This is an attempt to investigate the linguistic question ofderivation in usul ahfiqh (legal theory). Being treated in various linguistic disciplines, especially grammar, the subject matter is studied in light of these disciplines in order to expound the unique contribution of usulists to it. The present study explores the chronological evolution of the subject and presents "derivation" as one example of the methodology applied by usulists to linguistic issues. / Le present essai se veut le fruit d'une recherche sur la derivation: question linguistique mise en rapport avec le domaine suivant: usul ahfiqh (theorie legale). Le sujet, traite dans differentes disciplines, specialement la grammaire, est etudie a la lumiere de ces disciplines afin d'extraire la contribution particuliere qu" y ont apportee les usulistes. Notre etude retrace done revolution chronologique du sujet et presente la "derivation" comme un exemple de la ethodologie mise en practique par les usulistes en matieres linguistiques. fr

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The Shi'ite orthodoxy, represented by the Usuli trend, introduced a new institution, i.e. marja'-i taqlid, in the middle of the thirteenth/nineteenth century when the struggle for the authority of the Imam was heightened by the representatives of speculative thought in Shi'ism. This institution combined the status of the most learned mujtahid with the charisma derived from the vicegerency of the Imam of the Age without committing itself to miraculous performances or directly jeopardizing the ruling establishments. The Usuli orthodoxy successfully fought the Akhbaris' detachment from the formal bases of argumentation on the one hand and the direct pretension to the authority of the Imam by the Sufis and Shaykhis on the other hand. The Usulis not only placed the marja'-i taqlid at the head of the Shi'ite learned hierarchy, but gave his pronouncements as of binding authority for the community. Marja'-i taqlid benefitted from the growth of popular religion among post-Safavid Iranians whose religious alms and charities guaranteed the financial independence of the supreme mujtahids. Marja'-i taqlid played important roles in the socio-political development of the Shi'ite people of Iran and Iraq either by legitimizing their constitutional and reformist movements or opposing colonialist and Westernizationist processes. However, in practice, the institution of marja'iyat escaped any attempts to embed the institution into the constitutional system or into any formal structure of juristic hierarchy.

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This thesis seeks to sketch the outer contours of the epistemological universe in which the science of us&dotbelow;ul al-fiqh was elaborated in classical Islam. The task is accomplished by analyzing arguments both for and against qiyas and ta`lil as presented by two major jurists of the 5th century of the Hijra representing opposite ends of the Islamic theological spectrum: (1) the H&dotbelow;anafite Mu`tazilite jurist Abu l-H&dotbelow;usayn al-Bas&dotbelow;ri (d. 436/1044) and (2) the Z&dotbelow;ahirite Abu Muh&dotbelow;ammad `Ali ibn H&dotbelow;azm al-Andalusi (d. 456/1064). After detailing each author's stance regarding the justifiability of qiyas and ta`lil, the thesis analyzes the underlying theological and epistemological premises and assumptions that can be extrapolated from each author's position. This analysis focuses on three fundamental sets of questions, namely: (1) What can be inferred from each author's position regarding the nature and provenance of knowledge in general, and of the relative status of certain (qat&dotbelow;`i, yaqini) versus suppositional (z&dotbelow;anni ) knowledge in matters of Shari`a? (2) What, according to each author, was the moral-legal status of acts before the promulgation of the Shari`a, and what can be inferred from this about the nature and provenance of moral-legal norms as conceived in the Islamic world view? Finally, (3) What can we conclude, on the basis of each jurist's arguments for or against qiyas and ta`lil, about the purposefulness of Divine acts in general and of the Shari`a in particular?

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