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This in-depth study presents a detailed analysis and critique of the classic Western work on the origins of Islamic law, Schacht's Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Azami's work examines the sources used by Schacht to develop his thesis on the relation of Islamic law to the Qur'an, and exposes fundamental flaws in Schacht's methodology that led to the conclusions unsupported by the texts examined. This book is an important contribution to Islamic legal studies from an Islamic perspective.
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ON SCHACHT'S ORIGINS OF MUHAMMADAN JURISPRUDENCE \qN SCHACHT'S ORIGINS OF MUHAMMADAN JURISPRUDENCE M. Mustafa AI-izami / Published by THE OXFORD CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES and THE ISLAMIC TEXTS SOCIETY r \ /._,_,-' 1 / :. . ~./ ,,/ I (.,-·c' Copyright© 1996 M. M. Al-Azami First published 1985 This edition published 1996 by Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies George Street, Oxford OX1 2AR, UK and The Islamic Texts Society 22a Brooklands Avenue Cambridge CB2 2DQ, UK I I ISBN 0 946621 46 2 paper British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from The British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in Egypt by Sahara Printing Co. Grateful acknowledgement is made to The Muslim Educational Foundation of North America for a donation towards this publication. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author would like to thank King Saud University, Riyadh for sponsoring the publication of this book. Thanks are also due to co-publisher John Wiley and their editorial staff. King Saud University, Riyadh 140511985 M.M.A. Table of Contents Key to Abbreviations Page Introduction .......................................................................... 1 PART ONE: Law and Islam....................................................... 5 Chapter 1: The Place ofthe Law in Islam.................................. 7 The Role of the Prophet in Islamic Law 13 Schacht on Law in Islam and the Prophet's Role 15 Chapter 2: Islamic Law in the First Century A.H. . . •. . . . . . . . . . . •. . . . . . . The Judicial Activities of the Prophet Legal Codes and Judgments First-Century Legal Literature 19 20 22 24 PART TWO: The Swma of the Prophet and Islamic Law ................. 27 Chapter3: The Sunna: Its Meaning and Concept ...................... 29 The Early Concept of the Sunna 29 The Word Sunna: Its Meaning and Usage 30 Other Meanings of the Word Sunna 31 Schacht's Theory ofthe Early Concept of the Sunna 36 Ibn Muqaffa' 41 The Medinese School 43 The Syrian School 51 The Iraqian School 52 Chapter4: The Living Tradition is More Authoritative than the Sunna ofthe Prophet ............................... 55 The Medinese and the Living Tradition 56 The Syrians and the Living Tradition 64 The Iraqians and the Living Tradition 66 ChapterS: The Authority of the Sunna ofthe Prophet in the Ancient Schools of Law ............................... The Attitudes of the Medinese, Syrian, and Iraqian Schools Abu Yfisuf and the Sunna of the Prophet Shaibani and the Sunna of the Prophet The Attitudes of the Ancient Schools of Law According to Schacht Schacht's Concept of the Antitraditionists Weaknesses in Schacht's Thesis 69 69 70 71 72 73 76 Chapter6: Schacht on the Medinese School Schacht on the Iraqian School 79 85 Schacht on Auza'i's Attitude Further Questions on the Methods of the Antitraditionists 90 91 The Sunna of the Prophet in Transition ..........