Principles of Jurisprudence between Al-Shafi’i and Al-Ash’ari: A Historical Approach

Abstract

The research aims to know the relationship that brought together some Shafi’i jurists and theologians with Abu al-Hasan Al-Ash’ari, who - despite his affiliation with the Shafi’i school of thought as historians mention - some Shafi’is consider his method to be far from the method of Al-Shafi’i in principles and branches. The research concluded that the period between Al-Shafi’i and Al-Baqillani is still shrouded in some ambiguity that prevents the history of the science of the principles of jurisprudence and its relationship to the science of theology, and that Al-Ash’ari did not disagree with Al-Shafi’i except in matters of the principles of jurisprudence, some of which were reported to have been said by Al-Shafi’i, despite the difference of opinion among his companions in attributing them to him. According to what we have concluded in this research, it seems that Al-Ash'ari's openness to theology was the main motive that made some Shafi'is distinguish between his principles and those of Al-Shafi'i's.