The
linguistic imaginations of Islamic legal theoreticians are centered on the theory
of assignation (wad‘). The term wad‘ refers to assigning a meaning to a
noun, or, as more classically called, an expression. The literal meaning of an expression
in language refers to the truth (haqīqa) whereas its usage in another meaning,
in some sense connected to the original meaning, refers to the figurative/ metaphorical
meaning. Theoretical jurisprudential literature has debated whether the
literary meaning of an expression changes by the conduct of the Shāri‘ and, if
so, whether jurists can use the term al-haqīqa al-shar‘iyya (legal truths)
as a kind of truth for the nouns that are argued to have acquired different meanings.
Some Mu‘tazilī theoreticians argue that the Shāri‘ assigned legal and
theological meanings to some nouns by divorcing them from their literal
meanings and referring to the nouns transferred to legal meanings as al-haqīqa
al-shar‘iyya and some of the nouns transferred to theological meanings as
religious truths. e Mu‘tazilī theoreticians use the term transference (naql)
for describing the process of assigning new meanings to certain nouns in
addition to their literal meanings. By employing certain nouns whose meanings the
Shārī‘, as they argue, transferred to new theological meanings — such as belief
(īmān), sinfulness (fisq) and unbelief (kufr) — they
ground the theory of al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn, used for great sinners (murtakib
al-kabīra), in order to identify their dubious state of being believers or
unbelievers. During the fourth/tenth century, witnessing ongoing ideological
debates between the Mu‘tazilī and Ash‘arī theological schools, al-Qādi
al-Bāqillānī formulates the Ash‘arī school’s theoretical framework. Considering
that the usage of al-haqīqa al-shar‘iyya could pave the way for the
possibility of religious nouns that include theological meanings, he tries to
identify these nouns with their literal meanings. Therefore, he insists the
nouns have not been transferred and their literal meanings continue to exist.
By the
second half of the fith/eleventh century, the Mu‘tazilī school lost its
dominance and new challenges to Sunni theology, such as philosophy and
esotericism, began to appear. Al-Bāqillānī’s resistance to the arguments of al-haqīqa
alshar‘iyya transference evolved into a lighter emphasis among Ash‘arī
theologians and theoreticians. Therefore, some Ash‘arī theologians and
theoreticians criticized al-Bāqillānī’s rigid attitude and accepted the conduct
of the Shāri‘. By the seventh/thirteenth century, almost all Ash‘arī
theologians and Hanafi theoreticians adopted the view of legal nouns as a kind
of truth. Among them, al-Juwaynī and his student al-Ghazālī state that the
conduct of the Shāri‘ on expressions occurs metaphorically and this
metaphorical usage gains wide-circulation. A century later, al-Rāzī (d.
606/1210), like his predecessors, adopts the metaphorical conduct of the Shāri‘
as well as calls legal nouns among the kinds of truth and accepts the
transference to legal meanings. However, unlike the Mu‘tazilī school, he
underlines the necessity to have an affinity at the transference between the
literal meaning and the new meaning. A half-century later, Ibn al-Hājib (d.
646/1249) does not accept the metaphorical conduct of the Shāri‘ but adopts
completely al-haqīqa al-shar‘iyya by distinguishing religious and legal
truths and calls the conduct of the Shāri‘ on expressions as assignation (wad‘).
Several Ash‘arī theologian theoreticians such as Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī (d.
771/1370), Jalāl al-Dīn al-Mahallī (d.864/1459) and Hasan b. Muhammad al-‘Attār
(d. 1250/1834) follow Ibn al-Hājib on accepting al-haqīqa al-shar‘iyya
totally.
In this
article, I examine the Hanafi theoretical literature in three distinct lines by
following the cross-references and continuities in ideas among the legal
theoreticians. The first is the Hanafi-jurist tradition that follows the
classifications and methodology of al-Dabūsī’s Taqwīm al-adilla; the second one
is the tradition that combines Hanafi theoretical perspective with theologian
methodology; and the third one is Hanafi-Māturīdī theoretical tradition that
builds jurisprudential methodology on the basic premises of Māturīdī
theological school. Al-Jaŝŝās (d. 370/981), a Hanafi jurist who is known for
his close connection to the Mu‘tazilī school, openly accepts that the Shāri‘
assigns new meanings on nouns. Later, some Hanafi jurists such as al-Dabūsī (d.
430/1039), al-Sarakhsī (d. 483/1090) and al-Pazdawī (d. 482/1089) describe the
conduct of the Shāri‘ on nouns only metaphorically and argue, just like in the
theological tradition, that metaphorical usages of nouns have more circulation.
Sadr al-Sharī‘a (d. 747/1346), a scholar of Hanafi-jurisprudential tradition,
calls these nouns as kinds of truth. Maintaining two aspects of explaining the
issue, al-Qarāfī (d. 684/1285), argues that when one takes into consideration
the literal meanings of a noun, its literal meaning corresponds to the truth
while its legal meaning becomes the metaphorical meaning; and when one takes
into consideration the legal meaning of a noun, its legal meaning corresponds
to the truth while its literal meaning becomes the metaphorical meaning. Some
Hanafi jurists following the combined tradition (such as Ibn al-Sā‘ātī and Ibn
al-Humām) and Māturīdī-Hanafi theoreticians accept the transference of legal
meanings as a whole and call the nouns transferred to these meanings al-haqīqa
al-shar‘iyya.
In this
article, I will first examine some aspects of the concepts related to al-haqīqa
al-shar‘iyya in a historical and intellectual context. Then, by a
close reading of the classical works of theologians and Hanafi legal
scholars, I will try to show how the argument evolved from total denial
of al-haqīqa al-shar‘iyya (after al-Bāqillānī) into a gradual acceptance
in almost all Sunni traditions (especially starting with al-Juwaynī). My
objective is to outline the landmarks concerning the ideas on the conduct of
the Shāri‘ on the meanings of nouns by pointing particularly to al-Bāqillānī
and, after him, certain theologians and Hanafi jurists. I aim to highlight the
changes in ideas in their proper intellectual and historical contexts.
al-Bāqillānī haqīqa-majāz transference of expressions al-haqīqa alshar‘ iyya Muslim theologians Mu‘tazila Hanafi legal theorists
Usulcülerin dil tasavvurlarının
merkezinde vaz‘ teorisi yer alır. Vaz‘ terimi dilde bir kelimenin, klasik
ifadesiyle lafzın, herhangi bir anlam için tayin edilmesini ifade eder. Dilde
ilk tayin edildiği anlamda kullanılan lafız hakikat iken, ilk anlamlataşıdığı
bir irtibat (alâka) sebebiyle başka bir anlamda kullanılan lafız mecazdır. Mecazdan
farklı olarak, dilde belli anlamlara vazedilen lafızların şeriatı vazedenin
tasarrufuyla farklı anlamlara yüklenip yüklenmediği ve farklı anlam kazandığı
iddia edilen isimleri bir tür hakikat olarak “şer‘î hakikat” şeklinde ifade
etmenin mümkün olup olmadığı usûl-ı fıkıh düşüncesinde tartışmaya konu
olmuştur. Mu‘tezile’nin itikadî anlamlar taşıyan dinî isimlerde savunduğu gibi
fıkhî anlamlar ihtiva eden şer‘î isimlerde de nakil olduğu ve isimlerin yeni bir
hakikat olduğu iddiası, IV. (X.) asırda Eş‘arî-mütekellim usulünün temsilcisi Bâkıllânî
(ö. 403/1013) tarafından sert bir şekilde eleştirilmiştir. Bâkıllânî, dinî isimlerde
olduğu gibi şer‘î isimlerde de nakil iddiasını bütünüyle reddetmiş ve bu tür
isimlerin lugavî hakikat olduğunda ısrar etmiştir. Ancak sonrasında zaman içinde,
gerek Eş‘arî-mütekellim usulcüler gerekse Hanefî usulcüler –açıklama tarzları
değişse de- isimlerin şâriin tasarrufu ile yeni anlamlar kazandığını kabul
etmişlerdir. Çalışmanın temel hedefi, şâriin lafızların anlamları üzerindeki tasarrufuna
dair görüşlerin, Bâkıllânî ve sonrasında, mütekellim ve Hanefî usul düşünce
tarihinde zaman içinde nasıl değiştiğini fikrî ve tarihî gelişmelerle irtibatlı
olarak ortaya koymak ve bu tasarrufa dair açıklamaların nasıl olduğunu incelemektir.
Bâkıllânî hakikat-mecaz nakil Mu‘tezile Ehl-i sünnet Eş‘arîmütekellim usulü Hanefî fıkıh usulü
Subjects | Linguistics, Religious Studies |
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Journal Section | Makaleler |
Authors | |
Publication Date | December 1, 2017 |
Published in Issue | Year 2017 |