Book contents
- Islamic Law in Context
- Islamic Law in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Islamic Legal Theory (Uṣūl al-Fiqh) and Related Genres
- Chapter 1 Introduction to Part I
- Chapter 2 The Foundation of Analogy
- Chapter 3 The Insufficiency of Concomitance Alone
- Chapter 4 Selections from al-Manthūr fī l-Qawāʿid of Badr al-Dīn al-Zarkashī (d. 794/1392)
- Chapter 5 ‘Is Every Mujtahid Correct?’ and the Implications of Holding Incorrect Theological Beliefs for one’s Fate in the Hereafter, from the Qawānīn al-Uṣūl of Mīrzā al-Qummī (d. 1231/1816)
- Chapter 6 The ‘Innovation’ of Legal School Affiliation
- Part II Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and Related Genres
- Part III Legal Opinions (Fatwās)
- Part IV Court Judgments and Other Court Documentation
- Part V Judicial Manuals and Reference Books
- Part VI Alternative Sources for Islamic Legal Studies
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- References
Chapter 2 - The Foundation of Analogy
‘Establishing the Validity of Qiyās against its Detractors’ from al-Mustaṣfā of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111)
from Part I - Islamic Legal Theory (Uṣūl al-Fiqh) and Related Genres
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 November 2024
By
Book contents
- Islamic Law in Context
- Islamic Law in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Islamic Legal Theory (Uṣūl al-Fiqh) and Related Genres
- Chapter 1 Introduction to Part I
- Chapter 2 The Foundation of Analogy
- Chapter 3 The Insufficiency of Concomitance Alone
- Chapter 4 Selections from al-Manthūr fī l-Qawāʿid of Badr al-Dīn al-Zarkashī (d. 794/1392)
- Chapter 5 ‘Is Every Mujtahid Correct?’ and the Implications of Holding Incorrect Theological Beliefs for one’s Fate in the Hereafter, from the Qawānīn al-Uṣūl of Mīrzā al-Qummī (d. 1231/1816)
- Chapter 6 The ‘Innovation’ of Legal School Affiliation
- Part II Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and Related Genres
- Part III Legal Opinions (Fatwās)
- Part IV Court Judgments and Other Court Documentation
- Part V Judicial Manuals and Reference Books
- Part VI Alternative Sources for Islamic Legal Studies
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
This chapter explores the seminal contribution to Islamic legal theory of al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111), focusing on his defence of legal analogy (qiyās) against its detractors in al-Mustaṣfā min ʿIlm al-Uṣūl. Al-Ghazālī discusses the justifications for analogy and bases its authority on revelation, rather than reason alone. He opposes both those who deem it rationally impossible to employ analogy in legal matters (against the Baghdādī Muʿtazila and the Shīʿa) and also those who deem it rationally necessary (such as the Baṣran Muʿtazilīs). His position is thus typically an Ashʿarī one: by showing that it is neither impossible nor necessary to use analogy, reason concludes that it is possible to use analogy. This discussion of a point of legal theory is thus heavily inflected by theological debates.
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- Islamic Law in ContextA Primary Source Reader, pp. 20 - 32Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
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