Ja'fari

The Jaʿfarī school, also known as the Jafarite school, Jaʿfarī fiqh () or Ja'fari jurisprudence, is a prominent school of jurisprudence (''fiqh'') within Twelver and Ismaili (including Nizari) Shia Islam, named after the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq. In Iran, Jaʽfari jurisprudence is enshrined in the constitution, shaping various aspects of governance, legislation, and judiciary in the country. In Lebanon this school of jurispudence is also accounted for in the sectarian legal system of the country and Shia muslims can call upon it for their legal disputes.

It differs from the predominant madhhabs of Sunni jurisprudence in its reliance on ''ijtihad'', as well as on matters of inheritance, religious taxes, commerce, personal status, and the allowing of temporary marriage or '' mutʿa''. Since 1959, Jaʿfari jurisprudence has been afforded the status of "fifth school" along with the four Sunni schools by Azhar University. In addition, it is one of the eight recognized ''madhhabs'' listed in the Amman Message of 2004 by the Jordanian monarch, and since endorsed by Sadiq al-Mahdi, former Prime Minister of Sudan.

The Ja'fari school was imposed as the state jurisprudence in Iran during the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam from the 16th to the 18th century. Followers of the Ja'fari school are predominantly found in Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan where they form a majority, with large minorities in eastern Saudi Arabia, southern Lebanon, Bahrain and Afghanistan.

Branches

Usuli

This school of thought utilizes ijtihad by adopting reasoned argumentation in finding the laws of Islam. ''Usulis'' emphasize the role of Mujtahid who was capable of independently interpreting the sacred sources as an intermediary of the Hidden Imam and thus serves the community as a guide. This meant that legal interpretations were kept flexible to take account of changing conditions and the dynamics of the times.''The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics'', 2003:487. This school of thought is predominant among most Shia.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini emphasized that Ja'fari jurisprudence is configured based on the recognition that epistemology is influenced by subjectivity. Accordingly, Ja'fari jurisprudence asserts Conventional Fiqh (objective) and Dynamic Fiqh (subjective). Through Dynamic Fiqh, discussed in the famous text by '' Javaher-al-Kalem'' (), one must consider the concept of time, era, and age () as well as the concept of place, location and venue () since these dimensions of thought and reality affect the process of interpreting, understanding and extracting meaning from the commandments.

Akhbari

This school of thought takes a restrictive approach to ijtihad. This school has almost died out now; very few followers are left. Some neo-Akhbaris have emerged in the Indian subcontinent, but they do not belong to the old Akhbari movement of Bahrain.

Components

Bada'

Many contemporary Twelvers are described as rejecting predestination. This belief is further emphasized by the Shia concept of Bada', which states that God has not set a definite course for human history. Instead, God may alter the course of human history as is seen to be fit (Although some academics insist that Bada' is not rejection of predestination.).

Nikah Mut'ah

Nikaḥ mut'ah ()," is a type of marriage used in Twelver Shia Islam, where the duration of the marriage and the dower must be specified and agreed upon in advance.Berg H. ''Method and theory in the study of Islamic origins''
p 165
Brill 2003 , 9789004126022. Accessed at Google Books 15 March 2014.Hughes T. ''A Dictionary of Islam'
p 424
Asian Educational Services 1 December 1995. Accessed 15 April 2014.Pohl, Florian. "Muslim world: modern muslim societies
p 50
Marshall Cavendish, 2010. , 1780761479277 Accessed at Google Books 15 March 2014. It is a private contract made in a verbal or written format. A declaration of the intent to marry and an acceptance of the terms are required (as they are in ''nikah''). Zaidi Shias, Ismaili Shias, and Sunni Muslims do not practice ''nikah mut'ah''.

Taqiyah

In Shia Islam, ''taqiyah'' ( ''/'') is a form of religious veil, or a legal dispensation whereby a believing individual can deny his faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts, specially while they are in fear or at risk of significant persecution. One source for this understanding comes from al-Kafi.

This practice was emphasized in Shi'a Islam whereby adherents may conceal their religion when they are under threat, persecution, or compulsion."Taqiyah"
''Oxford Dictionary of Islam''. John L. Esposito, Ed. Oxford University Press. 2003. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
Taqiyya was developed to protect Shi'as who were usually in minority and under pressure,
and Shia Muslims as the persecuted minority have taken recourse to dissimulation from the time of the '' mihna''
(persecution) under Al-Ma'mun in the 9th century, while the politically dominant Sunnites rarely found it necessary to resort to dissimulation.

See also

* Outline of Islam
* Shia clergy
* The four schools of Sunni jurisprudence
** Hanafi
** Hanbali
** Maliki
** Shafi'i

Notes

References

Sources

*

External links

"Jafari: Shii Legal Thought and Jurisprudence" from Oxford Islamic Studies OnlineJa'fari FiqhJa'fari SchoolSome of Shi'a Islamic Laws booksIslamic Laws of G.A. Sayyid Abulqasim al-KhoeiIslamic Laws of G.A. Syed Ali al-Husaini SeestaniTowards an Understanding of the Shiite Authoritative Sources

{{Islam topics, state=collapsed

Twelver Shi'ism
Nizari Ismailism
Madhhab