Important Points in the History of Usul al-Fiqh

Before discussing the history and stages of the science of Usul al-Fiqh (legal theory), it is necessary to consider a few key points:

General Points on the History of Science

1. The “history of science” differs from the “biography of scholars.” Only that portion of a scholar’s biography that aids in understanding the evolution of science falls under the history of science. Of course, becoming acquainted with the personalities of scholars is not without its benefits. Therefore, in the following discussions, if there is mention of a scholar’s birth, death, family, writings, or academic travels, it does not necessarily pertain to the history of Usul al-Fiqh.

2. The stages of science typically do not have specific time frames. Therefore, assigning a particular year as the start or end of a scientific period is unscientific. Scientific periods gradually emerge and disappear due to a series of different factors. Sometimes, one or two generations must pass from the time the factors of a period emerge until the period itself becomes apparent. For example, one of the key factors in the decline of a previous scientific period and the formation of a new one is the emergence of a distinguished scholar who establishes a new style or school of thought. However, the scientific impacts of these scholars usually do not manifest among their contemporaries or peers but become evident in subsequent generations.

This point is especially true in seminaries, where debates and discussions between scholars of equal rank were not very common, and ideas were not often transferred to contemporaries. Instead, they were passed down from teacher to student. Thus, a scholar like Shaykh Mufid emerges, and his school of thought spreads among his students, not his contemporaries, marking the beginning of a new period in the history of Usul al-Fiqh.

3. In the history of science, no period is entirely comprehensive. In every period, there are usually schools or individuals who either remain influenced by the previous period, anticipate the next, or choose a unique scientific path. Therefore, alongside the dominant atmosphere that shapes a period, dissenting voices can always be heard from various corners, especially from circles distant from the main centers of learning. For instance, even today, when Usul al-Fiqh is experiencing a flourishing period, in some Shia seminaries in Bahrain, the Akhbari way of thinking still prevails.

It should be noted that when naming periods and judging their quality, only the dominant atmosphere of scholarly circles should be considered, although it is appropriate to recognize the minority academic views of each period in a general sense.

4. The history of science cannot be completely separated from the history of the world around it. Sometimes, regional and global changes significantly impact the progress of a science, to the extent that an analytical understanding of scientific developments is impossible without a precise understanding of these changes. One example of this influence in the history of Usul al-Fiqh is the effect that the emergence of the empiricist movement in the West had on the rise of Akhbari thought in the seminaries, a topic we will discuss in detail in due course.

Points on the History of Usul al-Fiqh

Unlike the science of Fiqh, which has always held a high position among Muslims and has never needed to defend its identity, Usul al-Fiqh is one of the sciences that has always had to strive, to some extent, to prove its identity and credibility in the face of external attacks and criticisms. Some have questioned its very validity, considering it an imported discipline contrary to the tradition of Ahl al-Bayt. Others, for various reasons, including the claim of “inflation,” have discouraged its study.

Whenever Usul al-Fiqh has been alert and successfully defended itself against these attacks, it has expanded and become established. Conversely, whenever it has been negligent and failed to respond effectively, it has faced periods of obscurity. One of the factors contributing to the formation of different stages in the history of Usul al-Fiqh is the relative success or failure of its defense against external criticisms and attacks. In future lessons, we will see that one of the reasons for the dominance of the Akhbaris over Shia seminaries in the 11th and 12th centuries was the negligence of Usuli scholars in defending Shi’i Usul al-Fiqh.

Although Shia and Sunni Usul al-Fiqh have influenced each other throughout history, there is no doubt that Usul al-Fiqh among the Shia has experienced a different history. Due to the presence of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), the foundations and sources of Shi’i Usul have become distinct from Sunni Usul. Therefore, in this discussion, we will only focus on the history of Usul al-Fiqh among the Twelver Shia, although in some cases, it may be necessary to briefly consider the history of Sunni Usul as well.

The First Period: The Period of Formation

From the Early Days of Islam until the Fourth Century (Early Major Occultation)

General Characteristics of This Period

1. Access to the infallible Imams (a) was somewhat available; during their presence, by referring to the Imams themselves, and during the Minor Occultation, by referring to the four specific deputies. Therefore, the science of Usul was not taken very seriously, as the possibility of resolving jurisprudential doubts by consulting the Imam reduced the need for independent derivation of legal rulings and investigation into the principles of jurisprudence.
2. The prevalent scholarly activity among the companions of the Imams was mainly focused on preserving, narrating, and compiling hadiths, while those engaged in abstract scholarly activities were in the minority.
3. No independent books of Usul that comprehensively covered the topics of Usul were written.
4. No book containing content related to the science of Usul from this period has survived to reach us.

Stages of This Period

This period itself is divided into three stages:

1. From the early days of Islam until before the time of Imam al-Baqir (a) and Imam al-Sadiq (a).
2. From the time of Imam al-Baqir (a) and Imam al-Sadiq (a) until the early days of the Minor Occultation.
3. From the early days of the Minor Occultation until the early days of the Major Occultation.

First Stage: From the Early Days of Islam until Before the Time of al-Baqirayn (a)

From the very beginning of the legislative period, some principles of Usul were presented in the form of Quranic verses or hadiths by the Prophet Muhammad (p). Among the verses, one can mention the verses that negate acting on conjecture¹, the verse of ease², the abrogation verses³, the verses on the validity of a solitary report⁴, and the verses on exoneration⁵. Among the prophetic hadiths, we can refer to the hadith of raf’ and the hadith of sa’ah, which are evidences of exoneration, the hadith of tathlith and the hadith of waqf ‘inda al-shubuhat, which are evidences of precaution, and some hadiths related to the conflict between reports and the Quran or reports regarding interpretation based on opinion.

In this stage, religious knowledge had not yet been differentiated and divided into various branches like theology, jurisprudence, Usul, ethics, etc. The books written at that time were usually a mix of different sciences of Shariah. However, historians have not recorded any book, apart from hadith compilations, that contains content on the science of Usul.

Second Stage: From the Time of al-Baqirayn (a) Until the Early Days of the Minor Occultation

After the demise of the Prophet Muhammad (p), due to the pressures of the Umayyads, the opportunity for the Ahl al-Bayt to clearly explain jurisprudence and its principles was taken away. For example, the number of jurisprudential hadiths narrated from Imam Husayn (a) does not exceed the fingers of one hand.

Imam al-Baqir (a), in a historic opportunity when the Umayyads were declining and the Abbasids had just come to power and had not yet consolidated their rule, established a grand academic circle. He trained students and expanded and spread the knowledge of Shariah. After him, Imam al-Sadiq (a) followed in his father’s footsteps, bringing this newly established seminary to its peak of flourishing and greatness. It is said that from his responses to various issues, 400 books were written by 400 authors, and the list of his known students from Iraq, Khorasan, Hijaz, and Sham reached 4,000 people⁶, who benefited from him in the sciences of exegesis, theology, jurisprudence, Usul, ethics, medicine, history, and hadith. Interestingly, among his students were followers of various religions and sects, and according to historical documents, all four founders of the Sunni schools of thought were either directly or indirectly his students and narrated hadiths from him. It can be confidently said that among the Muslims, no scholar before or after him attained such credibility, popularity, and success. His scholarly and practical greatness was such that some people went to extremes regarding him and elevated him to the level of divinity⁷.

In any case, the era of Imam al-Baqir, and especially Imam al-Sadiq (a), is considered a golden and significant period in the history of religious knowledge, particularly in jurisprudence and Usul. The strenuous efforts of these two revered Imams soon bore fruit, and scholarly and hadith-related activities flourished among the circles close to the Ahl al-Bayt. This scholarly wave even created a broad scientific movement among the Sunnis, which might explain why, during this period or shortly after, prominent scholars, including the founders of the four Sunni schools of thought, emerged.

During this stage, the narrations related to the science of Usul became more comprehensive, and many hadiths with Usul-related content were narrated by Imams al-Baqir and al-Sadiq. The major topics of these hadiths include the authority of solitary reports, practical principles, rejection of analogy, rejection of independent reasoning (ijtihad) based on opinion, and the conflict of reports.

It seems that Imams al-Baqir and al-Sadiq clearly understood that this opportunity would never present itself again. Therefore, they diligently taught the science of Usul to their companions to ensure it would be passed on to subsequent generations. They were aware that with the increasing number of narrations, both authentic and weak, and the gradual onset of ambiguity and ignorance over many of the rulings of Shari’ah due to the passage of time, and with the emergence of new and unprecedented issues—a consequence of the evolution and transformation of human life—it would be impossible for the Shia of later generations to derive correct rulings on contemporary issues without being educated in the science of Usul.

In any case, hadiths such as “It is upon us to lay down the principles, and upon you to derive the details”⁸ clearly demonstrate that the Ahl al-Bayt (a) were keen on articulating the principles and general rules of jurisprudence and endorsed and recommended the method of ijtihad based on Usul to their companions. If we say that such luminous hadiths are direct instructions from them to establish and compile the science of Usul, we would not be exaggerating, as correct derivation of rulings is only possible through Usuli principles. Perhaps this is why some Akhbari scholars, when confronted with this hadith, have been compelled to suggest the possibility that it was stated under taqiyya!⁹

It is evident that understanding and applying Usuli principles requires a particular precision and strength, and not everyone is capable of understanding and applying them correctly. Therefore, the Ahl al-Bayt (a) only encouraged certain elite companions who they knew had the necessary abilities to engage in issuing fatwas and deriving rulings¹⁰, teaching them the general principles of ijtihad and the rules of Usul¹¹. Their practice was to respond to these companions by substantiating the legal rulings through Quranic verses¹² or Prophetic practices, or general customary principles¹³.

However, when dealing with those who did not have the capacity to understand these intricacies, they sufficed with stating the legal ruling. Therefore, narrations containing Usuli principles are usually transmitted by individuals such as Zurarah ibn A’yan¹⁴ and Muhammad ibn Muslim¹⁵, who were counted among the jurists of the companions. The Usuli books during this stage were generally short treatises written on one or a few specific Usuli issues. The content of these Usuli books either consisted of a collection of hadiths with Usuli content or at most, a simple exposition of Usuli issues. Overall, Usuli issues had not yet been formulated as systematic rules within a specific terminology¹⁶.

It can be said that the first Usuli topic seriously considered by scholars during this period, and around which books were written, was the subject of “conflict” (ta‘arud). The first book apparently written on this subject was ‘Ilal al-Hadith by Yunus ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman (before 125 – 208 AH), a companion of Imam Kazim and Imam Reza (a), who passed away in 208 AH ¹⁷. Another significant work was Ikhtilaf al-Hadith by Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr (d. 217 AH), a prominent companion of Imams Kadhim and Ridha (a) ¹⁸, and also ‘Ilal al-Hadith by Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid Barqi (d. 274 or 280 AH), a companion of Imams Jawad and Hadi (a) and the author of the first Shia hadith compendium, al-Mahasin¹⁹.

During this era, the writing of books titled al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh (The Abrogator and the Abrogated) began and continued until the third stage of the Formation Period. These works might have contained Usuli content²⁰. The first Shia scholar to write a book with this title may have been ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Asamm al-Masmā‘ī (d. mid-2nd century AH)²¹, who lived during this period ²². Following him, scholars like Hasan ibn Ali ibn Faddal (d. 224 AH), a companion of Imams Kadhim and Ridha (a)²³, Darim ibn Qabisah (d. late 2nd century AH),²⁴ a companion of Imam Ridha (a)²⁵, and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa (alive in 274 AH),²⁶ the Shaykh of the Qom community and a companion of Imams Jawad and Hadi (a)²⁷, also wrote books under this title.

1. An’am, 116; Yunus, 36 and 59; Najm, 28.
2. Baqarah, 185.
3. Nahl, 101; Baqarah, 106.
4. Verse of Naba: Hujurat, 6; Verse of Nafr: Tawbah, 122; Verse of Questioning: Nahl, 43.
5. Verses on the negation of responsibility: Talaq, 7 and Baqarah, 286; Verse of the negation of punishment: Isra, 15; Verse of the negation of misguidance: Tawbah, 115; Verse of the negation of wrongdoing: An’am, 145; Verse of elaboration: An’am, 119.
6. Shahid Awwal, Dhikra al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 59.
7. Hussain ibn Abd al-Samad al-Amili (father of Shaykh Baha’i), Wusul al-Akhiyar ila Usul al-Akhbar, p. 60, quoted in Mustadrak al-Wasa’il, vol. 7, p. 73.
8. The text of this hadith is attributed to Imam al-Ridha (a). See: Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 27, p. 62, hadith 52. However, the content of this hadith is also narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) as: “It is only upon us to present to you the principles, and it is upon you to derive the details.” Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 27, p. 61, hadith 51.
9. Among them is the esteemed traditionist Shaykh Hurr al-Amili (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 27, p. 62.
10. For example, Imam al-Baqir (a) instructed Aban ibn Taghlib (d. 141 AH) to sit in the mosque and issue fatwas to the people: “Sit in the mosque of Medina and issue fatwas to the people, for I love that someone like you be seen among my Shia.” According to Najashi, he was a pioneer in his time in the disciplines of the Quran, jurisprudence, hadith, literature, language, and grammar. See: Rijal al-Najashi, pp. 10-11.
11. For example, in Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 245, hadith 1, in the chapter “Wudu’ Is Not Annulled Except by Certainty of an Event,” Zurarah asks a question about the invalidators of wudu’, and the Imam answers him by explaining the principle of istishab (presumption of continuity), while other narrators who asked similar questions received only the legal ruling as a response.
12. For example, the response that Imam al-Sadiq (a) gave to Abd al-A’la ibn A’yan al-Ajli al-Kufi (alive in 148 AH), when he asked about how to wipe over a bandaged finger: “This and its likes are understood from the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Allah Almighty said: ‘He has not placed upon you any difficulty in religion.'” Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 464, hadith 5. Abd al-A’la ibn A’yan is among those whom Shaykh al-Mufid (may Allah sanctify his soul) in his treatise Jawabat Ahl al-Mawsil pp. 25 and 39, described as free from reproach and blame, introducing them with titles such as “jurists among the companions of the Imams (a),” “leaders from whom lawful and unlawful, fatwas, and rulings were taken,” and “owners of written principles and famous compilations.”
13. In an interesting instance, Zurarah and Muhammad b. Muslim had a jurisprudential discussion with Imam al-Baqir (a) about the ruling on prayer during travel, and the Imam taught them the secrets of understanding the Quran and how to derive the obligation of shortening the prayer, using reasoning based on the Quran and the Prophetic practice. They said: “We asked Abu Ja’far (a), ‘What do you say about prayer during travel? How is it and how many units?’ He said: ‘Indeed, Allah Almighty says: “And when you travel through the earth, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer” (Quran, 4:101). So, shortening the prayer during travel has become obligatory, just as completing it is obligatory during residence.’ They said: ‘We said to him, ‘Allah Almighty only said: “There is no blame upon you,” and He did not say “Do so.” How then did you make it obligatory?’ He (a) said: ‘Did Allah not also say regarding Safa and Marwah: “Whoever performs Hajj to the House or performs Umrah, there is no blame upon him for walking between them” (Quran, 2:158)? Do you not see that walking between them has become an obligatory requirement because Allah mentioned it in His Book and His Prophet performed it? Likewise, shortening the prayer during travel is something the Prophet did, and Allah mentioned it in His Book.’ The esteemed status of Zurarah and Muhammad ibn Muslim is well known. Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 8, pp. 517-518, hadith 2.
14. For example, the three main narrations of istishab were narrated by Zurarah from the Imam: Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 245, hadith 1, vol. 3, p. 466, hadith 1, and vol. 8, p. 217, hadith 3.
15. Many narrations with Usuli content have been narrated from him. For example, on the topic of abrogation of hadith: Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 27, p. 108, hadith 4; on the topic of preferring a hadith that aligns with the Quran: Mustadrak al-Wasa’il, vol. 17, p. 304, hadith 5; on the topic of istishab: Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 247, hadith 6.
16. Mawsu’at Tabaqat al-Fuqaha, Vol. 2, p. 20, mentions that Abu Sa‘id Aban ibn Taghlib ibn Raba‘ah Jariri, who died in 141 AH, wrote a book called al-Usul fi al-Riwayah ‘ala Madhab al-Shi‘ah. At first glance, this might seem like an Usuli book, but in fact, none of the old sources on rijal and biographies mention such a book. It appears that the authors of Mawsu‘at Tabaqat al-Fuqaha misunderstood this passage from Ibn al-Nadim’s al-Fihrist, p. 276: “Aban ibn Taghlib wrote, among his books, Kitab Ma‘ani al-Qur’an (a subtle book), Kitab al-Qira’at, and Kitab min al-Usul fi al-Riwayah ‘ala Madhab al-Shi‘ah.” It is clear that Ibn al-Nadim was referring to a hadith book (Usul) compiled by Aban ibn Taghlib based on the narrations of the Imams al-Baqir and al-Sadiq (a), as also mentioned in his biography. See: Sheikh Tusi’s al-Fihrist, p. 59.
17. A book with this title is attributed to Yunus in Najashi’s Rijal, p. 447. As mentioned earlier, Shaykh Tusi’s al-Fihrist, p. 511, lists the title of his book as Ikhtilaf al-Hadith.
18. Najashi’s Rijal, p. 327.
19. Najashi’s Rijal, p. 76. Sheikh Tusi’s al-Fihrist, p. 63, records the title of his book as Ikhtilaf al-Hadith.
20. It is not precisely clear whether these treatises had an Usuli, theological, or exegetical nature, as the topic of abrogation (naskh) is relevant to all three sciences.
21. A‘yan al-Shi‘ah, Vol. 1, p. 128.
22. Najashi in his Rijal, p. 217, attributes this book to him and at the same time describes him as “weak and an extremist, of no worth.” In A‘yan al-Shi‘ah, Vol. 1, p. 128, he is mentioned as the first author on the subject of abrogation (naskh wa mansukh).
23. Najashi’s Rijal, p. 36.
24. A‘yan al-Shi‘ah, Vol. 1, p. 128.
25. Najashi’s Rijal, p. 162.
26. It is known that he was alive until at least 274 AH, as he attended the funeral of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid Barqi, who died in 274 or 280 AH. See: Mawsu’at Tabaqat al-Fuqaha, Vol. 3, p. 100.
27. Najashi’s Rijal, p. 82; Sheikh Tusi’s al-Fihrist, p. 69. Some also considered him a companion of Imam al-Hadi (a), although this is not confirmed.