The Origin and Development of Islamic Jurisprudence From the perspective of the German Orientalist Josef Schacht
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31973/aj.v1i145.3864Keywords:
Orientalism, Joseph Schacht, jurisprudenceAbstract
Joseph Schacht devoted a large part of his professional life to studying the beginning of the history and development of Islamic jurisprudence.
His thesis on the formation of Islamic jurisprudence, where the Prophetic Sunnah played a decisive role, formed the basis for subsequent research on the subject itself, it possesses in addition all the advantages of deep thought and originality.
Some of the responses were directed towards Schacht's thesis, and were sometimes very critical. Some even accused him of promoting "misconception" on the position of jurisprudence in Islam and giving it little attention to the Qur’anic legislation. Those critics confirm that Schacht supports a view that clearly deviates from the prevailing belief of the majority of Muslims. On the other hand, some scholars have greatly admire to Schacht's thesis. His silent argument, back-projection, and common-link theories represented the lines for his thesis, which won great praise among the most prominent scholars, both Orientalists and non-Orientalists alike.
In order to understand Schacht's life and the importance of his works and scientific results as a great Orientalist, especially as far as his contribution to the study of Islamic jurisprudence, the first section of this study is devoted to discuss his background, personality, professional life and his work.
The second topic deals with Schacht's main thesis on the formation of Islamic jurisprudence.
On the contrary from the prevailing belief, Schacht assumes that jurisprudence did not originate in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and that popular practices and the administration of the Umayyads was the starting point for the formation of jurisprudence. In order to support his basic hypothesis, Schacht traces authenticity of the concept of the Sunnah, which played - as he said - an important role in the formation of jurisprudence. Schacht concludes with certainty that the Sunnah the Prophethood was formed by later generations that had nothing to do with the Prophet himself.
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