One of the very common question asked by students of knowledge is that "How do I study and by-heart all the masails of Bahar e Shariat or any other book of fiqh masails like Fataawa Ridawiyyah etc? Well the fact is these books are not meant to be memorized.
These books serve as reference guide or encyclopedia which should be referred when needed.
In Islamic scholarship, the books can be divided into 3 categories:
1) Mutoon
2) Shuruhaat (including hashiya)
3) Fataawa
2) Shuruhaat (including hashiya)
3) Fataawa
1) Mutoon are the core text of a subject which covers the most important parts of the subject along with most correct ruling (mostly) on issues. For example, you may consider them as a fruit concentrate bottle, which can be easily packed & transported and when needed, can be made into 100 glasses of juices.
Mutoon texts are usually of a small booklet, size of, around 50 to 150 pages. These are meant to be memorized. Though its not prevalent in South Asian countries but most of the Arab countries Islamic universities required their students to memorize the mutoon in various subjects.
Since these are small booklets and can be memorized easily, they serve as the main way to spreading a school of thought i.e mazhab.
In Fiqh Hanafi major mutoon in Fiqh are : Bidaya tul-mubtadi, Mukhtasarul Quduri, al-Mukhtar, an-Niqaya, al-Wiqaya, Kanz ul-Daqaiq.
If you are really serious about scholarship, try memorizing the matan.
You may think that when I can memorize a book of 50 to 150 pages, why shouldn't I memories the Quran instead? That's a good thought, but remember every subject has its own importance, we can not ask students studying and memorizing texts in Arabic grammar like Hidaya tun-Nahw or Kaafia to give it up and instead memorize Quran, as Arabic grammar is one of the most important tool to understand the Quran.
2) Shuruhaat : These are explanations or marginalia on the mutoon texts. As you have read that mutoon are the core texts and concentrates to spread the teaching of a school of thought (mazhab), these are normally hard to understand and hence require a guide. For example: Sharah Wiqaya is sharah of al-Wiqaya, Durre-Mukhtar is sharah of al-Mukhtar, Hidaya is sharah of Mukhtasarul Quduri etc.
These shuruhaat serve as aid to understand the core texts and hence doesn't have to be memorized.
3) Fataawa : These are rulings on the various issues derived from the Mutoon & Shuruhaat etc. These books are meant to be a reference book for scholars. Examples are like Fataawa Hindiyah, Fataawa Shaami etc.
Bahar-e-Shariat and most the other rulings books fall under the Fataawa category, hence not meant for memorizing. These books should be read in parallel to mutoon. Example, if you reading Kitab us-Salat, Bab ul-Qirat in a matan, try reading the corresponding chapter in Shuruhaat or Fataawa (or Bahar-e-Shariat).
If you are not a student of Islamic scholarship program but just a reader, then I would suggest you to start studying from small books on a subject, like in fiqh study Anwar-e-Shariat (a small booklet) and then move to Qanoon-e-Shariat (a small book) and then move to Bahar-e-Shariat (multi volume book). This way you will be able to understand the rulings more clearly and also able to memorize.
Have a habit of reading the book everyday for 15-30 mins, in these 15-30 mins try to understand the rulings and NOT to memorize them. Most of the students either never start or stop in middle while studying multi volume books because they try to memorize it, when the fact is that these books are not at all meant to be memorized. Try to go through the books whenever you have free time.
My way of study is to read the books as and when required. Before the start of Ramadan I try to read the rulings on Fasting, Taraveeh & Zakaat. Similar when its Zil Hajj, I refer to the parts of Hajj & Sacrifice.
Hope this post will help the students of sacred knowledge. If it did then, kindly pray for me.
Wassalam
Muhammed Kashif al-Ansari
