Al-Mustasfa min 'ilm al-usul. (On Legal theory of Muslim Jurisprudence) - (المستصفى من علم الأصول)
By Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (450-505 AH)
A celebrated work of al-Ghazali on Usul al-Fiqh is considered one of four works that all isul work revolve around and they are: 1. The mu`tazalite `Abd al-Jabar (d. 415) al-Qadi's al-`umad; 2. abu al-Husain (d. 473) al-Basri's al-mu`tamad (commentary on al-`umad); 3. al-Imam al-Harmian abu al-Ma`ali (d. 478) Juywani's al-Burhan and 4. this book.
Arabic Editions
- Bulaq Edition in two volumes reprinted in Beirut: Volume 1, 2 (pdf)
- Recent edited edition in 4 volumes, edited by H. Z. Hafiz, Jeddah, n.d.: (pdf)
- al-Mustasfa min 'ilm al-isul. (Arabic link), a 'complete' text edition (Arabic word) Seems to have the printed text's page numbers. (zipped)
English Translations
- Vol. 1 was translated in: ABU HAMID AL-GHAZALI'S JURISTIC DOCTRINE IN 'AL-MUSTASFA MIN 'ILM AL-USUL' WITH A TRANSLATION OF VOLUME ONE OF 'AL-MUSTASFA MIN 'ILM AL-USUL'. HAMMAD, AHMAD ZAKI, PHD. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, 1987. (T-30177) (part-1-PDF) is a study of al-Ghazali's contribution to Usul one of the first in the English language. (part 2: translation of volume 1-PDF).
