An analysis of al-Kāfī by Ḥākim al-Shahīd al-Marwazī

This study examines al-Kāfī, one of the distinguished works within the classical Ḥanafī legal (fiqh) tradition, authored by al-Ḥākim al-Shahīd al-Marwazī, with particular reference to its content, sources, and methodology. Although al-Kāfī was composed as an abridgement of the Zāhir al-Riwāya corpus—most notably Imām Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī's al-Aṣl—it transcends the character of a mere summary due to the author's deliberate selections, evaluative remarks, and distinctive organizational approach. In this respect, the work reflects not only the transmission of early Ḥanafī doctrine but also the juristic reasoning and methodological posture of its compiler. The study first identifies the written and oral sources upon which al-Kāfī is based, and analyzes its relationship with both the Zāhir al-Riwāya and the Nawādir literature. It then examines the structural organization of the work, focusing on its division into books and chapters, through a comparative analysis with al-Aṣl, in order to highlight al-Marwazī's interventions in the process of abridgement. In the third part of the study, the chapters on prayer (ṣalāt) and almsgiving (zakāt) are taken as representative samples through which the content, style, and methodological features of al-Kāfī are analyzed. Within this framework, particular attention is given to al-Marwazī's use of analogical reasoning (qiyās) and juristic preference (istiḥsān), his treatment of prophetic reports, his manner of evaluating juristic opinions, and his intra-madhhab preferences. This study aims to situate al-Kāfī more precisely within the Ḥanafī legal tradition and to assess al-Marwazī's juristic contribution within a coherent methodological framework, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of early Ḥanafī legal thought and its modes of transmission.