What is "Fatawa Shami"? "Fatawa Shami" is the popular nickname for one of the most authoritative reference works in Hanafi fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) . Its formal title is Radd al-Muhtar 'ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (Response of the Perplexed upon the Chosen Pearl). It is a super-commentary (hashiya) on Al-Durr al-Mukhtar by Imam al-Haskafi, and its primary author is the 19th-century Syrian Hanafi jurist Imam Muhammad Amin ibn 'Abidin (d. 1252 AH / 1836 CE). The name "Shami" refers to the author's region (Greater Syria, Bilad al-Sham ).