Chapter NO.

Shah Wali- Allāh on Jurisprudence and Maqaṣid Shari ‘ah

Meaning and Early Development of Islamic Jurisprudence: A brief introduction

The Arabic term fiqh is being used for Islamic jurisprudence which means understanding of
the things.1 Holy Qur’an also uses the same term for religious understanding of Islam. 2
Hence, in this way, during the early inception of Islam, the term fiqh was used in a broad
sense which means general understanding of the things. In broader sense, fiqh is an approach
to comprehend the Shari ‘ah, it is a way to understand the Shari’ah, or in other words it is an
interpretation of Islam. In this sense, Islamic jurisprudence covers two aspects of
comprehension of Islamic teachings; primarily it aims to understand the explicit injunctions
of Qur’an, secondly Islamic jurisprudence has an abundant role on inferring solutions from
basic sources of Islam to those issues where Qur’an and Sunnah keep silence, rather it is the
main function of jurisprudence. Islamic teachings address human society, human nature and
human needs, as well as it is of an eternal nature, it is for all the times and for the whole
humanity. Human society is always dynamic it changes from time to time, so Islamic
teachings keep scope for fulfilling the needs of human society for every time. There is a close
relation between Shari’ah and humanity, it is meant for humanity. It always talks according to
the human nature. So, to comprehend it in the context of human nature, it is called fiqh. Allah
have created human beings with a purpose, and have assigned with duties encompassing all
the fields of life. However, along with it, Allah have made arrangements for human guidance
and have provided guiding principles through revealed teachings by the hands of his chosen
persons which are known as Prophets in order to live a God-oriented and pious life. In these
guiding principles, Allah have explicitly laid down injunctions, but some things have left up
to human understanding, so they have to understand them in the light of Qur’an and sunnah.
This understanding of Islam is known as fiqh or jurisprudence. So, in this sense jurisprudence
is not something separate or different from Qur’an and Sunnah. That is why it was compiled
very keenly by our predecessor of high caliber and rich mentality.3

1
Abul Faḍl Mawlana ‘Abdul Ḥafīz Ribyālvī, Miṣbāḥ-ul-Lughāt (Arabic to Urdu dictionary),
Urdu Bazar Lahore, 1999, p. 614 (see also Al-Mawarid Qamūs, Arabic to Eng. Dictionary by
Dr. Rohi Baal Baki, p 831)
2
Al-Qur’an Tawaba 9:122
3
Dr. Maḥmūd Aḥmad Ghāzi, Maḥāḍirāt-i-Shari ‘ah, Urdu Bazar Lahore, 2005, pp. 12-13
Moreover, Islamic jurisprudence is different from other laws of the world. Fundamentally it
is based on revealed teachings and principles, other laws are based on human understanding.
Islamic jurisprudence was compiled on the bases of Qur’an and Sunnah, other laws are free
from human interference. Islamic jurisprudence addresses human society as a whole. It lays
down principles ranging from individual level to collective level, from society level to
international level from political level to economic level. It guides about social issues like
marriage, divorce, division of inheritance, upbringing of children, orphans, widows,
distressed, stranded people, etc. It talks about human values, morality, it differentiates
between legal and illegal. Therefore, Islamic jurisprudence highlights the issues of all facets
of human society. Moreover, Islamic jurisprudence keeps scope to address the issues of all
times, which shows its immortality. On the contrary, other laws of the world either addresses
human society partially or it is valid up to specific time. This was the fact that Islamic
jurisprudence gained much popularity within a short period. Here are few unique points to
remember about Islamic law The initial phase of revelation was started at Makkah, and
depending upon the demands of Islam and political system of the Muslims, Allah revealed
some partial injunctions related to worship, however, later on when Muslims migrated
towards Madinah, and Muslims established an Islamic socio-political system, then Islamic
injunctions were revealed fully. Thereafter, when Islamic boundaries widened to other
countries, Islamic jurisprudence got developed and expanded furthermore. Moreover, since
Islam is a cosmopolitan ideology, it is for all times, so, Holy Qur’an lays down general
principles, it was the task of jurisprudence to explain and interpret these principles according
to the dynamic nature of the society and needs of the humans. Hence, Islamic jurisprudence
gone through various developmental phases, and became a universal and broadest law.
Whenever and wherever Muslims established their Muslim society, there they took help from
Qur’an and Sunnah through ijtihād and had their own way of life.4

Moreover, Islamic jurisprudence being an outcome of revelation cares the benefits of whole
humankind. It guides human intellect properly. Other laws, being a human comprehension, is
an incomplete activity. It could not encompass all the facets of human society. Other laws
frequently create class-based society, however Islamic jurisprudence provides such
mechanism which creates a classless society based on social justice.5

4
Ibid, pp. 17-21
5
Ibid, pp. 26-28
So, it is clear that, Islamic jurisprudence was outcome of comprehension of basic sources of
the Islam. However, unfortunately some western non-Muslim scholars could not understand
the nature, historical background and the sources of Islamic jurisprudence, and consequently,
they considered that there was an infiltration of the Jewish law and Roman law. No doubt that
during the early inception of Islam, these two laws were largely prevelant in the Arabian
society, yet the constant arrival of the revelation, the issues arising among the Muslims were
solved through this revelation, and after strengthening the Muslim population, and more
particularly after the establishment of Muslim political power at Madinah, the whole Muslim
religious, social, economic and political dimensions were ruled according to Quranic
principles.6

Therefore, taking into consideration the above-mentioned importance of jurisprudence in

human society, it was inevitable to compile it properly in the light of Qur’an and Sunnah.
However, during the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the term fiqh being used as a
complete understanding of the religious teachings. It was not compiled during that time. But
after the demise of Prophet (SAW), Islamic jurisprudence, due to closing of revelation,
expansion of Muslim empire, new conversion, emergence of various socio-political and
economic issues, it became utmost necessary to meet the novel challenges and needs of the
Muslims society. For that very reason, companions, who were at different places, kept Qur’an
and Sunnah in front to solve the issues, and in case of non-availability of solution to any
issue, they exercised their intellectual capacity to sought out the issue in the light of these two
basic sources of the Islam. So, in this way Islamic jurisprudence emerged in a compiled form
as a separate Islamic religious science. Since, Islamic jurisprudence aims to meet the needs of
the Muslim society of all the aspects, therefore, it gone through a gradual process. In the
initial period, Islamic jurisprudence was founded during the life time of Prophet (SAW), then
it was established during pious caliphate, then during Umayyad period, it was emerging
gradually, then during Abbasid period it was on its peak and also during this period it
consolidated more till 13th century of CE., and then Islamic jurisprudence gone through
stagnation and complete declination. This period ranges from the fall of Baghdad on 1258
CE, and this stage of jurisprudence continues constantly, though scholars talked about the
opining of free thinking on religious matters, but brought no fruitful results.7

Early Development of Islamic jurisprudence

6
Duncan Black Macdonald, Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and
Constitutional Theory, Printing and Book Binding Company New York, 1903, pp. 67-68
During the life time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), revelation was the only pure and
unquestionable mechanism to solve the problems of the Muslims. Holy Qur’an was revealed
as general instruction and Prophetic Sunnah was explained it. This period covers from 609
CE to 632 CE.8 This period further covers two periods: period of Makkah and period of
Madinah. During the period of Makkah, Prophet was receiving revelation about the basic
beliefs of the Islam and about the invitation of non-Muslims towards Islam. Subsequently,
Prophet migrated to Madinah along with his companions on the order of Allah. Now in
Madinah, Muslims emerged as a political power, they had their own Muslim state. Moreover,
there was conversion of non-Muslims at a large scale. Thus, here in Madinah, Prophet started
to receive revelations about the various issues of legal, political, social, and economic level.
So, in this way, during the early period of Islam, direct revelation was the only and unique
source of Muslim religious, political, social, and economic system. Moreover, during the time
of Prophet, the term fiqh was being used as general comprehension of Islam, hence, during
9
that time it was not compiled. Although Prophet himself was used to exercise Ijtehād but
still revelation was final source to determine things. Furthermore, during his time, Islamic
boundaries were no so much expanded as it was during caliphate, and the primary invitees
were Arabs, so, there was no need of ijtehād.10

Jurisprudence during Pious Caliphate

After the demise of Prophet, the revelation was close forever now there was no scope of any
direct revelation. So, immediately after the demise of Prophet, there was an urgent need to
have a central force to run the Islamic state according to Qur’anic injunctions, therefore,
companions unanimously elected Hadrat Abu Bakr (RA) as a caliph of the Muslims. After
taking the responsibility, he focused on the affairs of the state keenly, however, during his
time because of emergence of some indigenous issues, did not allow him to go beyond the
Arab boundaries. But during the subsequent third caliphs, there was an immense expansion in
the Islamic state, especially during the second caliph Hadrat ‘Umar (RA). Therefore, due to
this expansion, there were various novel issues ranging from religious level to political level,
7
Abu Amīnah Bilal Philips, The Evolution of Fiqh (Islamic Law & The Madh-habs),
International Islamic Publishing House, Dt. Not available, p. 14
8
Ibid, pp. 15-16
9
Ibid, pp. 19-20
10
Justice Dr. Tanzīl-ur-Rahmān, Fiqh-i-Islami ka Tārīkhi Irtiqā, Rahulpndi, Pakistan, 1983,
p. 18
and from economic level to civilizational level. For the solution of these issues, companions
primarily consulted the basic source of the Islam, however in case of absence of any solution
in these sources, companions would exercise an independent thought within boarders of
Qur’an and Sunnah. In this sense there was an immense use of Ijtehād during the time of
companions.11

Moreover, during this stage, Ijma12 and Qiyas13 were also exercised as the sources of Islam
next to Qur’an and Sunnah. All the companions either would resolve issues through mutual
consensus, especially the companions of high caliber and rich knowledge who had spent most
of the time in the company of Prophet, they were commonly deciding issues. These men of
insight were also used their mental faculties to comprehend the things. Hadrat Abu Bakr was
appointed as the caliph through consensus. Though there were differences among the
companions too, but it was seldom and in partial issues. However, all the major issues were
resolved through a common decision. Hence, it was the period of establishment of the Islamic
jurisprudence.14

Jurisprudence during Tab ‘in15

The immediate successors of the companions were Tab ‘in. Actually this period of Islamic
jurisprudence starts from the establishment of Umayyad kingdom and lasts till the end of this
kingdom. During this time, the companions went to different places in order to disseminate
the Islamic teachings. During this period ijtehād and Qiyas was also used as source of Islam.
Since, during this time, due to the expansion of Islamic boundaries, there was an inclination
of non-Muslims towards Islam who were completely different in terms of social life,
economy, and other things of the same nature, so, in order to meet the challenges of these
new people, there was an extensive use of Ijtehād. Perhaps this was the reason that, later on
we saw various differences among Tab ‘in on the basis of jurisprudence. During the time of
companions, there were two types of the jurists; some were those who were understanding

11
Ibid, pp. 21-22
12
Mutual consensus among the people
13
Analogical deduction
14
Mawlana Khalid Saifullah Raḥmani, Fiqh Islami: Tawdveen wo T ‘āruf, Deoband
Srahnpur (UP), 2008, pp. 75-79
15
Taba ‘in are those who saw the companions of Prophet and meet him and received
religious knowledge from him.
the appreant meaning of the hadith, and some were those who were considering the
circumstances of the people and they also had an eye on the public welfare. This trend of
comprehending the Islamic teachings continued during the time of Tab ‘in. Those jurists who
were giving preference to the appreant meaning of the hadith came to be known as Aṣḥāb al-
Hadith, and those jurists who were considering the circumstance of the people, they came to
be known as Aṣḥāb al-Rai’. During this period Islamic jurisprudence was in the process of
building.16

Subsequently, Islamic jurisprudence was developed as a separate Islamic field. This was the
period when, various jurisprudential schools came in to being. This period saw the emergence
of various philosophical issue due to the translation of Greek works into Arabic language.
This period covers the period of Abbasid kingdom i.e., from 750 CE onwards. The great book
of Imam Malik Mawatta was compiled during this period. Moreover, during this period there
was a huge support of the state to the Muslims educational system and the circle of learning
was expanding. On the other hand, during this time the Aḥādīth of Prophet were also
compiled, hence it helped the jurists to comprehend more and more issues, and as a result
jurisprudence was also started to compile both in terms of principles of Islamic jurisprudence
and direct issues. Kitab al-Kharaj of Imam Abu Yousuf and Kitab al-Umm of Imam Shaf ‘I
are two great works of this time.17

Then it was the time when Islamic jurisprudence developed furthermore consolidated its
roots. During this time due to the various changes at all the aspects of the society and
different demands of the time at different situations, depending upon the situational role of
the Islamic teachings, various new terms of Islamic rulings came into being like farḍ (kifaya
and ‘ain) wajib, Sunnah (mokada and ghair mokada), mundub, mustahab. During this time,
Islamic jurisprudence became a dominant aspect of the Islamic teachings. Although there
were multiple schools of jurisprudence, however, during this time four main schools of
thought established in Suni Muslim world. Hanafi school, Maliki school, Shaf ‘I school, and
Hambali school of thoughts. Most of the Muslims started to submit their views to these
schools of thought and perhaps it gave rise to the adherence among the Muslims.18
16
Ibid, pp. 82-84
17
Op.cit, Philips pp. 60-65
18
‘Alama Muhammad al-Khaḍri, Tarikh al-Tashr ‘I al-Islami (Urdu trnsl. by Abdul al-Salam
Nadvi entitled as Tarikh-i-Fiqh Islami) Dar-ul Musanifeen Azam Garh UP, Date not
available, pp. 316-319
At the time of fall of Baghdad, Muslims lost their central authority politically they became
weak, however, Muslims were constantly contributing towards Islamic sciences and,
Qur’anic teachings, Aḥādith of Prophet, sayings of the companions and other literary works
aslāf were disseminating to other parts of the Muslim world continuously. Notwithstanding
all this, the trend of taqlīd became a dominant issue among the Muslims, there was a huge
inclination of the Muslims towards taqlīd, which unfortunately became a hurdle in the way of
intellectual development of the Muslims, more particularly this trend did not allow the
flourishment of the jurisprudential aspect of the Islamic teachings. Although ijtehād was also
exercising during this time, but it was confined with in the particular schools of thought.19

Shah Wali-Allah and Islamic Jurisprudence

Shah Wali-Allah says that fiqh entails the meaning of comprehension of Islam according to
Prophetic understanding and the main objective of Islam. Moreover, he says that the
deduction the solution to an issue by men of knowledge through a rich understanding is also
fiqh.20

Shah Walī-Allāh, while talking about the early development of Islamic jurisprudence,
characterizes the Prophetic period as non-discord period. During the early century of Islam,
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was a live icon for the Muslims, and companions would directly
aske to the Prophet about various religious issues. Fundamentally, there was a direct role of
revelation in the Muslim society on one hand, and on the other hand, companions were of
moderate nature, they would not involve in unnecessary issues, and would not ask any
unnecessary questions to the prophet rather they were focusing on the main objective of the
Shari ‘ah. Shah Wali-Allah says that there were some thirteen important issues which were
asked to Prophet by the companions. Like “They ask you about fighting in the scared month.
Say, ‘To fight [in a scared month] is a grave matter...”21 Similarly, another question which
was asked to the Prophet is, “They ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is an impurity, so
keep away from woman during it and do not approach them until they are cleansed….”22
Hence, during this period, the process of revelation and practical life of Prophet’s life were
two basic sources of Islamic teachings, and consequently there was no need to compile fiqh
19
Ibid, pp. 419-420
20
Shah Wali-Allah, Fuyūḍ-al-Ḥarmain (original in Arabic Urdu trnsl. By Prof. Muhammad
Sarwar), Urdu Bazar Karachi, 1414 A.H., pp.333-334
21
Al-Qur’an, Al-Baqra 02: 217
22
Al-Qur’an, Al-Baqra 02: 222
systematically as a distinct Islamic science. 23 However, subsquently, when the boundaries of
Islamic empire widened, Islamic culture encountered with other cultures, and moreover,
none-Muslims having a diverse culture came into the fold of Islam, these reasons led to the
emergence of multi-peculiar issues among the Muslims. The companions would try to solve
these issues through Qur’an and the traditions of Prophet (SAW), but in case of absence of
tradition, they were used their personal efforts. Shah Walī-Allāh says that this was the initial
stage of controversies among the Muslims. Moreover, Shah Walī-Allāh have discussed
multiple reasons behind the emergence of controversies among the Muslims. Primarily, there
were some companions who were not accessible to the sayings of Prophet (SAW), so they
exercised their personal efforts to solve the issues. Similarly, due confusion about a tradition
being authentic or not, they either refer to the tradition or they would exercise their personal
judgement. companions, sometimes could not understand the acts performed by Prophet
(SAW). Lack of comprehension of the traditions constitutes another main reason behind it.
Companions could not determine the actual reason of any order of Prophet, or could not
reconcile the two orders given by lawgiver at two different situations.24

Hence, these reasons led to difference among the companions in jurisprudential issues. And
these differences continued among Taba’in also. Primarily, Taba ‘in tried to follow the easy
way in some issues and followed Sahabah differently and in some issues tried to synthesis
the different opinions of Sahaba. And Taba’in developed different sects at different places.
This was the sectarian phenomenon among the Muslims after Prophet Muhammad (SAW).25

Then Shah Wali-Allah discusses about the differences among the different schools of
thought. Next to Taba ‘in, Tab ‘a Taba ‘in26 took the responsibility of disseminating the
religious teachings of Islam. In the same way Tab ‘a Taba’in learnt from their predecessors
about various issues. Moreover, they collected traditions of Prophet from various scholars at
different places. In cases of different narrations about an issue, they would refer to the
sayings of the companions. Shah Wali-Allah says that Madinah was center of jurists. The
consensus of scholars of Madinah was an authority for the jurists, however, in case of

23
Shah Walī-Allāh, “Al-insāf fi bayan-i-sabab-l-ikhtelāf” (Urdu trnsl. By Mawlana
Muhammad ‘Obaidullah), ‘Ulma Accademy Lahore, 2002, pp. 19-20
24
Ibid. p. 23-29
25
Ibid. p. 30
26
Tab ‘a Taba ‘in are those who saw Taba ‘in, meet them and received religious knowledge
from them
disagreement among the scholars of Madinah, Tab ‘a Taba ‘in would refer to the most
appropriate and authentic opinion or they would refer to the opinion of the majority, or would
refer to the opinion based on speculation. Moreover, they also refer to the sayings of their
predecessors to solve the issues. Shah Wali-Allah says that this was the section of the
scholars who got inspiration of compiling the fiqh from Allah. Imam Malik and Muhammad
bin ‘Abdur al-Rahman bin Abi Zuwaib in Madinah, Ibn Jarīj and Ibn ‘Ainiya in Makkah,
Imām Thawari in Kufa, and Rab ‘I bin al-Ṣabhī in Basra compiled fiqh. Especially Imām
Mālik, while compiling his Mawaṭṭa, preferred the consensus of the people of Madinah. It is
famous about his Mawaṭṭa that Abbasid king Al-Mansur asked Imam Malik to spread
Mawaṭṭa among all the Muslims, and they all must according to this book in jurisprudential
issues, however, Imam Malik did not allow because already Muslims had received traditions
of Prophet. Moreover, Imam Malik was a great scholar of the traditions who were received
by the people of Madinah from Prophet. He was well aware about the sayings of great
companions. Later on, the students of Imam Malik collected his saying and deduced issues
from them. In fact, he had various students who were active in various parts of the Muslim
world. Imam Abu Hanifa mostly followed Ibrahim Naqh ‘I and his contemporaries, and
jurists of Kufa also. Shah Wali-Allah says that that due to the official position of Imam Abu
Yousuf, a student of Imam Abu Hanifa, the Hanafi school of thought spread to Iraq,
Khurasan, and Transoxiana. Similarly, Imam Muhammad was another great student of Imam
Abu Hanifa. He received knowledge about jurisprudence from his teacher and Abu Yousuf
and read Mawaṭṭa from Imam Malik. Imam Muhammad made a comparison of the issues of
his teachers with that of Mawaṭṭa, and in case of difference between, he makes an assessment
that if there is compatibility of companions and Taba ‘in with that of his teacher’s school of
thought, then he acts accordingly, and if he find his teacher’s school of thought contradictory
with authentic tradition or action of majority of the scholars, or finds that his teacher’s
analogical deduction to be weak, then he avoids it and act according to the views of
predecessors which are more preferable. Imam Abu Yousuf and Imam Muhammad also
followed Ibrahim Naqh ‘I and his other contemporaries. In fact, these two students of Imam
Abu Hanifa either disagree with his teacher in his deduction of an issues from the issues of
Ibrahim Naqh ‘I or while preferring an issue from multiple issues of Ibrahim Naqh ‘i. Imam
Muhammad collected the views of all his teachers in his books and all the followers of Imam
Abu Hanifa compiled Hanafi jurisprudence after understanding and deducing various issues,
later on which came to be known as Hanafi Fiqh. In the same way the sect of Imam Yousuf
and Imam Muhammad also came to be known as Hanafi school. Shah Wali-Allah says that,
since Ibrahim Naqh ‘I was common among all the three, therefore, it came to be known as
Hanafi school of thought.

Then Imam Shaf ‘I committed to compile Islamic jurisprudence. Initially he made an

assessment of all the previous schools of thought, and there he found some fabricated
narrations. While compiling jurisprudence, he designed a principle that no unauthentic
tradition would be accepted because he afraid of penetration of innovations and un-Islamic
elements in original Islamic teachings. During the time of Taba ‘in there were many authentic
narrations which were not collected, and hence they were unaware about those narrations.
Because when the scholars of traditions started to compile the traditions, they found that the
number of narrators from companions as well as Taba ‘in were not more than two.
Consequently, these traditions were not reached up to the jurists. In this regard he compiled
Al-Risāla which is first book on the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Imam Shaf ‘I said
that companions and Taba ‘in always used to refer to the traditions of Prophet at any case,
however, in case of nonavilability of authentic narration they would exercise ijtihād.
Whenever they would find an authentic tradition, they immediately review the issue and
prefer the tradition over ijtihād. Moreover, during his time, there were various sayings of the
companions which were prevalent among the companions, and he find some sayings against
the authentic traditions, so he avoided those sayings. Similarly, he saw that sometimes jurists
confuse an explicit ruling of Shari ‘ah with Qiyās27, sometimes they called it Istḥasān28.
Because these things open the door of innovations and one becomes self-oriented rather than
Shari ‘ah. When he saw all these things prevalent in his predecessors, he designed principles
in the light of Qur’an and authentic traditions and many people got benefitted from these
contributions of Imam Shaf ‘I, and later on it became a separate school of thought in the
name of Imam Shaf ‘I. In this regard Islamic these jurists contributed much towards Islami
jurisprudence and compiled it as a separate field of Islamic teachings.29

Notwithstanding this, there was no scope for personal opinion to determine the religious
matter during this time. People were deducing results from basic sources of Islam. During
this time, Muḥadithīn contributed much to accumulate and compile all the narrations of
Prophet and they keenly differentiated authentic and unauthentic narrations in order to make
27
To know the effective cause of any explicit order and to declare this reason as base of the
order
28
To prefer a particular judgment for public good or welfare
29
Ibid, pp. 35-46
people accessible to the primary sources of Islam. Then they turned towards jurisprudence
and analyzed it in the light of Qur’an and Sunnah. They said that it is not permissible to
follow anything other than Qur’an and Sunnah while deciding religious issues. In case of
non-availability of any solution in Qur’an and Sunnah, they would refer to the consensus of
predecessors rather than personal opinion of any jurist, and in case of difference of opinion
among the predecessor, they would either follow a pious person.30

So, these were the methods and principles of compilation of jurisprudence. Shah Wali-Allah
says that Imam Ahmad bin Humble and Ishāq bin Rahwia were two main scholars who
narrated much narrations, and Imam Humble said that a scholar must be well versed in the
Aḥādīth and should be memorizer of a sufficient number narrations to issue any legal
opinion. Subsequently, there was an emergence of other scholars who also contributed much
towards Aḥādīth of Prophet. They further enquired and investigated the Aḥādīth. They
accumulated all the Aḥādīth which were most authentic according to majority of the scholars,
and were base of the different schools of thought. They determined the level each and every
narration. Similarly, they tried to find the chain of all those narrations which did not find by
predecessors. Among them Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Dawūd, and Imam
Tirmīzī were some famous Muḥadithīn. Imam Bukhari accumulated almost six lakh
narrations to compile his Al-Jam ‘a Al-Ṣaḥiḥ. They collected all the authentic narrations, and
differ sound narrations from weak narrations. Moreover, they collected all those narrations
which were base for different schools of thought. In this way it was their kindness on all the
subsequent Muslims in the case of Prophetic narrations. Besides these there were some other
scholars who were inclined towards jurisprudence because they were afraid to narrate
anything on the authority of Prophet without any solid evidence. Hence, they felt a need to
adhere their predecessor or those who were expert in the religious matters.31

In this way they deduced issues from the sayings of their predecessors. Sometimes a single
issue has two dimensions, so they ordered them and comprehended the issue. Sometimes
there is an ambiguity in the sayings of the predecessors, so they referred to the scholars of
linguistic to solve an issue. Sometimes there raised two situations in the sayings of
predecessors, in this case they would prefer a situation over another. Similarly, they also
explain more the different issues solved by predecessors. Sometimes they understanded an
issue through an action of the predecessors. Shah Wali-Allah says these are the methods to

30
Ibid, pp. 48-52
31
Ibid, pp. 57-62
deduct the issues. He says that when people derive issues through these methods based on the
opinion or saying of their Imam (teacher), they are called Mujtahid fil Mazhab or those who
are exercising Ijtehād within a particular school of thought. Shah says that it was the case
with all the schools of thought and the scholars who were assigned the responsibilities at state
level, their school of thought became a dominant their books were disseminated among the
people.32

Shah Wali-Allah says that to infer an issue from the sayings of jurists based on their designed
principles and to follow the Ḥadīth while inferring an issue, these two methods has been used
in every time by the Muslims. However, he says that some Muslims prefer former over later,
while others are inclined more towards later and cares less about former which is not
appropriate. Shah says that, there is need to reconcile these two methods in order to
comprehend things well. He says that since, Ḥadīth supplies base for Islamic jurisprudence.
So, both people of Ḥadīth and people of fiqh are dependent on each other while
understanding issues. Nevertheless, he says that, always prefer authentic narrations over
personal opinions. Moreover, he says the it is not permissible to add any personal opinions or
words while inferring an issue which are beyond the comprehension of a layperson. He says
that inferring of an issue for a person is permissible as long as he is following a Mujtahid. For
that very purpose it is must to understand him. He says that never prefer any self-styled
principle over authentic narrations. Rather all the jurists have said that, if you will find any
trustworthy narration against aur opinion, then avoid this opinion and act according to the
reliable narration.33

Then Shah Wali-Allah discusses about both people of Ḥadīth and people of Fiqh. About the
former, he says that, though these people are more inclined towards Prophetic narrations,
however, they do not differentiate among authentic an unauthentic narration. They neglect the
fiqh at all, and in this way, they ignore the contribution of our predecessors. While as the later
group, says Shah, are inclined towards their particular school of jurisprudence, consequently,
they comprehend things according to their own school. Even they accept all unauthentic
narrations which supports their sect. But he says that both the sects need modification in their
way of comprehending Islam.34

32
Ibid, pp. 63-64
33
Ibid, pp. 64-67
34
Ibid, pp. 67-68
Similarly, according to Shah, the political conditions of the Muslim world were also
responsible for the emergence of jurisprudential schools among the Muslim world. After the
ending of the pious caliphate, Muslims political system to some extent became inactive in
religious affairs. Muslim rulers were incompetent to run the religious system. Hence, they
were dependent on the scholars who were well versed in the jurisprudential affairs.35

Shah Wali-Allah was inclined towards the understanding of Islamic jurisprudence because of
some reasons. Primarily, though his father was staunch a follower of Hanafi school of
thought, yet he also followed other schools also in multiple issues. Consequently, this sort of
comprehension of the things were adopted by Shah -Wali-Allah also. He gone through all the
schools of Islamic thought and adopted the way of those people who were inclined towards
both Ḥadīth and fiqh. Furthermore, when he went Ḥarmain for further studies, there he find a
new Islamic religious atmosphere where scholars of various schools of thought were
prevalent and he studied all the schools. So, this also became a main reason for his inclination
towards Islamic jurisprudence. Similarly, during his times Muslims were much more inclined
towards a particular school of jurisprudence, and were less cared about the basic sources of
Islam, hence, Shah Wali-Allah attempted to bring all the Muslims close to basics sources of
Islam and to merge the difference of all the schools.36

Nevertheless, Shah Wali-Allah asked all the Muslims to follow any of the four schools
without exaggeration and bias in order to maintain a religious unity among the Muslims.
Shah Wali-Allah says the all schools of thought within Muslims are based on Qur’an and
Sunnah. In this regard he has mentioned a spiritual experience and says that all the schools of
thought were same according to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Because all the schools possess
the objective of purification of human morality. He says that, though these schools of thought
are apparently different, but the main objective of Islam is common thing among all these
schools. However, he says that if a person does not follow any of the school, it does not mean
that the person is doing something wrong. Similarly, in the same case, it does not mean that a
person opposes Islam by repudiating all schools of thought. 37

Shah Wali-Allah and Ijtihād

35
Ibid, p. 95
36
Dr. Muhammad Mazhar Baqa, Usūl-i-Fiqh aur Shah Wali-Allah (Ph.D. Thesis), Karachi,
1986, pp. 89-94
37
Shah Wali-Allah, Fuyūḍ-al-Ḥarmain, pp. 124-126
Ijtihād, ordinarily means extreme struggle to achieve something. According to Islamic
religious point of view, Ijtihād aims to solve different arising issues in the light of Qur’an
and Sunnah vis-a-vis human needs and circumstances. Both Qur’an and Sunnah encourage to
exercise human intellect to comprehend the things. Islamic teachings keep a vast scope for
Ijtihād since its early inception. Muslim history witnessed multiple personalities who
attempted to open the door of Ijtihād in order to make Islamic teachings relevant for all times.
Shah Wali-Allah was among them who strongly focused on the need of Ijtihād. He was a
keen observer of his times and he raised the issue of Ijtihād highly in his writings. Shah Wali-
Allah says that, Ijtihād means to attempt to understand the general principles of Islam
through their detailed explanation. In this regard, he says that there are four basic sources of
Ijtihād in Islam i.e., Qur’an, Sunnah, Ijma ‘ and Qiyās. Qur’an occupies a central position in
this regard. Qur’an is the primary source of Islamic religious thought. Next to Qur’an,
Prophetic Sunnah plays a vital role in this regard. Because it gives an explanation to the
Islamic injunctions. Ijma ‘ literally means consensus among the people. In Islamic religious
thought, it means consensus of the Muslims on any Islamic issues. It arises when the basic
sources of Islam are silent upon any issues. Then the Qiyās plays an important role in this
regard. The literal meaning of Qiyās is analogical deduction. In Islamic jurisprudence, it
means to comprehend a case whose solution is not found in the Qur’an and Sunnah in the
light of a case whose solution is found in these two sources. Ijma ‘ is collective decision of
the Muslims, while as Qiyās is an individual comprehension of the issues.38

Shah Wali-Allah lays down some conditions for a Mujtahid: A Mujtahid should have a
complete hold on all the aspects of Qur’an, should have accessible to Sunnah, awareness
about the issues where consensus have been done among early Muslims and it includes the
sayings of predecessors also, knowledge about the prerequisites of Qiyās, principles of
Ijtehād, hold on Arabic language, and should be aware about narrators. Almost all the
Muslim scholars are similar in this regard. 39 He says that after having knowledge about all the
above-mentioned aspects, one has to be called Mujtahid. Nevertheless, Shah Wali-Allah says
that it is not necessary to have absolute in these aspects, he says that if a Mujtahid does not
possess knowledge about any aspect among theses, then he must adhere the predecessors.
38
Shah Wali-Allah ‘Iqd-ul-jyed fi aḥkām al-ijtihād wa taqlīd (Urdu transl. by Dr.
Muhammad Mian Siddique) International Islamic University Islam Abad, 2000, p.
44

39
Ibid, p. 45
Moreover, Shah Wali-Allah says that, additional to the knowledge about these dimensions, if
a Mujtahid is pious, then he has right to become a Qāzi also.40

Types of Ijtehād

Shah Wali-Allah, says that according to Abul Qāsim ‘Abdul Karīm bin Muhammad bin
‘Abdul Karīm and Abu Zakariya Muhi al-Din Yaḥya bin Sharf Nudi, generally there are two
types of absolute Mujtahid i.e., Mujtahid-i-Mustaqil and Mujtahid-i-Muntasib. The former,
according to Shah Wali-Allah, changes the principles which are base for his Ijtehād.
Similarly, this kind of Mujtahid investigates all those sources through which the issues has
been resolved before him. He searches different types of arguments and adopts the authentic
one, and mentions the meaning of these adopted arguments. In the same way, he gets
awareness about various sources of different injunctions through these arguments. Moreover,
these arguments, he gets awareness about various issues which has not been resolved
previously. The later, he says that takes help from the principles and sayings of his Imām
while getting access to the sources and arguments in order to resolve an issue. Shah Wali-
Allah says that, Mujtahid-i-Muntasib frequently prefers the arguments and reasons of his
Imam as base for the comprehension of the issues.

Mujtahid fil Mazhab: Shah Wali-Allah says that this kind of Mujtahid is below to Mujtahid-i-
Muntasib. Here, since this Mujtahid is aware about the principles of his Imam, so he adheres
him. Shah Wali-Allah says that in case of non-availability of opinion of his Imam about any
issue, he attempts to understand that issues in the light of the principles designed by his
Imam.

Mujtahid fil Fatwā: Shah Wali-Allah says that this kind of Mujtahid is below to Mujtahid fil
Mazhab. He is fully aware about the principles of his Imam while understanding issues.41

40
Ibid, pp. 48-49
41
Ibid, pp. 49-51