Islamic Legal Theory in the Works of Judge Abdel Jabbar: An Analytical Evaluative Study

Abstract

This thesis addresses a significant aspect of the scholarly and intellectual legacy of the Mu?tazilite scholar al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r (d. 415 AH / 1025 CE). This aspect concerns the topics and issues of Islamic legal theory (u??l al-fiqh). There is a notable absence of a comprehensive and systematic study dealing with this scholar's thought on the various aspects of this discipline. This is evident in the lack of research examining the general foundations and theological premises on which his thought is based, as well as the methodology he employed. In outlining the issues and rules pertaining to legal theory, or in terms of his methodology for examining the evidence sources of juristic rulings, their order, their relationship to each other, and the ways of benefitting from them to derive rulings from them, or in terms of his style justifying and validating his preferences in all these matters. This leaves us without a systematic understanding of the nature of his contribution to Islamic legal theory, even if it were only preliminary and approximate. The present thesis attempts to address this gap. The researcher employed three principal methods: historical, inductive, and analytical. A biography of al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r was written using the historical method. This included an examination of the features of his scientific personality and his intellectual journey, as well as an analysis of the development of his thought on matters of Islamic legal theory through his various successive works. This was done in relation to his status in the Mu?tazilite school and his relationship with its most important theorists. Furthermore, the researcher was able to utilize this method to ascertain the historical and methodological interrelationship between Islamic legal theory and Islamic theology (?ilm al-kal?m), as well as the extent to which al-Q???'s views on legal theory were shaped by the intellectual and social milieu in which he operated. The inductive method was employed to trace the opinions of al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r and identify his statements and opinions on issues of Islamic legal theory, which are dispersed throughout a number of his works in theology, notably his encyclopedia al-Mughn? f? Abw?b al-Taw??d wa-al-?Adl and Shar? al-U??l al-Khamsah, as well as other sources, including those transmitted from al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r and attributed to him by his student Ab? al-?usayn al-Ba?r? in some of his u??l al-fiqh works. The analytical method was employed to demonstrate the structure of al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r's legal theory. This entailed a review of his views and statements, a description of them, and a classification of them according to the established order of issues and topics in Islamic legal theory as presented in specialized works. Furthermore, the researcher deconstructed al-Q???'s opinions and statements, analyzed and discussed them, demonstrated their underpinnings, interpreted them, and reconstructed them in the context of the cultural reality and the scholarly environment in which they were produced. Subsequently, these perspectives were assessed in accordance with the epistemological and methodological principles espoused by al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r. Consequently, the researcher was able to ascertain the general characteristics of al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r's contribution to Islamic legal theory. The researcher identified several key findings and results, the most significant of which are: 1. al-Q??? ?Abd al-Jabb?r employed the discipline of legal theory to reinforce his doctrinal principles in theology; 2. He established an independent approach to the study of Islamic legal theory, adopting a conciliatory stance within the Mu?tazilite school, which has greatly influenced subsequent developments in this field.