A Legal Case on Easing the Ruling for One Who Divorced His Wife Three Timesby Sheikh Ma’ al-‘Aynayn Muhammad Fadil ibn Muhammad al-Amin(d. 1910 CE)A Study and Critical Edition

Abstract

This text introduces a juridical case written by the West African/Maghribi scholar Sheikh Ma’ al-‘Aynayn Muhammad Fadil ibn Muhammad al-Amin. The editor praises the importance of Islamic jurisprudence as a science concerned with lawful and unlawful matters, legal rulings, and practical religious guidance.
The introduction then presents Sheikh Ma’ al-‘Aynayn as an encyclopedic scholar with writings in creed, Qur’anic exegesis, prophetic biography, language, and Islamic jurisprudence. The studied text concerns the case of a Muslim man who, under intense jealousy and anger, pronounced triple divorce against his wife, while still deeply attached to her and while his family needed her. The scholar collected the opinions of jurists, weighed them against authentic hadiths, reports of the Companions, and the views of leading verified scholars, then preferred one view.
The editor states that, due to the importance of the topic, he worked to collect and critically edit a manuscript copy of this legal case, in service of Moroccan Islamic heritage and in recognition of this encyclopedic scholar.