Law: Shurunbulali’s Nur al-Idah Explained

Law: Shurunbulali’s Nur al-Idah Explained [Elective]

Course Overview

This is a Level Two course in the Islamic Studies Curriculum.

This course is based on Nur al-Idah wa Najat al-Arwah (The Light of Clarification and the Salvation of Souls), an intermediate work on the fiqh of worship. Written by the erudite scholar, Imam Shurunbulali, it combines rulings from the great works of the Hanafi school on the issues of purification, prayer, and fasting. These issues are present in other books but are spread out and difficult to read, or they simply require clarification. In this course, these issues are presented in a manner that is organized and easy to understand that leaves no ambiguity.

Another matter that sets this course apart from others is that Imam Shurunbulali was from “ahl al-tarjih,” those scholars at the rank of choosing positions in the school. This eliminates confusion and provides the reader with a good grounding in the subject.

Nur al-Idah aims to be exhaustive and comprehensive in the issues that it brings forward; anyone who understands this work properly can live their life comfortably without having doubts about their worship. No student or teacher can make do without deep study and consistent review of this great work

For centuries, this has been one of the most widely taught texts in traditional Islamic institutes and seminaries. This course will leave the students well-prepared to deal with the majority of issues that they encounter in their daily worship.

About the Text

Nur al-Idah wa Naja al-Arwah (The Light of Clarification and the Salvation of Souls) aims to cover the issues of purification, prayer and fasting at an intermediate and exhaustive level. It is also written in a very deliberate and scholarly method, and gradually ramps up its level of nuance.

The text is not a beginner's work. It adds detail and nuance to the basics that would have been studied prior to it. Nur al-Idah - despite its brilliance - was not Imam Shurunbulali’s most celebrated work. He was most famously known for his work, the Shurunbulaliyya, a hashiya (marginal notes) on the Durar of Mulla Khusraw which covers all the topics of jurisprudence.

Imam Shurunbulali began his work on the Shurunbulaliyya in the year 1030 AH and finished it in 1035 AH. Nur al-Idah was written while he was writing al-Shurunbulaliyya, in the year 1032 AH. His first commentary on Nur al-Idah, Imdad al-Fattah, was completed in 1046 AH and his second commentary, Maraqi al-Falah, in 1054 AH.

Imam Shurunbulali also later summarized Nur al-Idah into a smaller work named Maraqi al-Sa`adaat - also translated as Ascent to Felicity and he completed this work near the end of his life.

About the Author

Abu al-Ikhlas Hasan bin Ammar al-Shurunbulali was born in Upper Egypt in the year 994 AH and he passed away in 1069 AH. When he was six, his father took him to Cairo where he memorized the Qur’an as well as studied the islamic sciences. He then studied at the Azhar University where he flourished, surpassed his peers and then later became a professor there.

Imam Shurunbulali became widely known as one of the foremost scholars of Fiqh in the Hanafi school of his time and his work, al-Shurunbulaliyya became a crucial reference work in the Hanafi school, quoted and used right from his time until today. He also wrote several works in the fiqh of worship; he wrote two commentaries on his primer Nur al-Idah, Imdad al-Fattah and an abridgement of the Imdad, Maraqi al-Falah. He then later wrote this work, Ascent to Felicity, near the end of his life, summarizing Nur al-Idah into a simpler primer for more beginner students.

This course is for teenagers and adults.
It is particularly beneficial for intermediate students
It is a Level Two course. In order to successfully complete this course, students should minimally take the Ascent to Felicity course.
This course should be taken by anyone who wants to have confidence in their worship

Learning Outcomes

Understand deeply the rules of purification, prayer, and fasting.
Have confidence in their worship.
Appreciate how Islamic law works.
Understand what caused differences of opinion between the scholars.
Appreciate the rigor of the science of Islamic law (fiqh).
Understand how to deal with difficult or rare situations in worship.

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