By Mufti Husain Kadodia
Title: الفتاوى الحديثية-التقوى دمشق
Author: ابن حجر الهيتمي
Publisher: التقوى-دمشق
Cover & Pages: Hard-2044pg
The Fatawa Hadithiyyah of Allamah Ibn Hajar al-Haytami is another unappreciated book.
Non-Shafi’is as well as Shafi’is not inclined to fiqh don’t touch it thinking it is a Shafi Fiqh work, while many of those who know that it isn’t a fiqh work think that it is devoted to hadith-related queries, thus they don’t use it if they aren’t interested in hadith!
The reality is that it is filled with everything. It was compiled to gather the author’s answers to non-fiqhi queries, however some fiqhi answers have also crept into it. It covers hadith, aqidah, tafsir, lughah and pretty much everything else.
I recall coming across it as a student in the library in Dar al-Ulum Azaadville and I started to read it, thinking it was answers to queries on ahadith. I was initially disappointed at the small percentage of hadithi related fatawa, but the huge number of fawaid in the book more than covered up for the disappointment.
This amazing work solely needed a good edition, which is finally available.
This is a beautiful multi-coloured, high-quality edition in 3 thick volumes, edited using 10 manuscripts, with additions printed for the first time and with selected footnotes added from the hawashi of various ulama. The editor referred back to nearly 1000 masadir quoted in the book, in the process correcting tons of errors.
Note: While it is famous that Ibn Hajar’s nisbah is al-Haytami with a ت, some feel that the correct nisbah is al-Haythami with a ث.
I have attached Sh Hatim Awni’s article wherein he insists that al-Haythami is correct.
If I get some time, I will try to post more on it once the list is released.
Ṭaḥāwī 