Al-Muhalla

Al-Muhalla, whose full title can be rendered as "The Adorned by Traditions, Explaining Revelations in Brief," is a work of Islamic law and jurisprudence by Ibn Hazm (994–1064). According to the author himself, it is a commentary on a larger work of his, entitled al-Mujallā, which has been lost. The title thus signals a direct link between the two texts: the reader finds in the Muhalla a detailed exposition of questions that the earlier book had only summarized.

The work is organized by legal questions, each treated separately. For every question, Ibn Hazm surveys the opinions of earlier scholars of high standing, not limiting himself to the four schools of fiqh but also citing figures such as al-Hasan al-Basri, al-Layth ibn Sa'd and Sufyan al-Thawri. He presents their evidence, explains why he considers their positions mistaken, and then offers his own view with supporting proofs. Many scholars regard it as an encyclopaedia of Islamic fiqh, since it preserves the views of early authors whose writings were otherwise lost. Its most controversial feature is the harshness with which Ibn Hazm criticizes his opponents, though he is generally recognized as a sincere defender of what he takes to be the truth.

The Muhalla became a central text for the Zahirite school, which relied on the literal sense of the sources. Under the Almohad Caliphate it was used in training judges, and in the Mamluk Sultanate its study was linked to political unrest. In modern times it remains in use among adherents of this tradition and within the Ahl-i Hadith movement in India and Pakistan. Its scholarly prestige has been acknowledged by both classical and modern authors.