Overview

This is a work involving aqa’id, fiqh, and tasawwuf which Shaykh Daud al-Fatani translated from Matn al-Zubad fi ‘Ilm al-Fiqh ‘ala Madhhab al-Imam al-Shafi‘i (The Best Exposition on the Jurisprudence of Imam Shafi’i’s School of Law) by Shaykh Ahmad bin Ruslan al-Dimashqi (d. 844/1441). He addresses practical aspects of Sufi spirituality. approximately a century earlier, the Palestinian scholar, ‘Abd al-Ghani bin Isma‘il al-Nabulusi’s (d. 1731) commentary on the original work had clearly done much to re-popularize al-Dimashqi in scholarly circles in the Middle East. Al-Dimashqi had already gained popularity in Southeast Asia due to the work of the late-eighteenth century scholar Kemas Fakhr al-Dīn of Palembang, whose Kitab Mukhtasar (Brief Book), was based upon the former’s Risala fi al-Tawhid (Epistle on Monotheism).

Authorship

Completed 16 Ramadan 1264 AH [January 27, 1834] by Shaykh Daud b. ‘Abd Allah al-Fatani, in Mecca.

Manuscripts

This text never gained much popularity in the Patani knowledge network. It was occasionally included in manuscript compilations that included other works of Shaykh Daud al-Fatani such as Kashf al-Ghummah or Mudhakarat al-’Ikhwan.

5 known manuscript copies

Manuscripts with dated colophons (2):

1. 1848, May 7. Copied by ‘Abd al-Shukur b. ‘Abd al-Qadir b. ‘Abd al-Samad al-Jawi al-Samarani, 3 Jumada al-akhir 1264 AH, in Mecca. PNM 21A: 356 ff. Bound together with PNM 21B: Mudhakarat al-ikhwan.
2. 1886, Jul 24. Copied by Muhammad Hussein b. ‘Abd al-Latif b. ‘Abd al-Mu’min, “waktu asar, hari Sabtu, 22 Shawwal 1303 AH.” PNM 2147: 601 pp.

Manuscripts without colophons (3):

1. IAM 591B: 486 pp., incomplete. In a compilation with IAM 591A: Kashf al-Ghummah. Now lost.
2. PNM 2137: 520 pp., incomplete.
3. UL Snouck Hurgronje Collection Cod. Or. 7354(c): 32 ff., incomplete.

Published Editions

1. 1911/2. Mecca: Matbaah al-Miriyya al-Kayna. Holding: PNM, Madrasa Ihya Ulam al-Din (Pondok Utau Tua, near Narathiwat).
2. 2003. Kuala Lumpur: Khazanah Fathaniyah.