Concise Guide of Basic Islamic Teaching in Shafi'i School of Thought: An English Version of Matn al-Ghayah wa al-Taqrib

A.Fatih Syuhud

Jul 2025 · A. Fatih Syuhud

About this ebook

Concise Guide of Basic Islamic Teaching in Shafi'i School of Thought is a English translation of Matn al-Ghayah wa al-Taqrib (also known as Mukhtasar Abi Shuja’ or Ghayat al-Ikhtisar, authored by Qadi Abu Shuja’ al-Asfahani (d. 593 AH), is a concise and foundational text in Shafi’i fiqh, widely regarded as a key primer in Islamic jurisprudence. This Arabic work succinctly covers essential topics within the Shafi’i school, including purification, prayer, zakat, fasting, pilgrimage, transactions, inheritance, marriage, divorce, crimes, punishments, jihad, hunting, slaughtering, and legal testimony. Structured with a muqaddimah and 16 chapters, its clear language, elegant composition, and brevity make it accessible for beginners and widely studied across the Muslim world, particularly in Indonesian pesantren. The text focuses on legal rulings without extensive evidence, facilitating memorization, and has inspired numerous commentaries, such as Fath al-Qarib by Ibn Qasim al-Ghazzi and At-Tadzhib by Mustafa Dib al-Bugha, which provide detailed explanations and supporting evidence. Its enduring significance lies in its comprehensive yet compact presentation of Shafi’i fiqh principles, making it a vital resource for students and scholars.

The English translation is done by A. Fatih Syuhud, an Indonesian Muslim scholars who is also a chairman of Al-Khoirot Institute of Islamic Studies located in Malang, East Java, one of prominent Pondok Pesantren in Indonesia.

About the author

A. Fatih Syuhud is the Chairman of Pondok Pesantren Al-Khoirot Malang, or Al-Khoirot Institute of Islamic Studies (Arabic: معهد الخيرات للدراسات الإسلامية). Apart from that, he is also known as a prolific writer of many books with various topics including Islam, education, Arabic languages, family, politics and history and Islamic jurisprudence.

His writings on Islam, education, pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), and politics have been featured in numerous national and regional print media outlets such as Kompas, Republika, Media Indonesia, and Jawa Pos, Gatra, among others.