Perceptions And Repercussions In Early Imami Legal Discourse. The Case of Ibn Abī ʿAqīl al-ʿUmānī and Ibn al-Junayd al-Iskāfī
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2021-09-29
Date of issue:2025-09-08
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Sebastian Günther
Referee:Prof. Dr. Sebastian Günther
Referee:Prof. Dr. Jens Scheiner
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Name:Ali Rida - Dissertation - Online Version 25....pdf
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Description:Dissertation - Rizek
Abstract
English
Al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī Ibn Abī ʿAqīl al-ʿUmānī and Muḥammad b. Aḥmad Ibn al-Junayd al-Iskāfī ― later known by the honorary title “al-Qadīmān” (The Two Ancient Scholars) ― are said to be among the central figures in the development of Imami legal thinking after the major occultation at the turn of the 4th/10th century. However, little is known so far about the legal reasoning of these two scholars. Unfortunately, the original books of the two scholars are lost, and we know about the content only from quotations in later sources. Although Ibn Abī ʿAqīl was praised by succeeding scholars, such as al-Shaykh al-Mufīd (d. 413/1022), his opinions were not quoted in the legal literature for several decades. On the contrary, it is evident that Ibn al-Junayd received harsh critics from Imami scholars of the 4th/10th and 5th/11th centuries. Namely, his legal method was condemned by prominent Imami scholars who accused him of reliance on doubtful traditions, qiyās (legal analogy), and raʾy (personal opinion). Therefore, no space was left for the opinions of Ibn Abī ʿAqīl and Ibn al-Junayd; they went into obscurity for approximately two centuries until prominent scholars of Ḥilla in Iraq, the newly established center of Imami learning, started to quote these opinions in their legal books. In fact, it was with Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Ḥillī (d. 598/1202) that these opinions were first restored and regarded with esteem. Later scholars of Ḥilla, namely, al-Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī (d. 676/1277) and his nephew al-ʿAllāma (d. 726/1325), quoted the legal opinions of the two scholars and counted them among the early Imami jurisconsults (aṣḥāb al-fatāwā). Gradually, the two scholars came to occupy a highly respected position among earlier legal authorities of the Imami community. Moreover, they were regarded as the foremost pioneers of rational methods and systematic analysis in Imami fiqh. The present research endeavors to scrutinize the early formative stage of Imami law in the post-occultation period, focusing mainly on Ibn Abī ʿAqīl and Ibn al-Junayd. It is set to examine the relevance of the two scholars in this formative period of Imami law. Furthermore, it explores the way the two scholars were perceived in later developments of Imami legal thought. It is the first monograph dedicated to a systematic, critical and representative study of the case Ibn Abī ʿAqīl and Ibn al-Junayd. It provides the most definitive and comprehensive examination of their lives, works and legal thoughts. The research is guided by a specially designed methodology inspired by recent theories and methods in critical discourse analysis.
Keywords: Imamism; Imamiyya; Shi'i Islam; History of Islamic Law; Principles of Islamic Law; Imami Law in the 4th/10th century
