Yusuf al-Awda

Yusuf al-Awda is a contemporary Saudi scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, best known for his comparative legal study al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Abwab al-Fiqhiyya (Breadth and Narrowness in Jurisprudential Chapters) al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…+1.

Education and Academic Work

Al-Awda pursued higher studies in Islamic law, completing his doctoral research under the supervision of Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Sawat, professor of graduate Sharia studies at Umm al-Qura University al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…+1. His doctoral dissertation, later published as al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Abwab al-Fiqhiyya, investigated the concept of relative breadth (al-sia) and narrowness or strictness (al-diq) across the chapters of comparative jurisprudence (fiqh al-khilaf) among the four Sunni legal schools al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…+1.

Scholarly Contributions

Al-Awda's research focuses on systemic patterns and comparative structures in Sunni jurisprudence. In his study of the four schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali), he examined instances where a single school stands apart from the other three by either expanding or narrowing the scope and rulings of a given legal chapter al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…+1. He argued that neither general breadth nor general narrowness across all of jurisprudence can be attributed to any single madhhab, and he rejected claims asserting that the Hanbali school is inherently rigid or narrow across legal matters as a whole al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…+1.

His findings identified distinct sectoral tendencies within the schools: the Hanafis frequently lean toward breadth in the descriptions and forms of acts of worship, the Hanbalis tend toward narrowness in rulings pertaining to prayer, the Shafi'is lean toward narrowness in financial transactions, and the Malikis exhibit breadth in the implementation of punitive measures al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…. He also emphasized that a school's expansion in a specific chapter is not solely motivated by facilitating ease for the legal subject (al-mukallaf), but derives from underlying legal causes and hermeneutical principles al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…. Al-Awda called for further comparative research on legal consistency (al-ittirad al-fiqhi), legal maxims comparing chapters, and the influence of structural breadth and narrowness on contemporary legal issues (al-nawazil) al-Sia wa al-Diq fi al-Ab…+1.