Usulis ( ar, اصولیون, fa, اصولیان) are the majority
Twelver Shi'a Muslim group. They differ from their now much smaller rival
Akhbari group in favoring the use of ''
ijtihad'' (i.e., reasoning) in the creation of new rules of ''
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
''; in assessing
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
to exclude traditions they believe unreliable; and in considering it obligatory to obey a ''
mujtahid'' when seeking to determine Islamically correct behavior.
Since the crushing of the Akhbaris in the late 18th century, it has been the dominant school of Twelver Shi'a and now forms an overwhelming majority within the Twelver Shia
denomination.
The name ''Usuli'' derives from the term ''
Uṣūl al-fiqh
Principles of Islamic jurisprudence, also known as ''uṣūl al-fiqh'' ( ar, أصول الفقه, lit. roots of fiqh), are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (''s ...
'' (principles of jurisprudence). In Usuli thought, there are four valid sources of law: the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
,
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
,
ijma' and
'aql. Ijma' refers to a unanimous consensus. Aql, in Shia jurisprudence, is applied to four practical principles which are applied when other religious proofs are not applicable:
''bara'at'' (immunity), ''
ihtiyat'' (recommended precautions), ''takhyir'' (selection), and ''istishab'' (the presumption of continuity in the previous state).
The term Usuli is also sometimes used to refer more generally to students of ''usul'' especially among early Muslims, without regard to Shia Islam. Students/scholars of the ''principles'' of fiqh are distinguished from scholars of ''fiqh'' itself, whose scholars are known as ''faqīh'' (plural ''fuqahā).
Background
The Usuli believe that the
Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
collections contained traditions of varying degrees of reliability, and that critical analysis was necessary to assess their authority. In contrast, the Akhbari believe that the sole sources of law are the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
and the Hadith, in particular
the Four Books accepted by the Shia: everything in these sources is in principle reliable, and outside them, there was no authority competent to enact or deduce further legal rules.
In addition to assessing the reliability of the Hadith, Usuli believes the task of the legal scholar is to establish intellectual principles of general application (''
Usul al-fiqh''), from which particular rules may be derived by way of deduction. Accordingly, Usuli legal scholarship has the tools in principle for resolving new situations that are not already addressed in Quran or Hadith (see Ijtihad).
Taqlid
An important tenet of Usuli doctrine is
Taqlid or "imitation", i.e. the acceptance of a religious ruling in matters of worship and personal affairs from someone regarded as a higher religious authority (e.g. an 'ālim) without necessarily asking for the technical proof. These higher religious authorities can be known as a "source of imitation" (Arabic ''marja taqlid'' مرجع تقليد, Persian
marja
Marja may refer to:
* Marja (name), a Finnish and Dutch female given name
* Marjah, Afghanistan, an unincorporated agricultural district in Nad Ali District, Helmand Province
* Marja', a Shia authority
See also
* Maarja
Maarja is an Estonia ...
) or less exaltedly as an "imitated one" (Arabic مقلَد ''muqallad''). However, his verdicts are not to be taken as the only source of religious information and he can be always corrected by other muqalladeen (the plural of muqallad) which come after him. Obeying a deceased muqallad is forbidden in Usuli.
Taqlid has been introduced by scholars who felt that Quranic verses and traditions were not enough and that
ulama were needed not only to interpret the Quran and
Sunna but to make "new rulings to respond to new challenges and push the boundaries of Shia law in new directions."
History
By their debates and books,
Al-Mufid
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid () and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c.9481022 CE), was a prominent Twelver Shia theologian. His father was a teacher (''mu'allim''), hence the name Ibn ...
,
Sayyid-al Murtada, and
Shaykh al-Tusi in Iraq were the first to introduce the ''
Uṣūl al-fiqh
Principles of Islamic jurisprudence, also known as ''uṣūl al-fiqh'' ( ar, أصول الفقه, lit. roots of fiqh), are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (''s ...
'' (principles of Islamic jurisprudence) under the influence of the
Shafe'i and
Mu'tazili
Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islami ...
doctrines.
Al-Kulayni, in
Rey Rey may refer to:
*Rey (given name), a given name
*Rey (surname), a surname
* Rey (''Star Wars''), a character in the ''Star Wars'' films
* Rey, Iran, a city in Iran
* Ray County, in Tehran Province of Iran
* ''Rey'' (film), a 2015 Indian film
*The ...
, and
al-Sadduq, in
Qom
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
, were concerned with a traditionalist approach. The second wave of the Usuli was shaped in the Mongol period when
al-Hilli Al-Hilli ( ar, الحلي) is an Arabic surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* al-Allama al-Hilli (1250–1325), theologian
* Safi al-Din al-Hilli (1278–1349), poet
* al-Hilli family, victims of the Annecy shootings
The Annecy sh ...
introduced the term ''
mujtahid'', meaning an individual qualified to deduce ordinances on the basis of authentic religious arguments. By developing the theory of the ''usul'', al-Hilli introduced more legal and logical norms which extended the meaning of the ''usul'' beyond the four principal sources.
Amili was the first scholar to fully formulate the principles of ''
ijtihad''.
These traditional principles of
Shi'a jurisprudence were challenged by the 17th-century
Akhbari school, led by
Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi. A reaction against Akhbari arguments was led in the last half of the 18th century by
Muhammad Baqir Behbahani.
He attacked the Akhbari and their method was abandoned by Shia.
The dominance of the Usuli over the Akhbari came when Behbahani led the Usuli to dominance and "completely routed the Akhbaris at
Karbala
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Govern ...
and
Najaf", so that "only a handful of Shi'i
ulama have remained Akhbari to the present day."
See also
*
Marja'
*
List of marjas
References
Twelvers / Ithna Ashari Islamic Schools of Thought*
{{Islam topics, state=collapsed
Twelver Shi'ism
Ja'fari jurisprudence
Fatwas