This thesis is an attempt to question the established thesis of Joseph Schacht that Islamic law, as we know now, did not exist during the greater part of the first century of the Hijra. His argument rests on the notion that the Qur'an was only utilized as a secondary source in legal matters, and the Prophet's works were out of legal context. Thus, Muslims at that time mostly relied on customary law which was practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia. Consequently, he claims that Islamic law began to develop at the end of the first century of the Hijra, as a result of the measures taken by the Umayyad Caliphs and their Governors. / Contrary to this thesis, some scholars have shown some evidence to argue that Islamic law did exist during the life time of the Prophet. The Qur'an has played a significant role in formulating law as well as solving legal problems in the very beginning of the period. The key figure to apply such law is the Prophet himself and his companions, who, after him, acted as muftis. Moreover, all the Prophet's action including those related to legal matters had been transmitted orally and recorded in a written form. This transmission is owed to the isnad system which was introduced since the life time of the Prophet. After the Prophet's death, his companions pursued these legal activities by issuing legal decision which subsequently developed and became a model of Islamic law. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.22555 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Arfa, Faisar Ananda, 1964- |
| 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: 001462140, proquestno: MM05351, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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