Early Islamic Legal Theory: The Risala of Muhammad Ibn Idris Al-shafi-i (Studies in Islamic Law and Society)

460 Pages·2007·2.25 MB·English

by  Joseph E. Lowry

Early Islamic Legal Theory
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Studies in Islamic Law
and Society
Founding Editor
Bernard Weiss
Edited by
Ruud Peters and Kevin Reinhart
VOLUME 30
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Early Islamic Legal Theory
(cid:2) (cid:2) (cid:3) (cid:4) (cid:5)(cid:3)
The Ris la of Mu ammad ibn Idr s al-Sh (cid:2)
By
Joseph E. Lowry
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2007
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This book is printed on acid-free paper.
A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Library of
Congress.
ISSN 1384-1130
ISBN 978 90 04 16360 7
Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
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Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
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For Larry, Louise, Vanessa, Jonathan, and Michael
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ....................................................................... xiii
Abbreviations .............................................................................. xv
Introduction ................................................................................ 1
Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3) and Early Islamic Law ................................................ 2
Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Life ............................................................................. 6
Works Attributed to Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3) ..................................................... 7
Previous Studies of Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Legal Thought and the
Ris(cid:2)la .................................................................................... 8
Method .................................................................................... 16
This Study ............................................................................... 19
Conventions ............................................................................ 21
Chapter One Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Concept of the Bay(cid:2)n .......................... 23
I. Introduction .................................................................... 23
II. The Idea at the Heart of the Ris(cid:2)la: Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Concept
of the Bay(cid:2)n .................................................................... 23
A. Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s De(cid:2) nition of the Bay(cid:2)n ............................... 25
B. The First Mode of the Bay(cid:2)n: Stand-alone
Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)nic Texts .......................................................... 26
C. The Second Mode of the Bay(cid:2)n: Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)n and
Redundant Sunna ..................................................... 27
D. The Third Mode of the Bay(cid:2)n: Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)n and
Explanatory Sunna ................................................... 30
E. The Fourth Mode of the Bay(cid:2)n: Stand-alone
Sunnaic Texts ............................................................ 31
F. The Fifth Mode of the Bay(cid:2)n: Ijtih(cid:2)d and Qiy(cid:2)s ....... 32
G. Implications of Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Concept of the Bay(cid:2)n ........ 33
H. Mention of the Bay(cid:2)n Schema Elsewhere in
the Ris(cid:2)la ................................................................... 34
III. The Bay(cid:2)n and the Structure of the Ris(cid:2)la .................... 41
IV. Previous Scholarly Accounts of Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Notion of
the Bay(cid:2)n ......................................................................... 46
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viii contents
V. The Reception of Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Concept of the Bay(cid:2)n ......... 51
A. J(cid:4)(cid:2)i(cid:7) .......................................................................... 51
B. The Case of Ja(cid:8)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:8) ................................................... 55
C. Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Bay(cid:2)n in Other U(cid:3)(cid:4)l Works: A Very
Brief Tour ................................................................. 56
VI. Conclusion ...................................................................... 58
Chapter Two Hermeneutical Techniques ............................... 61
I. Introduction .................................................................... 61
II. General Hermeneutical Terms and Principles .............. 63
III. Hermeneutical Rubrics Describing Source
Interaction ....................................................................... 69
A. (cid:5)(cid:6)mm and Kh(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:3) ......................................................... 69
1. Structure of the Ris(cid:2)la’s Discussion of (cid:5)(cid:6)mm
and Kh(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:3) .............................................................. 72
2. Inheritance ........................................................... 79
3. Ablutions .............................................................. 80
4. Theft .................................................................... 83
5. Unlawful Sexual Intercourse ............................... 83
6. Division of the Spoils of War ............................. 84
7. Other Appeals to and Uses of (cid:5)(cid:6)mm and
Kh(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:3) ..................................................................... 85
B. Abrogation (Naskh) .................................................... 87
1. Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Theory of Naskh ..................................... 89
2. The Penalty for Unlawful Sexual Intercourse .... 93
C. The Jumla:Na(cid:3)(cid:3) Rubric .............................................. 104
1. Independent Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)nic Injunctions: Rama(cid:9)(cid:4)n .... 108
2. Quasi-Self Suf(cid:2) cient Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)nic Texts: Spousal
Accusations of Adultery ...................................... 109
3. Why Have Redundant (cid:7)ad(cid:8)ths? The Case of
Ablutions .............................................................. 111
4. Jumla: A Legal Rule Expressed Jointly by the
Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)n and the Sunna ........................................ 113
5. Divorce and Remarriage ..................................... 113
6. Inheritance ........................................................... 114
7. Jumla and (cid:5)(cid:6)mm .................................................... 116
8. Sunna as Na(cid:3)(cid:3) ....................................................... 117
IV. Hermeneutical Rubrics Speci(cid:2) c to the Hadith ............. 118
A. Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Outline of Hermeneutical Dif(cid:2) culties
Affecting the Sunna .................................................. 119
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contents ix
B. The Distinction between Contradiction and
Source Interaction Reiterated .................................. 123
C. Speci(cid:2) c Techniques for Resolving Contradictions
within the Hadith Corpus ........................................ 125
1. Ikhtil(cid:2)f al-(cid:7)ad(cid:8)th ................................................... 126
a. Prayer during Battle Conditions .................... 128
b. Humanitarian Law and the Law of War ...... 131
2. Prohibitions in the Hadith (Nahy) ........................ 134
V. Ijtih(cid:2)d and Qiy(cid:2)s ............................................................... 142
A. The Function of Ijtih(cid:2)d and Qiy(cid:2)s and the
Authority for Using Them ....................................... 144
B. Examples of Applied Ijtih(cid:2)d as Metaphors for
Legal Epistemology ................................................... 146
C. Types of Qiy(cid:2)s ........................................................... 149
D. When Qiy(cid:2)s May not be Used .................................. 155
E. Examples of Applied Qiy(cid:2)s ....................................... 156
1. Shabah-Based Qiy(cid:2)s ............................................... 157
2. Ma(cid:5)n(cid:2)-Based Qiy(cid:2)s and Reasoning
A Fortiori ................................................................ 158
VI. Conclusion ...................................................................... 163
Chapter Three Prophetic Sunna and Hadith in the Ris(cid:2)la .... 165
I. Introduction .................................................................... 165
A. The Term Sunna Prior to Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3) .............................. 167
II. The Authority of the Sunna .......................................... 170
A. Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s General Arguments for the Authority
of the Sunna ............................................................. 170
B. Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Claim that (cid:7)ikma in the Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)n Means
“Sunna” .................................................................... 176
1. Sh(cid:4)(cid:2) (cid:5)(cid:3)’s Qur(cid:6)(cid:4)nic Proof Texts ............................. 177
2. Extra-Exegetical Currents ................................... 184
III. The Khabar al-W(cid:2)(cid:9)id and its Wider Implications ........... 187
A. Authority for Using the Khabar al-W(cid:2)(cid:9)id .................. 189
B. Hermeneutical Aspects of the Khabar al-W(cid:2)(cid:9)id ....... 191
1. Personal Qualities of Transmitters ..................... 193
2. The Analogy with Testimony .............................. 194
3. Formal Characteristics of Isn(cid:2)ds .......................... 197
C. Epistemological Aspects of the Khabar al-W(cid:2)(cid:9)id
and Lesser Varieties of Hadith ................................. 200
1. Recurrence vs. Non-Recurrence ......................... 200
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