Al-Kafi (al-Shahid)

Al-Kafi (Arabic: الكافي) is a 10th-century classical Hanafi text authored by Hakim al-Shahid. It is primarily based on the six books of Muhammad al-Shaybani, known as Zahir al-Riwayah, and also incorporates two other works by al-Shaybani not counted among the Zahir al-Riwayah, as well as Ikhtilaf Abi Hanifa wa Ibn Abi Layla. The author removed repetitions and organized the material according to the chapters of jurisprudence (fiqh). Al-Kafi is regarded as the principal source of Hanafi fiqh after the works of al-Shaybani. It is al-Shahid's most significant work and the only one to survive to the present day. Approximately 150 years later, al-Sarakhsi composed a commentary on this text, titled Al-Mabsut, which attained canonical status within the Hanafi school. Together, these works constitute the primary sources of Hanafi legal tradition.