The Effect of Shafi'i Usul Al-Fiqh on Ibadi Usul Al-Fiqh: Example of Al-Khaffaf and Al-Malshuti

Abstract

The jurisprudential madhhab (sect) have structures, methods, inner disciplines and consistencies within themselves. In addition to these, the jurisprudential madhhabs are not static structures which are closed to different madhhabs, thoughts and developments except for them. On the contrary, a madhhab's interaction with other madhhabs has a share in the development of that madhhab. The fact that the madhhabs produce works such as al-jadal (dialectic of jurisprudental) and al-khilaf (the science of disagreement) to criticise the views of different madhhabs and defend their views can be evaluated as a literature specific to al-fiqh (Islamic law) emerging as a result of interactions of a madhhab with others. It is necessary that a madhhab must have a domination on the rival sect in order to be able to criticise its and others' doctrine apart from it. When looked from this point of view the presence and development of the madhhabs as institutional bodies, in a sense, rely on their interaction and communication with different madhhabs. This interaction took place in the form of scientifically struggling and competing with different madhhabs other than the madhhabs we mentioned, as well as mutually benefiting from each other's jurisprudential heritage. In particular, the madhhabs that exist and live in the same region interact with each other more. However, this does not mean that the members of the madhhabs living in remote areas are independent and unaware of each other and do not interact with each other. On the contrary, travels to geographies far from each other because of different reasons and meetings in religious centres such as Hijaz enabled the circulation and mutual use of the information put forward in centres far from each other. In this respect, in our research, the interaction of the madhhabs with each other will be discussed through two texts put forward by two different sectarian scholars living in different geographies and different time intervals that can be considered far from each other. One of these texts is the work called al-Aqsam wa-l-khisal of Abu Bakr al-Khaffaf (d. 362/973), one of the Shafi'i jurits of Iraq region al-Adilla wa-l-bayan thought to belong to Tabghurin al-Malshuti (d. 6th/12th c.), one of the Ibadi scholars of Maghrib region. The relation between two figures one of whom is from Iraq region and the other is from Maghrib region, yet with a time interval of two hundred years between them, and the relation between two jurists one of whom is Shafi'i the other is Ibadi will be studied. Within this context, the basic target of the study is to establish the effect and interaction between Shafi'i usul al-fiqh (Islamic legal theory) and Ibadi usul al-fiqh. More accurately, the effect of Shafi'i usul al-fiqh on Ibadi usul al-fiqh will be tried to be revealed through the influence of al-Khaffaf's al-Aqsam wa-l-khisal on al-Adilla wa-l-bayan, which is ascribed to al-Malshuti. When we look at the fiction in al-Malshuti's work, it is possible to say that he was influenced by al-Khaffaf in many aspects, both in terms of wording and content. However, al-Malshuti's thought on usul al-fiqh is not only related to al-Aqsam wa-l-khisal of al-Khaffaf, but it is also connected with the views of other Shafi'i scholars, especially al-Shafi'i (d.204/820), on issues that are not found in al-Aqsam wa-l-khisal. Considering this point, al-Malshuti's thought on usul al-fiqh will be compared, and the views of Shafi'i scholars will be compared, and the connection between Ibadi usul al-fiqh and Shafi'i usul al-fiqh will be tried to be constructed through al-Malshuti. From this point of view, although the research is tried to be based on al-Aqsam wa-l-khisal by al-Khaffaf and al-Adilla wa-l-bayan, which is attributed to al-Malshuti, it is aimed to benefit from different usul al-fiqh works to provide the general picture of the connection between both madhhabs.