Uṣūl al-Fiqh and Society: Effects of Social Structure on Ijtihād and Effects of Ijtihād on Social Cohesion

What is it about?

This article examines the interaction of uṣūl al-fiqh-society interaction in the context of the problem of the judgment of ijtihād in 4th to 5th/10th to 11th century Irāq. Using the writings of Al-Jassās (d. 370/981) on ijtihād, I propose that not only was uṣūl al-fiqh influenced by heterogeneous social structures, in which different sects and religious beliefs coexisted, but it also contributed to the cohesion of this broader social structure. Irāq’s social climate contributed to the development of the idea that “every mujtahid is correct,” prevalent in the 4th and 5th centuries. This idea also contributed to the cohesion of social structure, in which different religious groups lived together. The infallibilist view advocated by Irāqī Ḥanafīs may have been better suited to multicultural societies. In opposition to this, the fallibilist view is generally supported in homogenous societies. _x000D_

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