The word risāla in Arabic means a "message" or "letter, communication". Shafi'i's treatise received its name owing to a traditional, though unverified, story that Shafi'i composed the work in response to a request from a leading traditionist in Basra, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Mahdī; the story goes that Ibn Mahdī wanted Shafi'i to explain the legal significance of the Quran and the sunna, and the Risāla was Shafi'i's response.[1]
In this work, al-Shafi'i is said to have outlined four sources of Islamic law,[1][2] though this division based on four has been attributed to later commentators on the work rather than to Shafi'i himself.[3]
Contentsedit
Introduction
On al-Bayān (Perspicuous Declaration)
On Legal Knowledge
On the Book of God
On the Obligation of Man to Accept the Authority of the Prophet
On the Abrogation of Divine Legislation
On Duties
On the Nature of God's Orders of Prohibition and the Prophet's Orders of Prohibition
The above list of contents follows Khadduri's translation. However, Khadduri rearranged the treatise in two places. Khadduri's chapters 8 and 3 (in that order) both follow Shafi'i's chapter on Traditions in the original. Khadduri rearranged those chapters because they did "not appear to fit into the logical order of the book."[4] Therefore, if one wishes to read Khadduri's translation while following Shafi'i's original arrangement, one can read the chapters in the following order: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 8, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
Sources of law in Al-Risālaedit
The primary sources of law attributed to Shafi'is book are the Qur'an and the prophetic tradition. Most Muslim commentators have also referred to Shafi'is sections on consensus and analogical reason as comprising legal sources.[1]
On the question of consensus, Shafi'i obligated affirmation of all living Muslims - both the learned and the laymen - in order to declare a true consensus.[5] Later followers of his school considered this to be practically impossible, and thus expanded upon the definition.[6]
^McNeill, William H., and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. University of Chicago Press, 1973.
^"Does Shafi'i Have a Theory of 'Four Sources' of Law?, taken from the PhD dissertation of Joseph E. Lowry, The Legal-Theoretical Content of the Risala of Muhammad B. Idris al-Shafi'i, University of Pennsylvania, 1999.
risala, shafi, book, confused, with, risalah, zayd, risala, disambiguation, other, books, known, risala, risāla, shafi, full, title, kitab, risāla, uṣūl, fiqh, arabic, كتاب, الرسالة, في, أصول, الفقه, book, communication, foundations, comprehension, islamic, ju. Not to be confused with Al Risalah Ibn Abi Zayd See Risala disambiguation for other books known as Ar Risala The Risala by ash Shafi i d 820 full title Kitab ar Risala fi Uṣul al Fiqh Arabic كتاب الرسالة في أصول الفقه book of the communication on the foundations of comprehension i e Islamic jurisprudence is a seminal text on the principles of Islamic jurisprudence The word risala in Arabic means a message or letter communication Shafi i s treatise received its name owing to a traditional though unverified story that Shafi i composed the work in response to a request from a leading traditionist in Basra Abd al Raḥman bin Mahdi the story goes that Ibn Mahdi wanted Shafi i to explain the legal significance of the Quran and the sunna and the Risala was Shafi i s response 1 In this work al Shafi i is said to have outlined four sources of Islamic law 1 2 though this division based on four has been attributed to later commentators on the work rather than to Shafi i himself 3 Contents editIntroduction On al Bayan Perspicuous Declaration On Legal Knowledge On the Book of God On the Obligation of Man to Accept the Authority of the Prophet On the Abrogation of Divine Legislation On Duties On the Nature of God s Orders of Prohibition and the Prophet s Orders of Prohibition On Traditions On Single Individual Traditions On Consensus Ijma On Analogy Qiyas On Personal Reasoning Ijtihad On Juristic Preference Istiḥsan On Disagreement Ikhtilaf The above list of contents follows Khadduri s translation However Khadduri rearranged the treatise in two places Khadduri s chapters 8 and 3 in that order both follow Shafi i s chapter on Traditions in the original Khadduri rearranged those chapters because they did not appear to fit into the logical order of the book 4 Therefore if one wishes to read Khadduri s translation while following Shafi i s original arrangement one can read the chapters in the following order 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 8 3 10 11 12 13 14 15 Sources of law in Al Risala editThe primary sources of law attributed to Shafi is book are the Qur an and the prophetic tradition Most Muslim commentators have also referred to Shafi is sections on consensus and analogical reason as comprising legal sources 1 On the question of consensus Shafi i obligated affirmation of all living Muslims both the learned and the laymen in order to declare a true consensus 5 Later followers of his school considered this to be practically impossible and thus expanded upon the definition 6 References edit a b c Islamic Jurisprudence Shafi i s Risala trans by Majid Khadduri Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 1961 pp 19 21 Translator s Introduction McNeill William H and Marilyn Robinson Waldman The Islamic World University of Chicago Press 1973 Does Shafi i Have a Theory of Four Sources of Law taken from the PhD dissertation of Joseph E Lowry The Legal Theoretical Content of the Risala of Muhammad B Idris al Shafi i University of Pennsylvania 1999 Khadduri p 53 Translator s Introduction Khadduri Introduction to Shafi i s Risala pg 33 Khadduri pp 38 39 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Al Risala al Shafi 27i book amp oldid 1214480307, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
