When we examine Zād al-Maʿād, we find these characteristics prominent throughout its chapters. Whenever the author investigates a question, he relies on the Quran and Sunnah and marshals their texts. He takes care to cite the opinions of the Companions, giving great weight to positions on which they agreed unanimously or which became widely known without any known dissent among them. He also respects their disagreements and does not go beyond the positions they held. This is too evident to require an example or two.
Lengthy, thorough and comprehensive treatment is evident in many of the book’s discussions. Even so, he sometimes remarks that this is not the place to elaborate on these questions (5/ 551). Among the legal questions he discusses at length in the third volume are whether a criminal who takes refuge in the Sacred Precinct may have the prescribed punishment carried out on him there (3/ 544 - 553); exchanging animals for other animals on deferred terms and in unequal quantities (3/ 604 - 608); the intended duration of a traveller’s stay that requires him to perform the prayers in full (3/ 705 - 711); and the permissibility of a finder disposing of stray sheep (3/ 832 - 834). Examples abound throughout the book’s volumes.
Freedom to weigh and choose between opinions is evident in several places. After presenting the positions, evidence and arguments, he leaves the choice to the reader, as in (5/ 143, 266) and (6/ 119, 481). In (5/ 445), he says: “This is a precise account of the positions on this question as transmitted, together with an exposition of their supporting arguments. Anyone who values knowledge and fairness, and avoids partisanship and the defence of opinions founded upon it, will readily distinguish the stronger position from the weaker.”
Digression is evident from the very beginning of the book, in his discussion of selection and choosing. Throughout the book, whenever an opportunity arises, he digresses into matters that are both instructive and delightful. Sometimes, while recounting the military campaigns, he digresses by discussing certain legal questions