SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This is a study and an edition of al-Tanbih wa'l-iclam fi mustafadi 'l-qudati wa l-hukkam by Abu Abd Allah Muhammad b. Abd Allah al-Yafrani known as al-qadi al-Miknai (d. 917/1511), a Moroccan scholar living in Fes during the last stages of the Merinid dynasty. The work is composed of two main parts: The first represents an editorial introduction in which a detailed study has been made in order to bring to light both the author and his book, focusing on the author's identity including his lineage as well as his scholarly life and career. In addition, we have set up a general picture of the political and intellectual environment in Morocco during the author's life time. With regard to the primary text, our study has sought to provide a description of the manuscript copies, a brief overview of the subject matter, and a consideration of the structure of the text and its sources from Maliki fiqh. We have also aimed to consider the author's treatment of his chosen topics. Observations of the edited work and some features of its importance as a contribution to the Maliki fiqh field are also offered. The general footnotes to the Arabic text, made in English along with the glossary of legal terms and phrases, and a bibliography are provided in this section. The second section is comprised of the primary text al-Tanbih wa 'l-icam which has been transcribed into typed form to make it more accessible to the reader, but remains in keeping with the original structure of the text. It is numbered in Arabic numerals and includes editorial footnotes which mark the differences between the manuscript copies. Chapters and sub chapters are clearly outlined, while indices of Qur'anic verses, prophetic traditions, persons and geographical names are located at the end of this section.