The Jurisprudential Selections of Imam Mūsā al-Ḥajjāwī in Ḥajj: Selected Examples from His Book Al-Iqnāʿ in the Fiqh of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal – A Comparative Study

This study presents a comparative analytical examination of the legal choices made by Imam Mūsā al-Ḥajjāwī (d. 968 AH) regarding selected issues in the jurisprudence of Hajj, as documented in his seminal work Al-Iqnāʿ fī Fiqh al-Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. The research focuses on key controversial matters, including the preference for tamattuʿ over qirān and ifrād, the superiority of Mecca over Medina, and the permissibility of unspecified iḥrām. The aim is to elucidate al-Ḥajjāwī’s methodology in weighing conflicting juristic opinions within the Ḥanbalī school and to explore the extent of his independent reasoning grounded in textual evidence and legal maxims. A comparative analytical method is employed, juxtaposing al-Ḥajjāwī’s views with those of the Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanafī schools, while closely examining his inferential techniques. The findings demonstrate that al-Ḥajjāwī was not merely a transmitter of Ḥanbalī doctrine but rather a nuanced jurist whose legal choices reflect a balance between textual fidelity and practical facilitation. This study contributes—so far as is known—the first applied comparative analysis of al-Ḥajjāwī’s juristic selections in Hajj, unlike previous works that either examined his general methodology or addressed Hajj jurisprudence without specific attribution. The study recommends further exploration of al-Ḥajjāwī’s choices in other legal domains and encourages systematic comparative investigations to trace the dynamics of intra-madhhab reasoning.