Imam Al-Shawkani's Employment of Usul al-Fiqh Principles in Following Evidences and Rejecting Taqlid: An Applied Study on His Book Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntaqa al-Akhbar

Abstract

This study examines Imam Al-Shawkani's employment of Usul al-Fiqh principles in following evidences and rejecting taqlid (blind imitation). It is an applied study based on his book Nayl al-Awtar Sharh Muntaqa al-Akhbar. The study aims to elucidate Imam Al-Shawkani's methodology in employing Usul al-Fiqh principles to follow legal evidences and to reject taqlid and partisanship, as demonstrated in his commentary on the book Muntaqa al-Akhbar by Majd al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 653 AH ). Ibn Taymiyyah's work served as a refuge for those fleeing the constraints of taqlid and partisanship during Al-Shawkani's era. The researcher adopted the analytical and deductive methods, examining eight principles of Usul al-Fiqh alongside their jurisprudential (fiqhi) applications in the chapters of worship (ibadat) and transactions (mu'amalat). The study concludes by presenting its most significant findings, among which are: Imam Al-Shawkani, through his book Nayl al-Awtar, contributed to upholding truth, following evidence, and disavowing partisanship and taqlid; Al-Shawkani employed Usul al-Fiqh principles to reject taqlid and sectarian partisanship, while encouraging independent reasoning (ijtihad) and adherence to legal evidences; Al-Shawkani critiqued scientific stagnation and sectarian partisanship in his era and called for intellectual renewal, despite being in an environment dominated by madhhab-bound adherence and partisanship, and isolation from the rest of the Islamic world, yet he alone constituted a scholarly school of ijtihad and renewal, whose influence transcended his geographical surroundings to reach most Muslim countries.