The Quran in Shia Jurisprudence

The purpose of this study is to cover the meaning and role of the Qur’an in Shiite jurisprudence. Therefore, to achieve this purpose, the history of the compilation of the Qur’an was investigated.

The Qur’an is the cornerstone of the Islamic religion and law and contains the revelation of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad; therefore, it is considered the Word of God. From a legal standpoint, the Qur’an has the highest legal force and any other sources of Islamic law that contradict the Qur’an are invalid. Islamic law is represented by Sunni and Shiite schools, each of which contains its individual legal doctrines and madhhabs (legal schools). The authors see a serious shortcoming in Ukrainian studies of Islamic law due to the lack of research on Shiite legal doctrine. The purpose of this study is to cover the meaning and role of the Qur’an in Shiite jurisprudence. Therefore, to achieve this purpose, the history of the compilation of the Qur’an was investigated. Since the Qur’an is the main source of law for both directions, this study examines the specifics of the interpretation of the Qur’an in Shiite legal doctrine. In this study, using a comparative legal method, the authors were compared the differences in the interpretation of the Qur’an between Sunni and Shiite exegetes. Nowadays, Islamic law is mainly realised through fatwas of mujtahids. To achieve this level, one of the necessary conditions is knowledge of the Arabic language, knowledge of tafsirs and Tawil, knowledge of the cancelled and abolishing ayats, the history of the sending down the ayats. These aspects will be considered in the study with a brief description. Particular attention was paid to the sources of interpretation of the Qur’an in accordance with the rules of Shiite exegesis. The study pays special attention to the sources of interpretation of the Qur’an in accordance with the rules of Shiite exegesis. It is established that Shiite exegetes recognise sources of interpretation. However, Sunni translators use a wider range of sources, including methods of analogy and preference. These same methods are partially recognised by Shiites and may be part of such a method as a cause. Since Shiite jurists do not allow the use of personal opinion in legal decisions, it is clear that the use of methods based on personal opinion will be prohibited in the interpretation of the Qur’an. That is why so much attention is paid to rational methods in Shiite jurisprudence.

Bibliographic Information

Title: The Quran in Shia Jurisprudence

Author(s): Dmytro V. Lukianov, Hanna P. Ponomarova & Akif S. Tahiiev

Published in: Journal of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, Vol. 27, No. 4, 2020

 Language: English

Length: 13 page

The Quran in Shia Jurisprudence