ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books History of Shi'ism: From the Advent of Islam up to the End of Minor Occultation Lesson 25: The Science of Jurisprudence The totality of man’s actions, which is his relationship with God and fellow men, is in need of rules that embrace the science of jurisprudence. The laws of Islam have a divine origin emanating from the will of God. Of course, the will of God is never dependent upon contract and consent.

It is rather based on intrinsic and true felicity and adversity. The Noble Messenger (S) is the messenger of God and his decree is the decree of God: ﴿ وَ ما يَنْطِقُ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ وَحْيٌ يُوْحى ﴾ “Nor doth he speak of (his own) desire.

It is naught save an inspiration that is inspired.” [^1] And it is based on the verse, “Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those vested with authority among you” [^2] that obedience to ‘those vested with authority’ { uli’l-amr }—the true successors of the Prophet (S)—has been placed along with obedience to God and the Messenger (S). The statements of the infallible Imams ( ‘a ) are nothing but an inspiration from God, and like the statements of the Prophet (S), obedience to them is obligatory.

The State of Jurisprudence during the Period of the and the Followers {tabi‘un} But after the demise of the Prophet (S) when the true path of Islam was changed and people were kept away from the rightful successors of the Prophet (S), they refer to the companions { sahabah } of the Prophet (S) concerning religious issues and problems. Of course, a number of the sahabah were forerunners in this matter.

As Ibn Sa‘d says, during the caliphate of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and Zayd ibn Thabit issued religious edicts { fatawa }.[^3] The pure Imams ( ‘a ) and a number of the Shi‘ah among the sahabah such as ‘Abd Allah ibn al-‘Abbas and Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri were also recognized generally by the Ahl as-Sunnah as jurists and well-informed of the laws of Islam, and were referred by them.[^4] Of course, during that period, the Shi‘ah used to refer to the infallible Imams ( ‘a ) and leaders of the ( ‘a ) in matters of jurisprudence and Islamic teachings in general.

So, jurisprudence and ijtihad [^5], as they are applied today, were not existent then.