Collection of Sayings on Science and Its Merits, by Ibn 'Abd Al-Barr

Original title of the work in Arabic : مختصر جامع بيان العلم وفضله وما ينبغي في روايته وحمله

The author: Abū ʿUmar Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (368 - 463 H.), eminent Cordovan scholar, Malikite jurist, considered the greatest traditionist of his time and nicknamed “the ẖāfiẕ of the Maghreb”. He traveled through Andalusia without ever leaving it and officiated as cadi of Lisbon and Santarém. Multidisciplinary, he composed works on Koranic recitations, hadith, jurisprudence, history, dogma and good manners.

The book: Jāmiʿ bayān al-ʿilm wa faḏlih can be seen as a complete educational program aimed at training students and scholars. Indeed, Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr first expounded extensively on the merit of science and the good manners proper to people of science. Then he addressed issues relating to the foundations of jurisprudence (us̱ūl al-fiqh), the most important of which are: the sources of science; the science taken from the Companions; the effort of interpretation and analogy; imitating and following; the fatwa; and finally the place of the Koran and the Sunnah.

In order to facilitate access to this major work for as many people as possible, the Algerian sheikh Abū ʿAbd ar-Raẖmān Maẖmūd produced a summary of it. We present the translation in this book.