al-Istidrak al-Usuli Dirasa Tasiliyya Tatbiqiyya
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- al-Istidrak al-Usuli Dirasa Tasiliyya Tatbiqiyya
al-Istidrak al-Usuli: Dirasa Tasiliyya Tatbiqiyya (Arabic: الاستدراك الأصولي دراسة تأصيلية تطبيقية على المصنفات الأصولية من القرن الثالث إلى القرن الرابع عشر هجريا, lit. 'Legal Theoretical Rectification: A Foundational and Applied Study on Works of Legal Theory from the 3rd to the 14th Century AH') is an academic study in Usul al-Fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence) written by Iman bint Salim Qabus . The work was submitted in 1436 AH / 2015 CE as a doctoral dissertation to the Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Umm al-Qura University in Makkah under the supervision of Professor Mahmud ibn Hamid 'Uthman .
Purpose and Scope
The work aims to deduce and formulate the theoretical foundation of istidrak (rectification, critical review, and scholarly amendment) within Islamic legal theory from primary usul literature spanning from the 3rd to the 14th century AH . The author notes that although critical amendments are pervasive throughout classical usul texts, the subject lacked a dedicated foundational and applied study defining its principles, components, conditions, causes, typologies, historical development, criteria, formulas, sources, effects, and scholarly etiquette . The research also aims to illustrate the interrelation between legal theory and auxiliary fields—such as theology ('aqida), logic (mantiq), and Arabic linguistics—and to refute claims portraying usul al-fiqh as a rigid discipline merely reciting predecessors without critique or addition .
Structure and Contents
The study comprises an introductory section followed by six main chapters, integrating theoretical discussion with practical applications from classical texts :
- Introduction: Outlines the rationale, historical boundaries, research objectives, methodology, and review of relevant scholarship .
- Chapter One (Foundations of Istidrak): Discusses the definition (hadd), subject matter (mawdu'), legal ruling (hukm), derivation (istimdad), attribution (nisba), virtues, outcomes, originator, and fundamental issues of usul-based rectification .
- Chapter Two (Pillars, Causes, and Conditions): Examines the four essential pillars (al-arkan)—the rectified scholar (al-mustadrak 'alayh), the subject rectified (al-mustadrak fih), the rectifying scholar (al-mustadrik), and the argument used for rectification (al-mustadrak bih)—alongside the subjective and objective causes and required conditions .
- Chapter Three (Classifications of Istidrak): Categorizes rectifications according to multiple dimensions :
- By nature: correction (tashih), completion (takmil), distinction (farq), alerting (tanbih), critique (naqd), editorial formulation (tahrir), and refinement (tanqih) .
- By target: an author correcting himself, correcting a scholar within the same legal school, correcting a scholar from another school, answering a hypothetical opponent (shakhs muqaddar), and rectifying a previous rectifier .
- By locus: chapter titles, theoretical definitions (al-hudud), evidence (al-dalil), argumentation (al-istidlal), attribution of opinions, divisions and conditions, illustrative examples, and legal branch derivations (al-takhrij) .
- By instrument: textual evidence (naqli) and rational evidence ('aqli) .
- Chapter Four (History and Methods): Traces rectification from the legislative era, the Companions, and the Successors through five developmental stages: foundational (ta'sisi), rule-framing (taq'idi), refining (tanqihi), encyclopedic (mawsu'i), and purposive (maqsidi) . It also details inductive, analytical, critical, and argumentative methodologies .
- Chapter Five (Substance and Formulae): Analyzes the material sources drawn from legal theory and other disciplines, alongside explicit and implicit linguistic formulations of rectification .
- Chapter Six (Sources, Effects, and Etiquette): Investigates the primary loci (mazann) of rectifications across specific scholars and works, their scholarly impacts, and the ethical rules governing constructive critique .
Key Conclusions
The work establishes that istidrak is closest in meaning to critical follow-up (ta'qib) . It distinguishes rectification from mere addition (ziyada) by noting that rectification must address the very same subject matter rather than introducing a new topic . Furthermore, while all critique (naqd) constitutes rectification, not every rectification is a critique . The author rules that engaging in usul-based rectification is a communal obligation (fard kifaya) and defines its subject as the terms and meanings articulated by legal theorists in order to remedy omissions, dispel misapprehensions, correct errors, critique formulations, or direct toward better alternatives . The study concludes with fifty technical definitions and eleven specific scholarly notices .
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