Investigation of the book “Advice for the Free and the Slave on Avoiding Chess and Dice” by Abd AlRahman ibn Khalil alAdhra’i Zayn alDin alQabuni (787-869 AH / 1385-1465 AD)

Abstract

The critical edition of the book "Advice to the Free and the Slave Regarding Avoiding Chess and Backgammon" by the Shafi'i jurist Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalil al-Qabuni (d. 869 AH) is a highly significant scholarly achievement. It brings to light a unique manuscript, unparalleled in its field, and adds to the Islamic library an original source on a controversial jurisprudential topic concerning the Sharia's stance on mental games such as chess and backgammon. The book's value lies in the fact that it does not merely present the legal evidence confirming the prohibition, but also demonstrates the author's independent reasoning in constructing his own arguments before citing Ibn Taymiyyah's treatise to support his opinion. This reflects a distinctive compositional approach that combines personal interpretation with the selective application of earlier texts.

The critical edition aims to accurately verify and authenticate the text, presenting it free from errors and misprints, while also providing a comprehensive study of al-Qabuni's life and works in the ninth century AH. This will provide researchers with verified scholarly material that serves the jurisprudential debate, the history of games, and their social impact on Islamic civilization. Thus, the book becomes a jurisprudential and historical document at the same time, highlighting Al-Qabuni’s personality as an independent jurist and prominent author, and opening the way for broader studies on the relationship of jurisprudence to recreational activities in medieval Islamic society.