Feasibility of Deriving a Convergence-Oriented Governance Theory in the Five Islamic Schools of Law Based on the Hard Core of Uṣūl al-Fiqh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61838/jecjl.673Keywords:
Comparative Political Jurisprudence, Islamic Ecumenism (Takrib), Hard Jurisprudential Core, Two, Tier System, Legislative Unification, Dual Judicial SysteAbstract
The present study aims to assess the feasibility of deriving a theory of “convergence-oriented religious governance” across the five Islamic schools of law by examining their jurisprudential and uṣūlī capacities. The central research question is how an operational model for coherent and just governance can be designed on the basis of shared principles of Islamic legal theory. The study employs an inferential-comparative analytical method within the framework of comparative ijtihād, drawing on library-based and documentary data. The findings derived from the comparative analysis of authoritative jurisprudential texts indicate that, despite differences in the foundations of political legitimacy, a shared “epistemic hard core” exists among the five schools, comprising five overarching principles: public interest, preservation of the social and political order, the rational practice of reasonable persons (sīrat al-ʿuqalāʾ), justice as a constitutive condition, and public oversight. On this basis, the study develops a “conceptual-structural model” and presents a “comprehensive comparative table,” proposing a “two-tier governance model.” At the first tier, a “Supreme Trans-Sectarian Sharīʿa Supervisory Council,” through the application of “collective comparative ijtihād” within the sphere of legislative discretion (manṭiqat al-farāgh), assumes responsibility for legislative harmonization and safeguarding the definitive tenets of religion. At the second tier, elected institutions undertake the rational administration of the state. Furthermore, a mechanism for addressing legislative and judicial challenges is formulated in the form of a “dual judicial system,” distinguishing general courts operating on the basis of codified trans-sectarian laws from specialized personal-status courts, thereby reconciling the efficiency of the political structure with the protection of religious freedoms.
Downloads
References
Abu Yusuf, Y. q. i. I. (1976). Kitab al-Kharaj. Dar al-Ma'rifah.
Akhund Khurasani, M. K. i. H. (1988). Kifayat al-Usul. Al al-Bayt Foundation for the Revival of Heritage.
Al-Bukhari, M. i. I. Sahih al-Bukhari. Dar Tawq al-Najah.
Al-Ghazali, M. i. M. (1996). Al-Mustasfa min 'Ilm al-Usul. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Al-Hilli, H. i. Y. (1990). Tadhkirat al-Fuqaha. Al al-Bayt Foundation for the Revival of Heritage.
Al-Hilli, H. i. Y. (1992). Qawa'id al-Ahkam fi Ma'rifat al-Halal wa al-Haram. Islamic Publications Office.
Al-Kasani, A. a.-D. A. B. i. M. (1986). Bada'i' al-Sana'i' fi Tartib al-Shara'i'. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Al-Kulayni, M. i. Y. q. (1986). Al-Kafi. Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah.
Al-Mawardi, A. i. M. (1986). Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah wa al-Wilayat al-Diniyyah. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli, N. a.-D. J. f. i. H. (2000). Ma'arij al-Usul. Al al-Bayt Foundation for the Revival of Heritage.
Al-Naraqi, M. A. i. M. M. (1996). Awa'id al-Ayyam min Muhimmat Adillat al-Ahkam. Publishing Center of the Islamic Propagation Office.
Al-Nawawi, M. a.-D. Y. i. S. (1972). Al-Minhaj Sharh Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi.
Al-Qarafi, S. a.-D. A. i. I. (1984). Al-Furuq (Anwar al-Buruq fi Anwa' al-Furuq). Dar al-Ma'rifah.
Al-Qurtubi, M. i. A. (2006). Al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an (Tafsir al-Qurtubi). Al-Risalah Foundation.
Al-Sadr, S. M. B. (1987). Iqtisaduna. Dar al-Ta'aruf lil-Matbu'at.
Al-Sarakhsi, M. i. A. (1993a). Al-Mabsut. Dar al-Ma'rifah.
Al-Sarakhsi, M. i. A. (1993b). Usul al-Sarakhsi. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Al-Shafi'i, M. i. I. (1983a). Al-Risalah. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Al-Shafi'i, M. i. I. (1983b). Al-Umm. Dar al-Ma'rifah.
Al-Shatibi, A. I. I. i. M. (1996). Al-Muwafaqat fi Usul al-Shari'ah. Dar Ibn Affan.
Al-Suyuti, J. a.-D. A. a.-R. (1983). Al-Ashbah wa al-Naza'ir fi Qawa'id wa Furu' Fiqh al-Shafi'iyyah. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Al-Taftazani, M. i. U. (1988). Sharh al-Maqasid. Manshurat al-Sharif al-Radi.
Al-Tusi, M. i. H. (1967). Al-Mabsut fi Fiqh al-Imamiyyah. Al-Maktabah al-Murtadawiyyah li-Ihya al-Athar al-Ja'fariyyah.
Al-Tusi, M. i. H. (1987). 'Uddat al-Usul. Al al-Bayt Foundation for the Revival of Heritage.
Al-Tusi, M. i. H. (2009). Kitab al-Ghaybah. Jamkaran Holy Mosque.
Amara, M. (1997). Al-Islam wa al-Ta'addudiyyah: Al-Ikhtilaf wa al-Tanawwu' fi Itar al-Wahdah. Dar al-Shuruq.
Ansari, M. i. M. A. (1994). Al-Makasib. World Congress Commemorating the Millennium of Shaykh al-Ansari.
Arakin, M. (2012). Feasibility of Rapprochement Among Islamic Schools in Governmental Jurisprudence. Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy.
Hakim, S. M. B. (1997). Al-Wahdah al-Islamiyyah min Manzur al-Thaqalayn. World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought.
Hakim, S. M. B. (2005). Mawsu'at al-Fiqh al-Islami al-Muqaran. World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought.
Ibn Abidin, M. A. i. U. (1991). Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin). Dar al-Fikr.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, M. i. A. B. (1994). I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in an Rabb al-Alamin. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi, A. A. i. A. (1984). Al-Mughni. Dar al-Fikr.
Ibn Taymiyyah, T. a.-D. A. i. A. a.-H. (1990). Al-Siyasah al-Shar'iyyah fi Islah al-Ra'i wa al-Ra'iyyah. Dar al-Jil.
Izdehi, S. S. (2023). Comparative Political Jurisprudence: Foundations and Models. Islamic Culture and Thought Research Institute.
Khafaf, A. (2000). Al-Nizam al-Siyasi fi al-Fiqh al-Islami al-Muqaran. Dar al-Hadi.
Khomeini, S. R. (2000). Kitab al-Bay'. Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works.
Malik ibn, A. (2004). Al-Muwatta. Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation.
Mousavi, S. H. (2024). Jurisprudential Foundations of Governance in Islamic Schools of Thought. Hawzah and University Research Institute.
Mughniyah, M. J. (2003). Al-Fiqh ala al-Madhahib al-Khamsah. Dar al-Jawad.
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, a.-N. Sahih Muslim. Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi.
Muzaffar, M. R. (2009). Usul al-Fiqh. Islamic Publications Office.
Najafi, M. H. (1983). Jawahir al-Kalam fi Sharh Shara'i' al-Islam. Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi.
Sharaf al-Din, S. A. a.-H. (1986). Al-Muraja'at. Dar al-Adwa.
Downloads
Publication Timeline
- Submitted
- Revised
- Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Faraj Talashan; Mansour Gharibpour (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
