Books by Abdul-Ghani al-Maqdisi: Where to Start

Al-Hafiz Abdul-Ghani ibn Abdul-Wahid al-Maqdisi (541–600 AH) was born in Jamma'il in Palestine and raised in Damascus among the Maqdisi family of Hanbali scholars. Around 561 AH he travelled to Baghdad with his cousin, Imam Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi. Ibn Qudamah gave himself mainly to fiqh, and Abdul-Ghani to hadith. He went on to seek narrations in Egypt, Alexandria, Mosul and Isfahan, became a hafiz known for his command of the texts and their chains, and died in Egypt in 600 AH.

He also wrote on the narrators of hadith and on creed upon the way of the Salaf. In English, his work reaches readers through Umdat al-Ahkam, the collection students still begin with when they want to learn the rulings from their evidence. If you have searched for books by Abdul-Ghani al-Maqdisi and felt unsure where to begin, this guide sets out what we carry at The Islamic Book Cafe and what to read next.

Umdat al-Ahkam: Rulings from the Two Sahihs

Umdat al-Ahkam gathers about four hundred and thirty hadith on the rulings of worship and dealings, taken only from narrations found in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and arranged by the chapters of fiqh. Because every narration comes from the two Sahihs, a student can concentrate on what each hadith establishes rather than on questions about its chain.

A Commentary on Umdatul Ahkam (Complete Set) explains the whole collection: purification, prayer, funerals, zakah, fasting and Hajj, then transactions, marriage and divorce, oaths and vows, foods and the prescribed punishments. For each hadith it draws out the ruling and notes where the scholars differed and why, so the reader learns how a ruling is taken from a text.

Two Cousins, Two Umdahs

Ibn Qudamah also wrote a short manual called al-Umdah, on fiqh. Read together, the two books match chapter for chapter: Abdul-Ghani's gives the hadith evidence, and Ibn Qudamah's gives the rulings. We carry Ibn Qudamah's text as Umdat al-Fiqh Explained, and his other works are in our guide to books by Ibn Qudamah.

Where to Start with Abdul-Ghani al-Maqdisi's Books

Read the commentary on Umdat al-Ahkam a chapter at a time, beginning with purification and prayer, the acts you perform every day. When you finish, move to Bulugh al-Maram by Ibn Hajar, which covers the same chapters with a wider range of narrations from beyond the two Sahihs; see our guide to books by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.

For the authenticated narrations on the prayer itself, see books by Shaykh al-Albani, and for the place of these works among other hadith books, our guides to the best hadith books and the best fiqh books.

Browse the full Abdul-Ghani al-Maqdisi book collection any time, and to plan the rest of your library, see our complete guide to the best Islamic books by topic. If you are unsure which book suits your level, reach out on live chat. We are always glad to help you choose.

Baarakallahu feekum — The Islamic Book Cafe | Portland, Oregon.