I‘LAA AL-SUNAN AND EXAMPLES OF ITS LITERARY STYLE

إعلاء السنن ونماذج أسلوبه الأدبية.

Abstract

I’laa al-Sunan” is a monumental work authored by Allama Zafar Ahmad Usmani (رحمه الله), a renowned 20^th-century Islamic scholar from the Indian subcontinent. This encyclopedic book was written to defend the Hanafi school of thought against the accusation that it is not rooted in Hadith, but relies primarily on opinion and analogy (ra’y and qiyas). The author meticulously collected authentic ahadith (Prophetic traditions) to support Hanafi rulings and demonstrated how the school Is deeply grounded in the Sunnah. The work Is written in elegant Arabic and spans numerous volumes, covering a wide range of jurisprudential issues. It also addresses ‘principles of Hadith, Fiqh, Usul, and critique of narrators’, while refuting the objections of non-madhhab or anti-taqlid groups. Allama Usmani’s scholarly style combines deep research with clarity, offering both traditional scholars and modern readers a strong framework to understand the harmony between Hadith and Hanafi jurisprudence.