Abid al-Sufyani
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Abid ibn Muhammad al-Sufyani is a contemporary scholar of Islamic jurisprudence and legal theory who served as an assistant professor at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, best known for his legal treatise al-Thabat wa al-Shumul fi al-Shari'a al-Islamiyya (Constancy and Comprehensiveness in Islamic Law) .
Academic Career and Legal Thought
Al-Sufyani earned his doctorate in Islamic law—specializing in jurisprudence (fiqh) and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—from the College of Sharia at Umm al-Qura University in 1407 AH (1986–1987 CE) with highest distinction, later joining its faculty as an assistant professor . His doctoral dissertation was published in 1408 AH (1988 CE) under the title al-Thabat wa al-Shumul fi al-Shari'a al-Islamiyya, examining the structural permanence of Islamic legal principles alongside their capacity to accommodate emerging circumstances .
His legal scholarship concentrated on contemporary applications of jurisprudence and the theory of legal novelties (nawazil). In his jurisprudential treatise on legal novelties, he formulated a definition of a nazila (an unprecedented incident) as "newly arisen occurrences that require a legal ruling" . Al-Sufyani also authored al-Muhkamat fi al-Shari'a al-Islamiyya (The Decisive Precepts in Islamic Law), in which he analyzed how foundational legal principles safeguard the five universal necessities—religion, life, honor, intellect, and property—to preserve communal unity and counter sectarian fragmentation . In another study on globalization published in 1421 AH, he examined the conceptual and legal distinctions between the Abode of Islam (dar al-Islam) and the Abode of Disbelief (dar al-kufr) .
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List of Works
al-Thabat wa al-Shumul fi al-Sharia al-Islamiyya is a contemporary treatise on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) and the characteristics of Islamic law. It addresses the conceptual and methodological foundations of how Islamic law maintains permanent, immutable principles while simultaneously providing comprehensive coverage for newly arising circumstances.