AL-SHAFI'I :
The Epistle on Legal Theory,
*[A5] Hardback [with Dust Jacket] - 544 pages,
by Imam Muhammad bin Idris al-Shafi'i [d.204h],
Edited & Translated by Joseph E. Lowry.
[English /
Arabic]
'Library of Arabic Literature Series,'
Description :
The Epistle on Legal Theory is the oldest surviving Arabic work on Islamic legal theory and the foundational document of Islamic jurisprudence. Its author, Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i,
may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 204 H / 820 CE), was the eponym of the
Shafi'i school of legal thought, one of the four rites in
Sunni Islam.
This fascinating work offers the first systematic treatment in Arabic of key issues in Islamic legal thought. These include a survey of the importance of Arabic as the language of revelation, principles of textual interpretation to be applied to the Qur’an and Prophetic Traditions, techniques for harmonising apparently contradictory precedents, legal epistemology, rules of inference, and discussions of when legal interpretation is required.
The author illustrates his theoretical claims with numerous examples drawn from nearly all areas of Islamic law, including ritual law, commercial law, tort law, and criminal law. The text thus provides an important window into both Islamic law and legal thought in particular and early Islamic intellectual history in general.
The Arabic text has been established on the basis of the two most important critical editions and includes variants in the notes, while the English text is a new translation by a leading scholar of
Shafi'i and his thought.
The Epistle on Legal Theory represents one of the earliest complete works on Islamic law, one that is centrally important for the formation of Islamic legal thought and the Islamic legal tradition.
About Imam Shafi'i :
Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Idris al-Shaf'i'i was descended from the Hashimi family of the Quaraysh tribe to which the Noble Prophet Muhammad, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, belonged.
He
was born in Gaza, Palestine, and was raised in Makkah, his parents'
home town. He memorized the holy Qur'an while he was still a young
child. When he reached fifteen, his knowledge was so thorough, Muslim
Ibn Khalid Al-Zinji, the Mufti of Makkah, told him: 'O Abu Abdullah,
give
fatawa (religious rulings), for by Allah it is time for you to do so!
Imam al-Shafi'i, Arabic jurist (150 AH/767 CE - 204 AH/820 CE). He was
active in juridical matters and his teaching eventually led to the
school of fiqh named after him. He was a man of vast knowledge and authority. Scholars gave him the honorific title 'Father of Usul Al-Fiqh"
(The Patriarch of the Foundation of Islamic Jurisprudence). Imam
Shafiee died in the Year 204 A.H./ 820 C.E. and was laid to rest in
Egypt.
Joseph E. Lowry is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic
Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. His books include Early
Islamic Legal Theory: The Risala of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i. His
research and publications focus on the Qur'an, Islamic law, and Arabic
literature. Before becoming an academic he was an attorney in private
practice in Washington, D.C.
Table of Contents :
---Letter from the General Editor,
---Acknowledgments,
---Introduction,
---A Note on the Text,
---Notes to the Introduction.
---Epistle on Legal Theory ---Chapter on the Modalities of Legislative Statements,
---Chapter on the First Kind of Legislative Statement,
---Chapter on the Second Kind of Legislative Statement,
---Chapter on the Third Kind of Legislative Statement,
---Chapter on the Fourth Kind of Legislative Statement,
---Chapter on the Fifth Kind of Legislative Statement,
---Chapter Explaining What Is Revealed in the Book as Unrestricted, & Intended as Unrestricted, but Also Partly Restricted,
---Chapter Explaining What Is Revealed in the Book, the Apparent Meaning of Which is Unrestricted but Which Combines the Unrestricted and the Restricted,
---Chapter Explaining What Is Revealed in the Book, the Apparent Meaning of Which is Unrestricted but Which Is Intended in Its Entirety as Restricted,
---Chapter on the Category of Statements in Which Context Indicates the Meaning,
---The Category in Which the Wording Indicates the True Meaning Rather Than the Apparent Meaning,
---Chapter on What Is Revealed as Unrestricted and Which Prophetic Practice in Particular Indicated Is Intended as Restricted,
---Explanation of God’s Imposition in His Book of the Obligation to Follow the Practice of His Prophet, ﷺ,
---The Obligation from God to Obey the Prophet,
ﷺ, Paired with Obedience to God and Mentioned Separately,
---Chapter on God’s Command to Obey God’s Emissary,
---Chapter on God’s Statement to His Creation Concerning Having Obliged His Emissary,
ﷺ, to Follow What Was Revealed to Him;
---The Evidence He Gave Concerning His Emissary’s Following What He Was Commanded to Do, His Emissary’s Being Guided, and His Emissary’s Guidance of Those Who Follow Him,
---The Beginning of Abrogation,
---Abrogation Indicated Partly by the Book and Partly by Prophetic Practice,
---Chapter on the Obligation to Pray That the Book and Then Prophetic Practice Indicate to Be Obviated by Reason of an Excuse; and Concerning Him Whose Prayer Is Not Counted as Disobedience,
---Abrogation Indicated by Prophetic Practice and Consensus,
---Chapter on Obligations That God Revealed in the Form of Explicit Texts,
---Obligations Established by Explicit Texts and in Regard to Which God’s Emissary Provided a Parallel Practice,
---Obligations Established by Explicit Texts in Regard to Which Prophetic Practice
Indicates That He Intended Something Restrictive,
---Obligations Expressed in General Terms,
---Concerning Alms,
---Concerning the Pilgrimage,
---Concerning Waiting Periods,
---Concerning Women Unlawful to Marry,
---Concerning Unlawful Kinds of Food,
---Concerning That from Which Widows Must Abstain during the Waiting Period,
---Chapter on Problems Affecting Hadith-Reports,
---Another Instance of Abrogation,
---Another Instance,
---Another Instance,
---Another Instance of Legal Disagreement,
---Inconsistency in Narration in a Way That Differs from What Preceded,
---Another Instance Considered Contradictory, but Not by Us,
---Another Instance Considered a Case of Legal Disagreement,
---Another Instance of Legal Disagreement,
---Concerning the Major Washing for Friday Prayer,
---Prohibition for a Reason Indicated by a Reason Given in Another
Hadith-Report,
---Prohibition for a Reason That Is Clearer Than That in the Preceding Discussion,
---Prohibition for a Reason Resembling the Preceding Discussion in One Way, and Differing from It in Another,
---Another Chapter,
---An Instance That Resembles the Preceding Point,
---Description of God’s and His Emissary’s Prohibitions,
---Chapter on Knowledge,
---Chapter on the Uncorroborated Report,
---Authority Confirming the Uncorroborated Report,
---Chapter on Consensus,
---Chapter on the Confirmation of Analogical Reasoning and Legal Interpretation; When Analogising Is Necessary and When Not;
---Who May Perform Analogies,
---Chapter on Legal Interpretation,
---Chapter on Subjective Reasoning,
---Chapter on Legal Disagreement,
---Chapter on Inheritance Shares,
---Chapter on the Disagreement over the Grandfather,
---Opinions of the Companions,
---The Status of Consensus and Analogy,
---Notes,
---Glossary of Names and Terms,
---Bibliography,
---Further Reading,
---Index of Qurʾan Passages,
---Index,
---About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute,
---About the Typefaces,
---About the Editor-Translator.
*High Quality western print, binding and translation!
