 161 ff., incomplete.
4. 1879, Oct 22. Copied “hari Rabu 6 Dhu al-Qadah 1296 AH.” PNM 635(2):  10 ff., incomplete.
5. 1880/1. PNM 1912: 564 pp. In a few places, the red ink has bled through the paper.

Manuscripts with undated or partially dated colophons (2):

1. Copied “waktu zuhur, hari Sabtu, bulan Sha’ban.” PNM 2048: 794 pp., incomplete.
2. Copied by “Muhammad Salib.” IAM 407: 654 pp., incomplete, now lost.

Manuscripts without colophons (14):

1. IAM x85: 366 ff., now lost.
2. IAM 184A: 117 pp., incomplete. Bound together with IAM 184B: Muniyat al-Musalli.
3. MNI (uncatalogued)
4. PNM 156: 378 ff., black and maroon ink, leather binding.
   
5. PNM 277: 324 ff., incomplete.
6. PNM 533: 385 ff.
7. PNM 558(3): 27 ff., incomplete, double red-violet frame (ff.1-23, thereafter frameless), black and red violet ink.
8. PNM 663: 142 ff., incomplete.
9. PNM 675: 45 ff., incomplete.
10. PNM 1255: 8 ff., incomplete.
11. PNM 1889: 258 pp., incomplete.
12. PNM 2330: 332 ff., incomplete.
13. PNM 2348: 120 ff.,  incomplete.
14. PNM 2548: 55 ff., incomplete.

Published Editions

1. Before Sep 1894. Advertised in Singapore (probably the Mecca edition).
2. 1920s, undated. Cairo: 2 vols. Holding: UL.
3. Undated. Penang: Matba’ah Dar al-Ma’arif, 236 pp. Holding: UKM.
4. 1980. Penang: Matba’ah Dar al-Ma’arif, 241 pp. Holding: KITLV, PNM.
5. Undated. Bangkok: Muhammad al-Nahdi. Contains this book in the margins of Nahj al-Raghibin wa Sabil al-Muhtadin.