Usul al-Fiqh Views of Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen in His Commentary on Al-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith

(An Analytical and Applied Study)

Abstract

This research, entitled: “The Fundamentalist Views of Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen in his Explanation of the Forty Hadiths of Nawawi: An Analytical and Applied Study,” addresses the problem of the lack of comprehensive studies that collect and analyze the fundamentalist views in Ibn Uthaymeen’s explanation of the Forty Hadiths of Nawawi in an independent and comprehensive study. Therefore, this research aims to examine the fundamentalist principles contained in the explanation of the Forty Hadiths of Nawawi, and to explain the Sheikh’s methodology in deriving them and applying them. It comprises two chapters. The first chapter, "The Scientific Framework of Explaining the Forty Hadiths of Nawawi," discusses the definition and importance of the Forty Hadiths, introduces Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen and his scholarly methodology, and outlines the nature of his explanation of them.

The second chapter examines Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen's views on legal methodology in his explanation of the Forty Hadiths. It addresses topics such as the meanings of words, general and specific terms, absolute and qualified terms, analogy, preference, the meanings of indefinite nouns, and other legal principles that the Sheikh addressed in his commentary on the Forty Hadiths. Then comes the conclusion, which includes the most important findings. He did not limit himself to theoretical presentation but rather employed the principles of Usul al-Fiqh practically in understanding texts and deriving rulings from them. The study also reveals his adherence to the methodology of the majority of Usul al-Fiqh scholars in a number of issues, such as interpreting a command as obligatory, a prohibition as forbidden, acting upon general principles, interpreting the unrestricted in light of the restricted when the cause and ruling are the same, and prioritizing the reconciliation of evidence over preference, while also relying on sound analogy, presumption of continuity, and blocking the means to evil within their established parameters.