In this academic paper, the laws of imitation in Islam are studied closely, examining the meaning of imitation, both linguistically and according to Sharia. Also, it discussed when imitation is allowed and when it is forbidden by religious scholars. Furthermore, the study illustrated when the public must resort to independent reasoning instead of imitating a...Read More

Islamic jurisprudence has developed a special utilitarian method for both understanding Shari’a and applying it in unprecedented situations. The concept of Maslaha is the cornerstone of Islamic legal philosophy for three reasons: (1) the close link between Maslaha and religious Islamic texts, (2) the methodology of categorizing Maslaha is one of the main subjects of...Read More

David Vishanoff’s The Formation of Islamic Hermeneutics is a significantcontribution to the study of Islamic legal theory and legal hermeneutics. Vishanoff’smain objective is to examine how Sunni legal hermeneutics becamea systematic and institutional discipline. For this purpose, he strives to restorethe reception and development of al-Shafi‘i’s (d. 820) legal hermeneutics during the pre-classical period (ninth...Read More

This book surveys the development of literal meaning and literalism in Islam and Islamic legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) in particular. The term literal meaning refers to the meaning that a text is believed to hold “in itself” by virtue of the sound-meaning relationships of words that were “coined” (waḍ‘) at some point in time. Although...Read More