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Muhammad al-Shaybani and his Kitab al-Kasb are introduced, and then seven translated excerpts from the work are presented to illustrate the classical Islamic understanding of the role and purpose of earning a living and of work in general.
Keywords: Muhammad al-Shaybani; Kitab al-Kasb; Earning a livelihood; communal solidarity; wealth; agriculture; commerce.
The Author of Kitab al-Kasb1
He is the mujtahid2 Imam, the great jurisconsult of 'Iraq, Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. al-hasan b. Farqad al-Shaybani. His father was of the people of harasta (a town or suburb to the east of Damascus, Syria), and emigrated to 'Iraq, where Muhammad was born to him in Wasit (ca.131/748). His father then took him to Kufa and raised him there. From an early age he manifested profound intelligence and exemplary character, and he was a strong, healthy and handsome boy.
He learned the Qur'an and Arabic language, attended classes on hadiths, and, when he was fourteen years old, began studying with Imam Abu hanifa. He remained with him for four years, receiving instructions in fiqh (jurisprudence) and hadith, after which he completed his education in fiqh under the guidance of Qadi Abu Yusuf (d. 182/798), may Allah have mercy on them all. He also learned from other great scholars of the time in Kufa, Basra, Madina and al-Sham (Syro-Palestine), including Imam Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161/778) in Kufa, Imam al-Awza'i (d. 157/774) in Syria and Imam Malik (d. 179/795) in Madinah, with whom he studied for three years.3
Eventually he became the foremost jurisconsult of 'Iraq after Qadi Abu Yusuf, his scholarly accomplishments became widely known, which attracted many gifted and accomplished students to him from far and wide. Among some of his more prominent students were Imam Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i (founder of the Shafi'i legal school), Asad b. al-Furat al-Qayrawani (d. 213/828) (liberator of Sicily and documenter-compiler (mudawwin), of the Maliki legal school), and Shaykh Sahnun (d. 240/854) (the narrator-compiler of the Mudawwanah), and many others. He was also, indirectly, a great influence on Imam Ahmad b. hanbal (d. 855/241) (founder of the hanbali legal school), for he was once asked, "From whence did you acquire these legal subtleties?," whereupon he replied, "From the books of Muhammad b. al-hasan."4 Among his prominent students too...