The Erasures in the Al-Mudawwana Book: A Comparative Fundamentalist Jurisprudential Study

Abstract

The research aims to: 1- Reveal the four topics that were erased from the Al-Mudawwana book, and shed light on them by collecting and studying them in a jurisprudential manner and verifying their number and the Imam Malik’s erasure of them. 2- Visualising the jurisprudential topic and highlighting the subject of the dispute within it. 3- Comparing the four erased topics by what is approved by the Maliki school of jurisprudence and the jurisprudential schools of the three imams. 4- Showcasing the evidence regarding the statements, if found, discussing them, and explaining which of them is more preferred and the reason for giving said preference. Research method: inductive method. Amongst Allah’s blessings upon us is that He distinguishes and honors the sons of Adam from the rest of His creations by the blessing of the mind, and it is known that the mind is constantly evolving and growing according to the changes met in life and its course. Among the characteristics of human beings are making mistakes and forgetfulness, and none of them can abstain from that; therefore, the obligation came to remove the embarrassment from them regarding them because being held accountable for that is an unbearable obligation. The basic principle is that whoever is found to have violated what is right must return to it, whether he is a prophet, a scholar, or a layman, and the scholars of this nation, especially the imams of the four schools of jurisprudence, have taken this approach seriously. You will find that some scholars amongst them had topics in which they retracted their previous statement when things became clear to them (and that is a diligent imam) that their statement was incorrect. Among these imams was Imam Malik bin Anas. He found topics in the Al-Mudawwana book that he ordered to erase and he changed his statement from what it previously was. I have collected the topics that Imam Malik erased in the Al-Mudawwana book, quoted the texts regarding them, presented his statements on the jurisprudential matter, compared them with what was approved in the Maliki school of jurisprudence, and the three schools of jurisprudence. Among the most prominent results reached by the researcher: - What is wanted from the erasures is its original text, while preserving the fact that it got deleted. - The erasures according to Imam Malik are the topics that Imam Malik bin Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, worked hard on in his book, Al-Mudawwana, then he retracted them and ordered them to be erased from the book. Scholars have differed in their number and details; however, the most popular opinion is that there are four topics: the ruling on slaughtering the child of the sacrifice with it, the ruling on the one who swore to divorce his wife to take her clothes off in the time being, the ruling on having intercourse with a sick man or woman and confirming if it had happened, the ruling on cutting off the hand of a thief if he does not have a right hand or if he was paralyzed.