On Theology and Islamic Jurisprudence Principles in Modern Context: Problems of Using Contemporary Social Theories of Knowledge as Tools for Ijtihad

Abstract

In his book Revealed Sciences and the Theory of Knowledge: In Philosophy, History, and Methodology, Alhassan Shaheed attempts to examine some of the features of the general philosophy of Sharia sciences, and glimpses of the aspects of their development over time. He has discussed the philosophy of science and the theory of knowledge, in their modern context. He tried to draw a comparison between the philosophy of the legal sciences and the philosophy of the true sciences, and social sciences. The present article examines the author's assumptions and evidence as well as the methodology he adopts to establish his thesis. Although this article discusses Shaheed’s thesis, it criticizes a broader academic trend in studying Sharia sciences.

This trend was founded by ʻMustafa ʻAbd al-Rāziq and supported by ʻAlī Sāmī al-Nashshār. They tried to prove the complete independent development of the Islamic sciences, and the ability of these sciences to create a new renaissance. This paper proves that the research literature of this school is methodologically dysfunctional on many levels. I will focus, in this paper, on the ahistorical way in which concepts and terminology are examined.