Jaṣṣāṣ’s Criticisms Of Shāfiʿī’s Concept Of The Bayān
Abstract
In this article, al-Jaṣṣāṣ’ critiques of al- Shāfiʿī’s bayān concept are examined and analyzed. Al- Shāfiʿī, the disciple of both Imam Muhammad and Imam Mālik , developed a new conception of legal thought (uṣūl) because he did not satisfy the understanding of his time. Although there is no dispute between the Islamic legal schools (madhhabs) over the legislative authoritativeness of the Qur'an, their approach to the Sunnah differs. Both Hanafi scholars and al-Mālik would not rely on khabar al-ahad because of a disconnection in meaning (al-inqita al-manawi) in it and its contradiction to the Practice of the People of Madina (amal ahl al-Madinah) respectively. In addition, Hanafi scholars stated that the Qur’anic general words (‘amm) express certainty and that the Qur’anic verses cannot be allocated with the reports (khabar) expressing suspicion (zann). Al-Shāfiʿī gives central importance to the Sunnah in his concept of the bayān not because he disputed the attitudes of the present legal schools towards the Qur’an, but because he disapproved their approaches to the Sunnah represented by al-akhbar al-ahad. Thus, it is possible to say that al-Shāfiʿī developed his legal though (uṣūl) through the bayān concept, and the bayān concept through the Sunnah. According to Al-Shāfiʿī, since in various verses in the Qur’an God has imposed the obligation on people to obey the Prophet; then, accordingly khabar al-ahad has a great intense significance as well and they are no different from the Qur’an in terms of legislation.
Al-Shāfiʿī is the first person to take the bayān out of its literal meaning and use it as a term. The term bayān is, al-Shāfiʿī tells us,
a noun comprising several convergent basic meanings which are, however, divergent in their details.
After defining the term, he subjected the bayān to a five-part classification as follows: (1) Qur’an by its own; (2) Qur’an and Sunnah together, each expressing the same rule; (3) Qur’an and Sunnah together, whereby the Sunnah explains what is in the Qur’an; (4) Sunnah by its own; and (5) neither, in which case one engages in legal interpretation (ijtihad). Al-Shāfiʿī puts all of his bayān modes around the Qur’an, and he argues that the Qur’anic statements could be accurately understood by mastering the Arabic language.
A Hanafi jurist al- Jaṣṣāṣ, criticized al-Shāfiʿī on the grounds that he had inconsistencies in his definition and classification of the bayān theory, and not because he developed that particular theory. Al-Jaṣṣāṣ argued that al- Shāfiʿī’s definition does not clearly state its purpose, and it includes some inconsistencies in the classification. Furthermore, the characteristics which al- Shāfiʿī cites in his definition of the bayān do not correspond to the parts of it.
There is not too much of criticism from al-Jaṣṣāṣ against the second and the third modes of the bayān. He says that it is the examples mentioned in the first mode where al-Shāfiʿī uses the term bayān for the first time. Therefore, he describes it as consolidation (ta’kid) or confirmation (taqrir) rather than bayān. It can be said that he did not bring any criticism because Hanafi scholars had the same conviction about the second and the third modes of the bayān. In the fourth mode of the bayān, al-Shāfiʿī examined the Sunnah as an independent source of legislation, like the Qur’an. He strongly argued that the Sunnah can be a source of the divine law for the matters that are absent in the Qur’an. Nevertheless, al-Jaṣṣāṣ rejected this argument and did not consider it as a separate mode of the bayān. According to him, the bayān does not differ according to who said it; however, there is a difference in itself, such as the bayān being compulsory (fard), recommended (sunnah) or forbidden (haram).
Al-Jaṣṣāṣ also rejected al-Shāfiʿī’s consideration of the legal interpretations (ijtihad)—which are subjective and include suspicion (zann)—as the fifth mode of the bayān. Because, according to al-Jaṣṣāṣ, when certainty is attributed to an interpretation (ijtihad), one who opposes any ijtihad will have opposed God's judgment.
Another reason al-Shāfiʿī was criticized by al-Jaṣṣāṣ and other scholars because he has not mentioned scholarly consensus (ijmā) under the bayān concept. Al-Jaṣṣāṣ argues that it is more suitable to mention scholarly consensus (ijmā) than ijtihad under the bayān concept because scholarly consensus (ijmā) is accepted as explicit evidence.
It is noteworthy that some of the criticisms al-Jaṣṣāṣ brought were mentioned before and after him as well. Scholars like Abū Bakr Ibn Dāwūd aẓ-Ẓāhirī and Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī also opposed al-Shāfiʿī’s concept. We can say that al-Shāfiʿī 's theory of the bayān was not adopted when we analyze the Shāfiʿī works on uṣūl after al-Risāla. A Shafii jurist Al-Ṣayrafī, who wrote a commentary on al-Risāla, redefined the term bayān, but that was criticized as well. Al-Jaṣṣāṣ explained that the first and fifth bayān modes of al-Shāfiʿī do not apply according to this definition.
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Cessâs’ın Şâfiî’nin Beyân Anlayışına Yönelik Eleştirileri
Abstract
Bu makalede, Cessâs’ın İmam Şâfiî’nin beyân anlayışına yönelttiği eleştiriler doğrudan incelenmiş; Cessâs dışında bu teoriye eleştiri getiren âlimlerin düşüncelerine ve bu teoriyi savunanların gerekçelerine de dolaylı olarak temas edilmiştir. Hem İmam Muhammed’in hem de İmam Mâlik’in talebesi olan İmam Şâfiî, dönemindeki mevcut usul anlayışından memnun olmadığından yeni bir usul anlayışı inşa etmiştir. Onun için, usul anlayışını beyân kavramı üzerinden; beyânı da sünnet üzerinden şekillendirdiğini söylemek mümkündür. O, mevcut fıkıh ekollerinin Kur’ân’a değil; haber-i vâhidlerle nakledilen sünnete yaklaşımlarını doğru bulmadığından beyân teorisinde sünnete merkezi bir önem atfetmektedir. Ona göre Kur’ân ve Sünnet ilkten hüküm koymaları bakımından eşit seviyededirler. Şâfiî, beyân sözcüğüne bir tanım getirerek onu bir terim mahiyetinde zikreden ilk kişidir. Tanımlamasının ardından yaptığı taksimde beyânı beşli bir tasnife tabi tutmuştur. Şâfiî bütün beyân türlerini Kur’ân’a irca etmekte ve iyi bir Arapça bilgisine sahip olunup Kur’ân iyi anlaşıldığı takdirde nasların sahih bir şekilde anlaşılacağını savunmaktadır. Hanefî usulcüsü Cessâs, beyân adında bir teori ürettiği için değil; beyânın tanımında ve taksimatında tutarsızlıklar bulunduğu gerekçesiyle Şâfiî’ye eleştiriler yöneltmiştir. Cessâs’a göre onun yaptığı tanım maksadını açık bir şekilde ifade etmediği gibi; beyânın kısımları da tutarsızlıklar barındırmaktadır.
Şâfiî gerek Cessâs tarafından gerekse başka alimler tarafından icmâı beyânın kısımları arasında zikretmediği için de eleştirilmiştir. Cessâs’a göre ictihadın beyânın kısımları arasında zikredilmesindense icmâın zikredilmesi daha uygundur.
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