This is a very important book by al-Imam Ash-Shawkani, in which he has compiled a concise text Ad-Durar al-Bahiyyah fee al-Masaail al-Fiqhiyyah / الدرر البهية في المسائل الفقهية in which he outlined the most preponderant views in the matters of Fiqh based on authentic proofs and text-based reasoning. Shaykh Siddiq Hasan Khan described it as, “leaving out the opinions that are mere thoughts since they amount to the hear-says of it and without paying attention to those that became popular (of the opinions) since the truth alone deserves to be followed…”
Shaykh Siddiq Hasan Khan continued regarding ad-Durar al-Bahiyyah, “the resemblance of this concise piece to the comprehensive works among the Books of Fiqh is like the metal mold to the dross as is known to whosoever is deeply rooted in knowledge…”
The English translation has been based on the Arabic edition published by Dar Ibn Hazm (Beirut), which has been reviewed by Shaykh Muhammad Subhi bin Hasan Hallaq (h), the renowned Yemen based scholar of Hadith and Fiqh and well-known for his efforts in tracing, editing and publishing the manuscripts of the works of Imam Ash-Shawkani (r). Shaykh Muhammad Subhi bin Hasan Hallaq (h) states:
"The book, Ad-Durar al-Bahiyyah fee al-Masaail al-Fiqhiyyah is among the best books of Fiqh not sticking to (and blind following) any particular Madhab (school of Fiqh) in its form and content ... ” Shaykh Muhammad Subhi bin Hasan Hallaq (h)