Commentary on Irshad al-Fusuk uka tahqiq al-haqq min 'ilm al-usul by Al-Shawkani

Abstract or Introduction

The text “Irshᾱd al-Fuhῡl ilᾱ tahqῑq al-haqq min ῾ilm al-uṣῡl” is written by Muhammad ῾Alῑ b. Muhammad Al-Shawkᾱnῑ. He is a Sunnῑ legal scholar, writer and teacher from Yemen, who lived from 1760 until 1849. Al-Shawkᾱnῑ is seen as one of the most influential modern Islamic jurists, which is supported by the qualification of him as 'mudjaddid' or 'regenerator' by Rashīd Ridā. Al-Shawkᾱnῑ achieved a good reputation by working on defining requirements to attain the different status as a jurist. He is described as “an ardent opponent on the restrictions of ijmᾱʿ” and known “for his support for the greater use of the ijtihᾱd”. This text fits in his released literature about the requirements of attaining different levels of legal scholarship. Roughly translated, the title means: “Guideline for the experts to achieve the truth in the science of the principles of the law“. Al-Shawkᾱnῑ gives in his text basic conditions, which are required to be a mujtahid. In my opinion a mujtahid is a Muslim jurist, who has the ability to perform ijtihᾱd. Al-Shawkᾱnῑ specifies what a mujtahid is in paragraph two. In his opinion, a mujtahid must try to acquire an opinion of a legal rule and have the ability to derive legal rules by working with the legal sources. Obligatory for this are adulthood and sanity. After this section, he starts listing the conditions, but obviously, adulthood and sanity are also requirements to be a mujtahid. The difference to the following conditions is, that this inherent quality can not be changed by the prospective mujtahid in contrast to the following acquirable conditions