Al-Risala (attributed to al-Šafi'i) and the Question of Vagueness in Islamic Legal Hermeneutics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/cis.20372Keywords:
vagueness, ambiguity, al-Šāfiʿī, divergence, Islamic legal hermeneuticsAbstract
This article investigates the problem of legal vagueness in Islamic legal hermeneutics. In particular, it examines al-Risala’s (attributed to al-Šafi'i) approach to use language as an argument for the clarity of legal discourse. It argues that ambiguity, although recognized as a legal hermeneutic problem, was not tolerated within Islamic legal discourse. It also makes the case that al-Risala’s stance develops early reverse pragmatics or pragmatics-for-apologetics in Islamic legal theory.
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