Jump to content

User:Sarfipour: Difference between revisions

From Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jurisprudence
← Older editNewer edit →
VisualWikitext
Sarfipour (talk | contribs)
32 edits
No edit summary
Sarfipour (talk | contribs)
32 edits
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
Author: Alireza Salehi
By Muhammad Ali Sultan Moradi
* '''digest'''
* '''digest'''
The state theories in Shiite jurisprudence by [[Mohsen Kadivar]] is a study that seeks to collect the theories of Shiite jurisprudents about politics and state and classify them based on the foundations of divine or divine-popular legitimacy. In this book, nine theories under the two general titles of appointment and selection theories have been extracted from Shiite jurisprudence texts. Furthermore, the foundations, principles and interpretations of each of them have been explained. The author has also discussed the differences and commonalities of these theories.
“The theological foundations of ijtihad in deduction from the Holy Quran” by [[Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani]] examines the theological foundations used by Islamic jurists in the process of deduction from the Holy Quran. Foundations of issuance involve beliefs that must be initially acknowledged by the Islamic jurist (Faqih) in the process of ijtihad, namely that the Quran was revealed by God, and that it is free from any distortion and errors. To explain foundations of issuance, the author states that Faqih needs to acknowledge that words used by God in the Quran convey specific meanings and they are expressed in a way that can be generally understood by all. Hence, jurisprudential interpretation is based on the existence of an ultimate meaning of the text that must be discovered through the jurisprudential method. The author rejects many of the views put forward in hermeneutics. Therefore, most of the study is devoted to a discussion of hermeneutics, hermeneutical views, and the [[Relationship between hermeneutics and the theological foundations of Fiqh|relationship between hermeneutics and the theological foundations of Fiqh]].
According to him, the development of Shiite political theory began with the recognition of Shiism in the Safavid era and the relative empowerment of jurists in the Qajar era, with the works of jurists such as Mohaqeq Karaki and Mullah Ahmad Naraqi. He asserted that during this period we witnessed the formation of the theory of appointment, and then, the theory of selection also grew in the era of the Constitution and the Islamic Republic.
Among other issues discussed in the book are the language of religion, [[The theoretical expansion and contraction of the Sharia law|the theoretical expansion and contraction of the Sharia law]], and [[The all-inclusive nature of religion|the all-inclusive nature of religion]]. According to Hadavi, theory of expansion and contraction of the Sharia law is partly self-defeating. He also rejects the progression of human knowledge as advocated in the theory of expansion and contraction of sharia law.
The book of State Theories in Shiite jurisprudence was reviewed and criticized by critics after its publication. The lack of comprehensiveness, lack of analysis, and lack of attention to the common positions of jurists regarding the guardianship of theIslamic jurist are among the criticisms that have been made to this book. In contrast to proper collection, documentation and fluent literature are among its advantages.
== Short introduction  ==
== Introduction ==
“The theological foundations of ijtihad in deduction from the Holy Quran” <ref>Book page in National Library Database  </ref>, is the first volume of a three-volume series on the general theme of theological foundations of ijtihad. According to the author, the second volume deals with the foundations of ijtihad in the understanding of the Sunnah, while Volume 3 deals with the theological foundations of ijtihad in the application of reason. Volumes 2 and 3 were never published. This book is a compilation of lectures of Mahdi Hadavi which was first published in Qom, 1998. It is also the selected book in the first seminary book of the year in Qom.
The book of theories of state in Shiite jurisprudence seeks to report the opinions of Shiite jurists about politics and state and their classification. In this book, nine extraction theories are divided into two categories: appointment theories and selection theories. According to Mohsen Kadivar, the author of the book, Shiite jurisprudence in the field of individual rights is one of the richest sets of laws; However, in the field of social issues and public law rulings, a coherent collection has not been written down and the political opinions of jurists have been spread in various chapters such as enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, hodoud, holy war (Jihad), khums, sale and Friday prayer. For this reason, there is a need to collect these viewpoints in a coherent way, and this book is in pursuit of such objectives. It was placed in the field of Shiite political jurisprudence <ref>Haqiqat, "Criticism and review of state theories in Shiite jurisprudence", p. 182.</ref>..
== Author ==
=== The structure of the book and its Content ===
[[Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani]] is a Shia cleric born in 1961 and one of the professors of the Qom Seminary. He studied electronic engineering at Sharif University of Technology before entering the Qom Seminary. Then, he studied advanced level courses of Fiqh and Usul under eminent figures such as [[Ayatollah Tabrizi]], [[Vahid Khorasani]], [[Makarem Sirazi]], [[Shahroudi]] and [[Haeri]]. [[Ayatollah Sobhani]] considers Hadavi to be the founder of new knowledge of the theological foundations of Ijtihad <ref>Mehdi Hadavi Tehrani's page in Wikinoor  </ref>.
Before dealing with the nine theories, the author has reviewed four articles as an introduction. In the first introduction, he has discussed the four stages of the development of Shiite political jurisprudence, that is to say, the flourishing era of private jurisprudence, the era of monarchy and governorship, the era of constitutionalism and supervision, and the era of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The theory and purpose of writing the book has been justified (pp. 29-33).
Hadavi Therani is the author of many books in the fields of Fiqh, law, Rijal  and theology. Among his books are: [[Tahrir al- Maqal Fi Kulliat ‘ilm al- Rijal]]; [[Reflections on the Science of principles of Fiqh]]; [[Wilayat Fiqhih: Principles, proofs and jurisdiction]]; [[Governance and Religion]]; [[New Covenants in Islamic Fiqh]]; [[The School and the Islamic Economic System]], and [[The Islamic Economic System in General in the Qur'an]]. He is also the founder of Rawaq Hikmat Institute, <ref>Website of Rawaq Hekmat Institute  </ref> Islam Quest <ref>Islam Quest Database    </ref> and Islampedia Encyclopedia <ref>Islampedia encyclopedia database </ref>.
In the third introduction, the author points to two categories of negative and positive theories about the state during the time of occultation in Shiite jurisprudence. The first group of jurists who do not derive a specific form of governance from jurisprudential evidence considers the presence of jurists in public affairs to be limited to probate matters (pp. 33-39) whereas, there are jurists who recommend the comprehensive plan for governing the society according to Sharia (pp.39-40). In the fourth introduction, he also deals with the classification of state theories based on the foundations of political legitimacy. In this introduction, by posing the question whether the consent of the Islamic Ummah is involved in the legitimacy of the state or not, two bases of direct divine legitimacy and divine-popular legitimacy have been given. According to him, based on direct divine legitimacy, four theories and based on divine-popular legitimacy, five theories have been presented about the state in Shiite jurisprudence, and the main questions and common principles of both theories have been extracted (pp. 41-56).
== Organization of the book ==
After presenting the preliminary discussions, the author briefly introduces the principles of the nine state theories in Shiite jurisprudence. These theories include the legitimate monarchy, the public appointment of jurists, the public appointment of jurists, the absolute appointment of jurists, the constitutional state with the permission and supervision of jurists, the caliphate of the people with the supervision of the authority, the elective jurists, the Islamic elective state, and the representation of common personal owners.
This publication is divided into two main sections: ‘Foundations of issuance’ and evidentiary proofs'. The former section comprises less than a quarter of the work and deals with three foundations:
== Formation of political theory in Shiite jurisprudence ==
The author believes that from the 4th century to the 10th century, apart from brief references to state issues, no political theory was provided by Shiite jurists. The jurists in the Safavid and Qajar eras, with the works of jurists such as Mohaqeq Karaki and Mullah Ahmad Naraqi, the signs of the formation of political theories in Shiite jurisprudence were gradually revealed (pp. 14-18). According to him, in this period, we are witnessing the development of the appointment [[Theory of guardianship of the Islamic Jurist|theory of guardianship of the Islamic Jurist]] alongside the elective guardianship of the Islamic Jurist in probate matters and the authority of the Muslims of having splendor in conversion customs (19).
#  the authenticity of the Quran, i.e. that the Quran with all its content, words and arrangement is revealed by God.  
The encounter of Shiite jurists with concepts_ such as [[People's rights|people's rights]], [[Freedom|freedom]], justice, separation of powers, [[Law|law]], [[Equality|equality]] and [[Tyranny|tyranny]] in the constitutional era, and from the author's point of view _made us aware of two different jurisprudential approaches. One approach emphasized on the previous course and the dual theory of the appointment of jurists and the authority of Muslims with the title of legitimate state, and on the other hand, the reformist approach presented the theory of the constitutional state, following the compatibility of the two categories of tradition and modernity (pp. 19-21). The code of Shiite political thought during the period of the Islamic Republic moved towards the formation of the state with the thoughts of [[Imam Khomeini]] and the founders of the Islamic Republic. This course has been introduced by the author as the most fruitful stages of political jurisprudence in terms of theory and practice. (pp. 21-28)
#  That the Quran is free from any distortion, i.e.the Quran is in the same state today as it was at the early Islamic period and is not distorted.  
== Appointment theories ==
#  The final justification is that the divine revelation is free from any errors. This means that the divine knowledge revealed to Prophet Muhammad was protected against any error during the process of reception and transmission.
After the introduction, the author introduced nine extractive opinions. He has included four theories of [[Legitimate monarchy|legitimate monarchy]], [[The public appointment of jurists|the public appointment of jurists]], [[The public appointment of the Council of religious authorities|the public appointment of the Council of religious authorities]] and [[The absolute appointment of jurists|the absolute appointment of jurists]] under the theories of appointment. Under each theory, he examines the principles, foundations and interpretations of each of these issues.
 
=== The Principles of appointment theories ===
The latter section is divided into four parts:
According to the author, appointment theories, apart from the theory of legitimate monarchy, have several principles in common:
   
#  Particular meanings are intended by God’s words in the Quran. Accordingly, the claim made by some hermeneutic thinkers that understanding the text of the Quran is related to specific contexts and that its meaning is not unique cannot be accepted. The act of ijtihad is based on the jurists' theological belief that there is a specific and unique meaning behind the words of the Quran that must be discovered through interpretation.
* Velayat: This principle explains the type of state relationship between the people and the ruler,(p. 80) the position given to the jurists by the infallible, (p. 81-82) its domain in the public affairs of the society, the king’s affairs and political issues (p. 82) . Therefore, people have no involvement in the dismissal and installation of the jurist. (p. 84 and 100)
#  
   
#  The divine intention, at least in case of secondary rules, is expressed using a general method of understanding rather than symbolic or allegorical expressions.
* Appointment: According to this principle of the relationship between the ruler and the legislator, the appointment to the velayat is for all qualified people (p. 87) and in this appointment, it is not possible to rely on the people's choice. (p. 90 and 99-100)
# 
* Jurisprudence: In these theories, conditions are set for the ruler, among them jurisprudence and jurisdiction. 
#  When the verses of the Quran were revealed, it was possible for common people to understand them. If a jurist now holds a view contrary to the perception of the people at the time of revelation, he cannot justify his perception by stating that it is relevant to our time and that the previous perception made sense in the old days. Rather, they say that the previous perception was wrong and the new one is correct.
* The scope of the velayat: In these theories, the scope of the velayat is considered to be related to the interests of the society and is never limited to the matters of discretion.
#  Divine decrees are universal and apply to all ages except those proved to be abrogated or changed.
=== The difference of appointment theories ===
According to the author, in addition to having commonalities in the foundations and principles, the theories of appointment also have some specific features for themselves. Among other things, in the theory of the appointment of public jurists, the ruler has no authority beyond the Sharia rulings. Accordingly, the ruler is not bound by the probate affairs and the primary and secondary recommendations of God and the laws of human affairs. On the other hand, this velayat is bound by the interest of the Islamic society, public affairs, state and politics. (pp. 107-108). This is a new theory which represents jurisprudence, some of its features include paying attention to the expedients of the state and society in jurisprudence, paying attention to the role of time and place in ijtihad and the ability to solve the political, and, finally, economic and cultural problems of society. (p. 109)
Since the author believes that many fundamentals of hermeneutics contradict the theological foundations of the jurists for deduction from the Quran, he devotes a large part of the book to explaining hermeneutics and views of thinkers such as Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, Gadamer and Hirsch are explained in detail and criticized. It also continues to analyze the theory of expansion and contraction of sharia law and concludes with the analysis of the stability and change in divine commands.
The difference between the theory of public appointing authority of the Council of religious authority and the two theories of public appointing authority of the jurists and absolute authority is that instead of one person at the top of the pyramid of power, a council of authorities takes over the affairs of the nation (p. 97). Meanwhile, according to the previous two theories, if a righteous jurist exercises guardianship, no more jurists are allowed to exercise guardianship (p. 88. So, the guardian of the matter is determined from among the righteous jurists who have the current guardianship (p. 89).
== Content Statement ==
=== Functional duality in the theory of legitimate monarchy ===
This book is an introduction to the [[Relationship between theology and Fiqh|relationship between theology and Fiqh]]. As such, the author does not attempt to convey his personal views, rather directs his attention to presenting a list of theological foundations commonly found in Shia Fiqh. The book is primarily to explain that two classes of theological proofs underlie the deduction of religious decrees in Fiqh: Foundations of issuance and evidentiary proofs. The focus of the book is primarily on explaining western philosophers’ views on interpretation of a text. Therefore, the author explains and criticizes the theories of hermeneutic thinkers Karl Popper and Abd al-karim Soroush. Below are some of the author's claims and arguments.
Legitimate monarchy is one of the other theories of appointment, according to the author, it is one of the few theories in Shiite political jurisprudence that has been experienced in practice and has been governing the political practice of Shiites for a long time. (p. 58) This theory has two principles: one; The appointment of jurisprudents in probate matters, such as decree and propagation of religious rules, enforcement of limits, administration of endowments, etc., which is also interpreted as Sharia. The king has power in this area with conditions such as Islam, Shiism, and having authority. Of course, according to him, this separation was due to the imposing the conditions of the time, and the jurists were forced to be satisfied with this amount of authority (pp. 59-60). Five interpretations of this theory are presented by Allameh Majlesi, Mirzaye Qomi, Seyyed Jafar Kashafi, Fazolollah Nouri, and Abd Al-Karim Haeri Yazdi and Mohammad Ali Araki (p. 61-79).
=== Miracles, the best reason for revelation ===
== Selection theories ==
The author believes that the best way to prove that the Quran was revealed by God is to prove the miraculous nature of the Quran; because proving the revelatory nature of the Quran using its own verses would be a circular and invalid reasoning, and using traditions of the Infallible would require some more intellectual proofs besides being lengthy. Therefore, he moves on to reasons for proving the miraculous nature of the Quran and examines rhetorical and numerical miracles in the Quran, the internal harmony of the content of the Quran, hidden news, new teachings of the Quran compared to the time of its revelation, the fact that the content of the Quran has never been refuted, etc. (48- 59).
[[The constitutional-legitimate state]], [[The caliphate of the people under the supervision of the authority|the caliphate of the people under the supervision of the authority]], [[The elected governorship of the jurist|the elected governorship of the jurist]], [[The Islamic elected state|the Islamic elected state]] and [[The representation of the common private owners|the representation of the common private owners]] are the five theories that Mohsen Kadivar examined under the tile of selection theories. According to him, the theories of choice have several common features, the most important of which is increasing the role of the people in the state and reducing the powers of the jurists. Of course, each of the five theories has a special feature that is referred to.
=== Theory of semantic shadows ===
=== Limitation of power under the theory of constitutional state ===
The author believes that sometimes there is more to what is said than the speaker's intention. For example, we can understand from the tone of the utterance that the speaker is angry. These meanings are not expressed in words and sometimes the speaker does not even intend to express them; and they are ‘implied’. Hadavi calls such implications as the shadows of the meaning and sees them as different from the literal or figurative meaning of words. Thus, if the speaker intends only the literal or figurative meaning, then there will be a contrast between this meaning and the shadows of the meaning of the utterance (pp. 107-109). Now, if the knowledge of interpretation of a text is to discover the literal or figurative meaning of the speaker, then it is called the act of comprehension or interpretation; and if it is to discover the semantic shadows of an utterance, then it is called exegesis or inner aspects (p. 111). In many cases, hermeneutic issues are concerned with semantic shadows, which is different from discovering speaker’s intention.
Kadivar considers the theory of constitutional state with the permission and supervision of jurists with its two readings (legitimate and constitutional) to be the fruit of the constitutional revolution and in response to the questions and demands raised at that time (pp. 112-115). The most prominent feature is restricting the power by the constitution and the separation of powers (p. 112). According to him, These two interpretations according to the constitutional state  have the commonalities and differences.  Both of them acknowledge the maintaining the principles of religion, Islamic splendor, observance of justice, consultation and performing the state in the occultation era. However, they differ in the way of managing public affairs during absence, the relationship between law and legislation and the perception of equality and freedom. (p. 118-117)
=== Hermeneutics and the different role of time in jurisprudence ===
The author summarizes the principles of this theory based on the opinions of Mirza Naeeni as follows: (a) taking the foundations of the constitutional state from the book of God and Sunnah; (b) maintaining internal systems and protection from foreign interference by the constitutional state; (c) managing accounting affairs by competent authorities with the permission of jurists; (d) drafting a constitution; (e) monitoring the performance of the state by the parliament; (f) taking charge of unwritten affairs in consultation with the people's intellectuals; and (g) observing equality and freedom (p. 119-121).
After examining various schools of phenomenology and hermeneutics, the author notes that while issues in these schools seem to be similar to the debate on the role of time and space in ijtihad (raised by Ayatollah Khomeini), there are in fact many differences between them. The latter issue relates to the fact that upon deducing fixed rulings, mujtahids should consider the temporal and spatial state of the affairs; while they should pay attention to specifics of the situation and circumstances when they are to deduce variable rulings. This does not mean that a mujtahid's understanding is necessarily dependent on tradition or cultural and historical conditions. Moreover, the proposition “a scholar must have knowledge of his time, means that an Islamic jurist must be aware of the social conditions and cultural issues of his time. It is actually about what “should be” not what it “is”; so it has nothing to do with forcing Fiqh to be understood within the culture of a specific time (pp. 227-228).
=== People's guardianship over each other in the theory of people's caliphate with the supervision of authority ===
=== Sufficiency of the act and the correctness of the Faqih's understanding ===
The theory of people's guardianship under the supervision of authority has been introduced as the final opinion of Seyyed Muhammad Baqir Sadr, which is explained in Al-Islam Yaqoud al-Hayyat (p. 129). In this theory, man is free from the sovereignty and dominion of other than God and has ruled over his own destination (pp. 129-130). Accordingly, based on the rule of consultation and guardianship, people will exercise sovereignty over each other equally (pp. 129-130), and they will monitor these acts of guardianship and sovereignty in terms of compliance with Islamic regulations. (pp. 129-134). In this theory, apart from the role of the people, authority plays an essential role in political life (p. 136) and that women, like men, share in the actions of guardianship. Authority is more supervisory than executive. (p. 139)
Shia jurists believe that if a mujtahid's fatwa is changed, the previous actions of the mujtahid and his followers performed according to the previous fatwa are sufficient (causes exemption from a duty). This does not mean that both deductions of Mujtahid were correct and in accordance with reality; as we are only talking about ijza’ and removal of obligations, not the conformity of the jurist’s perception to reality.
=== The possibility of benefiting from human experiences in the theory of the selective guardianship of constrained jurist ===
=== Differences between classical hermeneutics and Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) ===
The author of the book considers the theory of the selective guardianship of the jurist as the first attempt of the jurists of the Qom seminary regarding the state based on divine-popular legitimacy and is a combination of the traditional theory of the authority of the jurist and national sovereignty. (p. 141). In Derasat fi Velayat al-Faqih by Hossein Ali Montazeri the following issues have been discussed: (a) the jurisprudence of the Islamic ruler; (b) electing the ruler by the people; and (c) restricting the powers of the ruler to the constitution. (pp. 148-149)
After analyzing the views of Eric Hirsch, the author explains that this hermeneutic theory is in many ways similar to the theory of text interpretation in the tradition of Islamic Jurisprudence. However, differences between the two theories, in his opinion, make us not consider them completely the same. For example, Hirsch's theory equates the 'meaning of utterance' with the 'author's intention'. This is despite the fact that the speaker can say that 'my intention’ is different from 'the meaning of my words'. Contrary to Hirsch's view, Usul al-Fiqh solves this problem by distinguishing between 'imagined signified’ and 'serious intention', and even between 'intended meaning of a word' and 'understood meaning of it' (p. 256). The author further explains that these distinctions in Usul al-Fiqh help to resolve the contradictions in Hirsch's definition of understanding  and interpretation (pp. 261-286).
According to Kadivar, in this theory, the unelected jurist does not have actual guardianship, and more rights have been predicted for the people than in the theory of Naeeni and Sadr. Human experience can be used to manage the society in different time and place conditions, and finally the Islam of the state will be ensured by observing the conditions of the Islamic ruler. (p. 158)
=== More perfect interpretation versus hermeneutics ===
=== Restricting the authority of jurists in the theory of Islamic elected state ===
In his final evaluation of hermeneutics, the author says that a text has final meaning which is intended by the speaker or author. There must also be a connection between the speaker's meaning and the words he uses, the concept for which those words are used, or the implicit meaning intended for those words. A correct interpretation is one that allows us to discover the intended meaning of the speaker, even if it is not fully grasped. Therefore, there are complete interpretations and more complete interpretations and there can be a wide variety of interpretations that are correct but incomplete compared to others, especially in case of the Quran which is the word of the Omniscient God, whose words carry such broad meaning that we can only take advantage according to our own capacity (p. 287).
The theory of Islamic elected state was presented by three Iraqi and Lebanese jurists, Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Sadr, Mohammad Javad Mughniyeh and Mohammad Mahdi Shams Al-din. (p. 159). According to Mohsen Kadivar, this theory does not give any special political privileges to the jurists and their duties are limited to judging and calling to good. Also, this theory of the Islamic state based on direct divine legitimacy is specific to the time of the infallible. According to him, in this theory, the management of political affairs during occultation is left to the people themselves. To be sure, the fixed rules of Sharia must be observed and the changing rules must not be inconsistent with the fixed rules. Finally, this theory considers the form of the Islamic state to be a council, and its being Islamic is due to the Islamic laws. (p.173-174)
=== Contraction and expansion of Sharia law ===
=== The impact of jurisprudential rules of ownership and representation on the political life of society ===
Following the views of Abd al-Karim Soroush, the author tries to answer the question of whether religious understanding is constantly changing and whether this change is an evolutionary process or not. Hadavi rejects the evolution of human knowledge in the real sense of the word. According to him, knowledge is used in two senses: the first is the sets of propositions that constitute the whole body of science, and the second refers to each proposition or, according to the author's interpretation, each piece of knowledge. He adopts a cumulative approach to knowledge and believes that change is only possible by increasing knowledge within the whole body of science and correcting past mistakes. Therefore, what can be said about the whole body of science cannot be said about its propositions. Science progresses cumulatively, but each piece of 'knowledge' does not evolve itself. Therefore, if the 'evolution of knowledge' means that each piece of knowledge converges to the truth, this is invalid; since knowledge might be either true or false and it is not a matter of doubt. Moreover, if the theory implies a qualitative change in human understanding of things like religion, it is a vague statement that cannot be properly understood or criticized. Therefore, in his view, in addition to its vague wording, the progression of human knowledge in the theory of the contraction and expansion of sharia law is unacceptable (pp. 350-370).
The theory of the representation of common private owners regarding the state in Shiite jurisprudence was presented by Mahdi Haeri Yazdi in his book Wisdom and Government (p. 175). The establishing political legitimacy on the jurisprudential rule of ownership and the issue of choice based on the jurisprudential rule of representation, and finally specifying the place of religion and jurisprudence in the politics and planning of society have been reviewed. (p. 175)
== Evaluation ==
== Criticism and evaluation of the book ==
Hadavi Tehrani discusses theological issues carefully in this work. This precision, together with the logical classification of the issues, the detailed explanations in each chapter, and the clear statements of the author, make the work accessible in this field and still accessible 25 years after its first publication (up to the publication of this preface).  
After its publication, the book Theories of State in Shiite Jurisprudence was criticized and evaluated by some political jurisprudence researchers, including Seyyed Sadeq Haqiqat. According to him, the prominent feature of the book is that for the first time, it has comprehensively classified the theories of Shiite political jurisprudence. Moreover, by distinguishing between the principles, foundations, and interpretations, it has made possible a precise understanding of the theories, and it has shown well that there is only one reading in Shiite jurisprudence. <ref>Haqiqat, "Examination and criticism of state theories in Shiite jurisprudence", p. 181.</ref>. Of course, according to him, this book collects the theories of sovereignty or the foundations of legitimacy, not the state theories. <ref>Haqiqat, "Examination and criticism of the state theories in Shiite jurisprudence", p. 182.</ref>. Another point is that the book is neither analytical nor critical in the strict sense, but the level of this writing is description and classification. The other point is that the theories presented are in the field of political thought, not only in political jurisprudence.<ref>Haqiqat, "Examination and criticism of state theories in Shiite jurisprudence", p. 182.</ref>. The lack of comprehensiveness in collecting theories related to the state is another criticism that has been made to the book.<ref>Haqiqat, "Examination and criticism of state theories in Shiite jurisprudence", p. 183.</ref>.
In any case, Hadavi does not seem to have given an adequate and detailed account of the debates of six Hermeneutic philosophers and phenomenologists, even though almost half of the book discusses about hermeneutics. The references to secondary sources also contribute to this problem. Nevertheless, writing a book on such a topic and numerous references to the works of English scholars is an indication of the great effort made by the author. Thus, at the time of its publication (the 1970s), this book's account of hermeneutics could have served as a window through which many scholars, students and researchers in the fields of Fiqh and theology could have become familiar with these issues. However, with the passage of time and a wide array of research conducted on this issue and many comprehensive Persian works on Hermeneutics, a significant part of this book seems to have lost its scholarly significance. This could largely be compensated for by the publication of new editions.
Hamze Ali Vahidimanesh, in his review of the book Theories of State in Shiite Jurisprudence, believes that this book ignored the common positions of the jurists on the issue of guardianship of the Islamic Jurist and tried to highlight the differences.<ref>Vahidimanesh, "Criticism on the book on state  theories in Shiite jurisprudence", p. 180.</ref>. He did not take into account the works of theoreticians and studied only a part of the works that would satisfy his goals.<ref>Vahidimanesh, "Criticism on the book of State theories in Shiite jurisprudence", p. 210.</ref>.
 
== References ==
This work is also introduced in monthly book of Mah-e Din in its May issue of 2009. <ref>See the book Theological Foundations of Ijtihad in the deduction of the Holy Quran, Reza Gholami, Kitab Mah-e Din, April 26, 2010. [https://quran.isca.ac.ir/fa/Attachment/ArticleFile/16622.pdf Article link]  </ref>.
   
* Haqiqat, Seyyed Sadeq, "Examination and Criticism of State Theories in Shiite Jurisprudence", Political Science Quarterly, No. 48, 2008.
*      Vahidimanesh, Hamze Ali, "Criticism of the book State theoriesin Shiite Jurisprudence", Islamic State Quarterly, Year 11, Number 3, 2005.
== Footnote ==
== Footnote ==
[[fa:نظریه‌های دولت در فقه شیعه (کتاب)]]
[[fa:مبانی کلامی اجتهاد در برداشت از قرآن کریم (کتاب)]]
[[category:Books on Political Fiqh in Persian]]
[[category:Books on the Fundamentals of Contemporary Fiqh]]
[[category:Books by Mohsen Kadivar]]
[[category:Books by Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani]]

Revision as of 13:11, 5 May 2025

By Muhammad Ali Sultan Moradi

  • digest

“The theological foundations of ijtihad in deduction from the Holy Quran” by Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani examines the theological foundations used by Islamic jurists in the process of deduction from the Holy Quran. Foundations of issuance involve beliefs that must be initially acknowledged by the Islamic jurist (Faqih) in the process of ijtihad, namely that the Quran was revealed by God, and that it is free from any distortion and errors. To explain foundations of issuance, the author states that Faqih needs to acknowledge that words used by God in the Quran convey specific meanings and they are expressed in a way that can be generally understood by all. Hence, jurisprudential interpretation is based on the existence of an ultimate meaning of the text that must be discovered through the jurisprudential method. The author rejects many of the views put forward in hermeneutics. Therefore, most of the study is devoted to a discussion of hermeneutics, hermeneutical views, and the relationship between hermeneutics and the theological foundations of Fiqh. Among other issues discussed in the book are the language of religion, the theoretical expansion and contraction of the Sharia law, and the all-inclusive nature of religion. According to Hadavi, theory of expansion and contraction of the Sharia law is partly self-defeating. He also rejects the progression of human knowledge as advocated in the theory of expansion and contraction of sharia law.

Short introduction

“The theological foundations of ijtihad in deduction from the Holy Quran” [1], is the first volume of a three-volume series on the general theme of theological foundations of ijtihad. According to the author, the second volume deals with the foundations of ijtihad in the understanding of the Sunnah, while Volume 3 deals with the theological foundations of ijtihad in the application of reason. Volumes 2 and 3 were never published. This book is a compilation of lectures of Mahdi Hadavi which was first published in Qom, 1998. It is also the selected book in the first seminary book of the year in Qom.

Author

Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani is a Shia cleric born in 1961 and one of the professors of the Qom Seminary. He studied electronic engineering at Sharif University of Technology before entering the Qom Seminary. Then, he studied advanced level courses of Fiqh and Usul under eminent figures such as Ayatollah Tabrizi, Vahid Khorasani, Makarem Sirazi, Shahroudi and Haeri. Ayatollah Sobhani considers Hadavi to be the founder of new knowledge of the theological foundations of Ijtihad [2]. Hadavi Therani is the author of many books in the fields of Fiqh, law, Rijal and theology. Among his books are: Tahrir al- Maqal Fi Kulliat ‘ilm al- Rijal; Reflections on the Science of principles of Fiqh; Wilayat Fiqhih: Principles, proofs and jurisdiction; Governance and Religion; New Covenants in Islamic Fiqh; The School and the Islamic Economic System, and The Islamic Economic System in General in the Qur'an. He is also the founder of Rawaq Hikmat Institute, [3] Islam Quest [4] and Islampedia Encyclopedia [5].

Organization of the book

This publication is divided into two main sections: ‘Foundations of issuance’ and evidentiary proofs'. The former section comprises less than a quarter of the work and deals with three foundations:

  1. the authenticity of the Quran, i.e. that the Quran with all its content, words and arrangement is revealed by God.
  2. That the Quran is free from any distortion, i.e.the Quran is in the same state today as it was at the early Islamic period and is not distorted.
  3. The final justification is that the divine revelation is free from any errors. This means that the divine knowledge revealed to Prophet Muhammad was protected against any error during the process of reception and transmission.

The latter section is divided into four parts:

  1. Particular meanings are intended by God’s words in the Quran. Accordingly, the claim made by some hermeneutic thinkers that understanding the text of the Quran is related to specific contexts and that its meaning is not unique cannot be accepted. The act of ijtihad is based on the jurists' theological belief that there is a specific and unique meaning behind the words of the Quran that must be discovered through interpretation.
  3. The divine intention, at least in case of secondary rules, is expressed using a general method of understanding rather than symbolic or allegorical expressions.
  5. When the verses of the Quran were revealed, it was possible for common people to understand them. If a jurist now holds a view contrary to the perception of the people at the time of revelation, he cannot justify his perception by stating that it is relevant to our time and that the previous perception made sense in the old days. Rather, they say that the previous perception was wrong and the new one is correct.
  6. Divine decrees are universal and apply to all ages except those proved to be abrogated or changed.

Since the author believes that many fundamentals of hermeneutics contradict the theological foundations of the jurists for deduction from the Quran, he devotes a large part of the book to explaining hermeneutics and views of thinkers such as Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, Gadamer and Hirsch are explained in detail and criticized. It also continues to analyze the theory of expansion and contraction of sharia law and concludes with the analysis of the stability and change in divine commands.

Content Statement

This book is an introduction to the relationship between theology and Fiqh. As such, the author does not attempt to convey his personal views, rather directs his attention to presenting a list of theological foundations commonly found in Shia Fiqh. The book is primarily to explain that two classes of theological proofs underlie the deduction of religious decrees in Fiqh: Foundations of issuance and evidentiary proofs. The focus of the book is primarily on explaining western philosophers’ views on interpretation of a text. Therefore, the author explains and criticizes the theories of hermeneutic thinkers Karl Popper and Abd al-karim Soroush. Below are some of the author's claims and arguments.

Miracles, the best reason for revelation

The author believes that the best way to prove that the Quran was revealed by God is to prove the miraculous nature of the Quran; because proving the revelatory nature of the Quran using its own verses would be a circular and invalid reasoning, and using traditions of the Infallible would require some more intellectual proofs besides being lengthy. Therefore, he moves on to reasons for proving the miraculous nature of the Quran and examines rhetorical and numerical miracles in the Quran, the internal harmony of the content of the Quran, hidden news, new teachings of the Quran compared to the time of its revelation, the fact that the content of the Quran has never been refuted, etc. (48- 59).

Theory of semantic shadows

The author believes that sometimes there is more to what is said than the speaker's intention. For example, we can understand from the tone of the utterance that the speaker is angry. These meanings are not expressed in words and sometimes the speaker does not even intend to express them; and they are ‘implied’. Hadavi calls such implications as the shadows of the meaning and sees them as different from the literal or figurative meaning of words. Thus, if the speaker intends only the literal or figurative meaning, then there will be a contrast between this meaning and the shadows of the meaning of the utterance (pp. 107-109). Now, if the knowledge of interpretation of a text is to discover the literal or figurative meaning of the speaker, then it is called the act of comprehension or interpretation; and if it is to discover the semantic shadows of an utterance, then it is called exegesis or inner aspects (p. 111). In many cases, hermeneutic issues are concerned with semantic shadows, which is different from discovering speaker’s intention.

Hermeneutics and the different role of time in jurisprudence

After examining various schools of phenomenology and hermeneutics, the author notes that while issues in these schools seem to be similar to the debate on the role of time and space in ijtihad (raised by Ayatollah Khomeini), there are in fact many differences between them. The latter issue relates to the fact that upon deducing fixed rulings, mujtahids should consider the temporal and spatial state of the affairs; while they should pay attention to specifics of the situation and circumstances when they are to deduce variable rulings. This does not mean that a mujtahid's understanding is necessarily dependent on tradition or cultural and historical conditions. Moreover, the proposition “a scholar must have knowledge of his time, means that an Islamic jurist must be aware of the social conditions and cultural issues of his time. It is actually about what “should be” not what it “is”; so it has nothing to do with forcing Fiqh to be understood within the culture of a specific time (pp. 227-228).

Sufficiency of the act and the correctness of the Faqih's understanding

Shia jurists believe that if a mujtahid's fatwa is changed, the previous actions of the mujtahid and his followers performed according to the previous fatwa are sufficient (causes exemption from a duty). This does not mean that both deductions of Mujtahid were correct and in accordance with reality; as we are only talking about ijza’ and removal of obligations, not the conformity of the jurist’s perception to reality.

Differences between classical hermeneutics and Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh)

After analyzing the views of Eric Hirsch, the author explains that this hermeneutic theory is in many ways similar to the theory of text interpretation in the tradition of Islamic Jurisprudence. However, differences between the two theories, in his opinion, make us not consider them completely the same. For example, Hirsch's theory equates the 'meaning of utterance' with the 'author's intention'. This is despite the fact that the speaker can say that 'my intention’ is different from 'the meaning of my words'. Contrary to Hirsch's view, Usul al-Fiqh solves this problem by distinguishing between 'imagined signified’ and 'serious intention', and even between 'intended meaning of a word' and 'understood meaning of it' (p. 256). The author further explains that these distinctions in Usul al-Fiqh help to resolve the contradictions in Hirsch's definition of understanding and interpretation (pp. 261-286).

More perfect interpretation versus hermeneutics

In his final evaluation of hermeneutics, the author says that a text has final meaning which is intended by the speaker or author. There must also be a connection between the speaker's meaning and the words he uses, the concept for which those words are used, or the implicit meaning intended for those words. A correct interpretation is one that allows us to discover the intended meaning of the speaker, even if it is not fully grasped. Therefore, there are complete interpretations and more complete interpretations and there can be a wide variety of interpretations that are correct but incomplete compared to others, especially in case of the Quran which is the word of the Omniscient God, whose words carry such broad meaning that we can only take advantage according to our own capacity (p. 287).

Contraction and expansion of Sharia law

Following the views of Abd al-Karim Soroush, the author tries to answer the question of whether religious understanding is constantly changing and whether this change is an evolutionary process or not. Hadavi rejects the evolution of human knowledge in the real sense of the word. According to him, knowledge is used in two senses: the first is the sets of propositions that constitute the whole body of science, and the second refers to each proposition or, according to the author's interpretation, each piece of knowledge. He adopts a cumulative approach to knowledge and believes that change is only possible by increasing knowledge within the whole body of science and correcting past mistakes. Therefore, what can be said about the whole body of science cannot be said about its propositions. Science progresses cumulatively, but each piece of 'knowledge' does not evolve itself. Therefore, if the 'evolution of knowledge' means that each piece of knowledge converges to the truth, this is invalid; since knowledge might be either true or false and it is not a matter of doubt. Moreover, if the theory implies a qualitative change in human understanding of things like religion, it is a vague statement that cannot be properly understood or criticized. Therefore, in his view, in addition to its vague wording, the progression of human knowledge in the theory of the contraction and expansion of sharia law is unacceptable (pp. 350-370).

Evaluation

Hadavi Tehrani discusses theological issues carefully in this work. This precision, together with the logical classification of the issues, the detailed explanations in each chapter, and the clear statements of the author, make the work accessible in this field and still accessible 25 years after its first publication (up to the publication of this preface). In any case, Hadavi does not seem to have given an adequate and detailed account of the debates of six Hermeneutic philosophers and phenomenologists, even though almost half of the book discusses about hermeneutics. The references to secondary sources also contribute to this problem. Nevertheless, writing a book on such a topic and numerous references to the works of English scholars is an indication of the great effort made by the author. Thus, at the time of its publication (the 1970s), this book's account of hermeneutics could have served as a window through which many scholars, students and researchers in the fields of Fiqh and theology could have become familiar with these issues. However, with the passage of time and a wide array of research conducted on this issue and many comprehensive Persian works on Hermeneutics, a significant part of this book seems to have lost its scholarly significance. This could largely be compensated for by the publication of new editions.

This work is also introduced in monthly book of Mah-e Din in its May issue of 2009. [6].

Footnote

  1. ↑ Book page in National Library Database
  2. ↑ Mehdi Hadavi Tehrani's page in Wikinoor
  3. ↑ Website of Rawaq Hekmat Institute
  4. ↑ Islam Quest Database
  5. ↑ Islampedia encyclopedia database
  6. ↑ See the book Theological Foundations of Ijtihad in the deduction of the Holy Quran, Reza Gholami, Kitab Mah-e Din, April 26, 2010. Article link
Retrieved from "https://ency.feqhemoaser.com/en/index.php?title=User:Sarfipour&oldid=113"