Islamic Law, Epistemology and Modernity

This study analyses the major intellectual positions in the philosophical debate on Islamic law that is occurring in contemporary Iran. As the characteristic features of traditional epistemic considerations have a direct bearing on the modern development of Islamic legal thought, the contemporary positions are initially set against the established normative repertory of Islamic tradition. It is within this broad examination of a living legacy of interpretation that the context for the concretizations of traditional as well as modern Islamic learning, are enclosed.

Ashk Dahlen

Preface List of transliteration 1. Introduction A. Purpose and nature of the study B. Theory and methodology C. Previous research D. Introductionary remarks on analytical concepts E. Modernity , postmodernism and secularism 2. The Nature of Islamic law A. An Islamic legal system? Law, jurisprudence and ethics B. Law and spirituality: Shi'i esoterism 3. Categories of traditional Islamic epistemology A. Knowledge and science B. The 'historical-empirical' epistemic scheme C. The 'theological', 'philosophical' and 'mystical' epistemic schemes D. The 'juristic-rational' epistemic scheme 4. Shi'i legal dogmatics A.Usul al-fiqh (legal theory) B. The constant sources of law: The Qur'an, sunnat and imja (consensus) C. The non-constant source of law: aql (reason) D. Ijtihad (independent reasoning) and taqlid (emulation) E. Hauzah-yi ilmiyah ('precint of knowledge') F. Hermeneutical principles G. Interpretative pluralism and ikhtilaf (divergence) 5. Islamic traditionalism and Islamice modernism A. An Introduction to Islamic traditionalism B. The Islamic traditionalist position of Abdullah Jawadi-Amuli C. An Introduction to Islamic modernism D. The Islamic modernist position of Muhammad Mujtahid-Shabistari 6. Surush on the nature of Islamic law A. The Biography of Abd al-Karim Surush B. Style of communication C. Philosophical foundation: Critical realism D. Modernity and the West E. Religion F. Jurisprudence G. Ijtihad H. Hauzah 7. Surush's theory of contraction and expansion of religious knowledge A. Its principal objectives B. History: The Stage of natural man C. Critical rationality: Self-determining and liberated D. Science: Falsification and corroboration E. Religous epistemology: Divine absolute or provisional conjecture? F. Epistemological ambiguities: A priori and a posteriori G. Epistemic relativism or epistemological relativism H. Hermeneutics: There is nothing beyond the text I. Divergent interpretations: The Problem of truth and probability Conclusions Bibliography Tables: I. Contemporary positions on Islamic law II. The textual corpus of Abd al-Karim Surush