Abū ʿAlī Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. al-Junayd al-Kātib al-Iskāfī

Abū ʿAlī Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. al-Junayd al-Kātib al-Iskāfī, known as Ibn al-Junayd al-Iskāfī, was an Imami scholar of fiqh and kalam in the fourth/tenth century. Ibn al-Junayd was born in Iskaf near Baghdad. He was a teacher of al-Shaykh al-Mufid. Ibn al-Junayd and Ibn Abi Aqil al-‘Ummani are both called “al-Qadimayn” (that is, two ancient scholars of fiqh).

In addition to fiqh and kalam, he was also an expert in Arabic literature, lexicology, book cataloging and style of writing. He was predominantly known for being a scholar of demonstrative fiqh. Al-Iskafi took jurisprudential statements of Imams (a) not to be first-hand statements of the laws of shari’a, but rather their own opinions out of their ijtihad. Ibn al-Junayd took it to be legitimate to deduce laws on the basis of analogy (qiyas) and other probabilistic evidence, and in cases of conflicts among sources, he believed that one should act out of caution.

Born and Family

Ibn al-Junayd’s birth date is unknown, but it is conjectured to be around 290/902-903. His lineage goes back to Banu al-Junayd who were seniors and heads of Iskaf (a place in Baghdad near Nahrawan). Ibn al-Junayd’s kunya is Abu ‘Ali, and in texts of fiqh “Abu ‘Ali” usually refers to him. He is mostly known, however, as Ibn al-Junayd, al-Iskafi, and al-Katib.

Fundamental Views in Fiqh

Ibn al-Junayd maintained that hadiths from Imams (a) concerning jurisprudential matters are not first-hand statements of the laws of sharia; rather they are their own personal opinions in fiqh resulting from exerting their power of ijtihad, which is why, he explains, Imams (a) themselves disagree over many matters (these are disagreements in their ijtihad). Thus Ibn al-Junayd’s approach to conflicts within hadiths with regard to a specific law of sharia was quite different from that of his contemporary Shiite scholars.

Another salient characteristic of Ibn al-Junayd’s fiqh is that he sometimes assumed some propositions as being pre-established, employing them as premises in his deductions. For example, he accepted the Prophet (s)’s hadith that “the caller to prayers (that is, mu’adhdhin) is trusted” as a principle, and then concluded that since a vice person cannot be trusted, then his call to prayers (adhan) should not be relied on.

Another peculiar approach of Ibn al-Junayd’s in fiqh was the principle that once a description (‘unwan) applies, the proposition’s subject-matter obtains.

These characteristics in Ibn al-Junayd’s fiqh distinguished it from the standard Imamiyya fiqh and drew it closer to the Sunni fiqh. As some sources emphasized, his views were much closer to Abu Hanifa among Sunni scholars of fiqh, but in some issues they were closer to views of Malik.

His Criteria for the Preference of one Hadith over another

Although there are many cases in which Ibn al-Junayd preferred one hadith to another conflicting one, it is difficult to confidently talk about his criteria for such preferences. However, with respect to issues concerning worships, he usually prefers a hadith which complies with religious caution.

But with respect to issues regarding punishments, such as hadiths regarding whether a burglar’s hand should be cut to one fourth or one fifth, he preferred the latter, which is at odds with the fatwas of most Shiite and Sunni scholars, and this might reveal his tendency to stricter views about punishments.

Moreover, he sometimes preferred few or less popular hadiths to many or more popular ones. It seems in these cases that he preferred a hadith that complies with qiyas (analogy) and istihsan even though there are many hadiths to the contrary.

Reliance on Probabilistic Evidence

Since Ibn al-Junayd takes hadiths to be Imams (a)’s own opinions, it makes sense that he relies on probabilistic evidence and reasoning such as literal meanings of the Quran, Khabar al-Wahid, qiyas (analogy), and istihsan. For example, with respect to how khums should be spent, he relied on the apparent implication of the Quran (8: 41) and rejected the exceptions made in hadiths, which puts him against the consensus of Imamiyya scholars.

And he relied on khabar al-wahid (hadiths narrated by one or very few people), which puts him against the majority of early Imamiyya scholars of fiqh and on board with Sunni scholars and Imamiyya Akhbaris. In many of his arguments in fiqh, he appealed to khabar al-wahid, to which al-Shaykh al-Mufid objected.

Reliance on Qiyas (analogy)

According to sources, he relied on qiyas (analogy) in agreement with Abu Hanifa and other Sunni scholars, and it seems that he wrote some books in this regard:

• Kashf al-tamwih wa l-Ilbas ‘ala ighmar al-Shi’a min amr al-qiyas (removing the confusions of Shias about qiyas)
• Izhar-u ma satarah-u ahl al-‘inad min al-riwaya ‘an A’immat al-‘Itra min amr al-ijtihad.

Ibn al-Junayd employed qiyas in many parts of his fiqh, including zakat. Moreover, he frequently appealed to istihsan in various issues.

Caution

In addition to all these, one characteristic of Ibn al-Junayd’s fiqh is his leaning towards more cautious fatwas, even in cases other than conflicts among hadiths. He has a tendency to take all commands to imply wujub (sharia obligation) and all prhibitions to imply hurma (sharia forbiddance) in issues of worship and transactions.

Ibn al-Junayd and kalam

It is not much reported over who was Ibn al-Junayd’s teacher in kalam and what relations he had with Imamiyya scholars of kalam in Baghdad at that time such as Banu Nawbakht and Muhammad b. Bahr al-Ruhni (d. before 330 A.H./ 941) and non-Imamiyya scholars of kalam, such as Mu’tazila. We only know that he was known as a scholar of kalam and wrote some works in this field.

One of his views in kalam is that the jurisprudential hadiths of Imams (a) were their own opinions and matters of their own ijtihad. He also believed that Imams (a) always adjudicated on the basis of evidence everyone had access to, rather than knowledge of the hidden facts. Ibn al-Junayd wrote some books about significant issues in Imamiyya kalam.

Works

Fiqh

• Tahdhib al-Shi’a li ahkam al-shari’a
• Al-Ahmadi li l-fiqh al-Muhammadi or al-Mukhtasar al-Ahmadi fi l-fiqh al-Muhammadi
• Al-Istinfar
• Tabsirat al-‘arif wa naqd al-za’if (in this book, he broached Shiite arguments in fiqh and replied to opponents, and presented answers to ambiguities in the laws)
• Risalat al-bishara wa l-nidhara wa l-istinfar ila l-jihad
• Al-Mash ‘ala l-khiffayn (it might be part of his book, al-Tahdhib)
• Manasik al-hajj (hajj rituals)
• Mufrad fi l-nikah (a monograph on marriage)
• Ashkal jumlat al-mawarith (forms of all heritage)
• Fard al-mash ‘ala l-rijlayn
• Zakat al-‘urud (zakat of gifts)
• Al-Hasim li l-shan’a fi nikah al-mut’a (on temporary marriage)
• Al-Intisaf min dhawi l-inhiraf ‘an madhhab al-ashraf fi mawarith al-akhlaf
• Mas’ala fi wujub al-ghusl ‘ala l-mar’a idha anzalat ma’uha fi yaqza aw nawm (on the obligation of ritual bath (ghusl) for women if they ejaculate without sexual intercourse when they are asleep or awake)
• Hada’iq al-quds (on his verdicts)
• Al-Irtiya’ fi tahrim al-fuqqa (al-Shaykh al-Tusi cited the book in his essay on the prohibition of fuqqa’, that is, beer)
• Al-Ifsah wa l-idah li l-fara’id wa l-mawarith
• He wrote about 2000 problems in 2500 sheets all or most of which concern issues of fiqh
• Al-Nusra li ahkam al-‘itra

Usul al-Fiqh

His works in usul al-fiqh include:

• Al-Faskh ‘ala man ajaz-a l-naskh li ma tamm-a naf’uh wa jamul-a shar’uh (The rejection of the view that allows the abrogation of a law of sharia that is completely legislated)
• Izhar-u ma satarah-u ahl al-‘inad min al-riwaya ‘an A’immat al-‘Itra min amr al-ijtihad
• Kashf al-tamwih wa l-ilbas ‘ala ighmar al-Shi’a fi amr al-qiyas
• Al-Masa’il al-Misriyya

Kalam

• Kitab al-tahrir wa l-taqrir
• Kitab al-ulfa
• Kitab izalat al-ran ‘an qulub al-ikhwan (according to al-Shaykh al-Tusi, the title continues with fi ma’na kitab al-ghiba, that is on the meaning of the book of gossip)
• Kitab khalas al-mubtadi’in min hirat al-mujadilin
• Tanbih al-sahi bi l-‘ilm al-ilahi (on divine knowledge)
• Man shana’a ‘ala l-Shi’a fi amr al-Qur’an (it is perhaps a rejection of the claim that the Quran was distorted)
• Quds al-tur wa yanbu’ al-nur fi ma’na l-salat ‘ala l-Nabi (a) (it is on the meaning of greeting or, saying salawat to, the Prophet (s))
• Kitab al-Zilama li Fatima (a) (a lamentation for Fatima (a))
• Kitab al-isfar (this is a rejection of Mu’abbada or apostates, as in al-Fihrist by Ibn al-Nadim and Ma’alim)
• Naqd-u ma naqadah-u l-Zujaji al-Nisaburi ‘ala l-Fadl b. Shadhan (a reply to al-Zujaji al-Nisaburi’s rejection of Fadl b. Shadhan)
• Nur al-yaqin wa basirat al-‘arifin (the book is mentioned in al-Shaykh al-Tusi’s al-Fihrist)
• Nawadir al-yaqin wa tabsirat l-‘arifin or, as in Ibn Nadim’s al-Fihrist, Nur al-yaqin wa nusrat al-‘arifin
• Al-Shuhub al-Muhriqa li abalis al-mustaraqa (a reply to Abu l-Qasim b. Baqqal)
• Al-Dhakhira li ahl al-Basra

On Styles of Writing

• Kitab ‘ilm al-nijaba fi ‘ilm al-kitaba

Lexicology

• Tafassuh al-‘Arab fi lughatiha wa isharatiha ila muradatiha fi ma’na ma l-isharat, ay ma yunkiruh al-‘awam wa ghayruhum min al-uslub (An exploration of the words of Arabs and their reference to their meanings…)

Catalogues

• Al-Latif
• Nathr tuba
• Al-Taraqi ila a’la l-maraqi
• Al-Wa’z al-mushtarat
• Kashf al-asrar
• Sabil al-falah il ahl al-najah
• Jawabat Mu’izz al-Dawla
• Jawabat Sabuktakin al-‘Ajami
• Al-Inas bi A’immat al-nas (Introduction to Imams (a))
• Istikhraj al-murad min mukhtalaf al-khatab
• Masa’il kathira
• Hadith al-Shi’a (it might be a book of hadiths)
• Al-Nawadir
• Al-Ifham il usul al-ahkam

The Publications Office of Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom (Jami’a Mudarrisin Hawza ‘Ilmiyya Qom) published a book under “A collection of Ibn al-Junayd al-Iskafi’s fatwas in 1416/ 1995 edited by ‘Ali Panah Ishtihardi.