“Why Study Uṣūl al-Fiqh?”: The Problem of Taqlīd and Tough Cases in 4th-5th /10th-11th Century Iraq
Abstract The function of uṣūl al-fiqh (legal theory) within classical Islamic law has been the object of protracted debate. Based on the writings of Abū Isḥāq al-Shīrāzī (d.476/1083), I propose that uṣūl al-fiqh served two pedagogical purposes within the Iraqi legal community of the 4th/10th and 5th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Islamic law and society
Year: 2021, Volume: 28, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 1-31 |
| Further subjects: | B
ijtihād
B Taqlid B Uṣūl al-fiqh B al-Shīrāzī B Fiqh B masāʾil al-khilāf |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | Abstract The function of uṣūl al-fiqh (legal theory) within classical Islamic law has been the object of protracted debate. Based on the writings of Abū Isḥāq al-Shīrāzī (d.476/1083), I propose that uṣūl al-fiqh served two pedagogical purposes within the Iraqi legal community of the 4th/10th and 5th/11th centuries: first, to avoid taqlīd , defined as the subscription to a position without evidence; and second, to provide jurists with tools to assess the validity of a proof when they were confused about its merits. My analysis sheds light on uṣūl al-fiqh ’s role in providing epistemological foundations for juristic reasoning. It also reveals that practical engagement on disputed legal matters ( masāʾil al-khilāf ) prevailed over uṣūl al-fiqh in the training of jurists. The consequence: uṣūl al-fiqh was a methodology of last resort. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Islamic law and society
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685195-BJA10006 |