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?
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.31102 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | El-Tobgui, Carl Sharif. |
| Contributors | Hallaq, Wael B. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Institute of Islamic Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001808816, proquestno: MQ70282, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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