AL-ISBIJABI’S COMMENTARY ON AL-JAMI‘ AL-SAGHIR AS AN EXAMPLE OF HANAFI LEGAL LITERATURE FROM CENTRAL ASIA

The purpose of this article is to present and academically introduce the legacy of Abu al-Azhar Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Isbijabi (d. 500 AH/1106 CE), a distinguished Hanafi jurist of Central Asia and the author of the commentary Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr . The significance of the study lies in the fact that al-Isbijabi’s work is a rare source of Islamic law, preserved solely in manuscript form and never before subjected to critical academic analysis. The novelty of this research consists in the detailed examination of the structure and content of the commentary, the identification of its sources and methodological features, as well as the evaluation of al-Isbijabi’s contribution to the development of the Hanafi legal tradition. The research tasks include identifying the specific features of the commentary, analyzing the interpretive methods employed by the author, and determining the practical significance of his legacy for contemporary Islamic legal studies. Its practical value lies in introducing the text and related information into academic circulation, thereby opening new perspectives for comparative studies of fiqh and the history of Islamic jurisprudence. The methodology of the study is based on the examination and comparison of two manuscript copies, applying the principles of taḥqīq (critical edition) and academic analysis. This approach has allowed the clarification of the text’s content and the identification of its unique characteristics. The results demonstrate that al-Isbijabi’s commentary represents a highly valuable source for the study of Hanafi jurisprudence and provides essential material for future comparative research in the field of Islamic law. Keywords : al-Isbijabi; Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr ; fiqh; Hanafi school; manuscripts; Islamic law; taḥqīq (critical edition); Central Asia; Islamic scholarship; legal tradition.