Early Islamic hermeneutics: Language, speech, and meaning in preclassical legal theory

Author/Creator:

Vishanoff, David R.

Publication/Creation:

Thesis Ph.D. Emory University 2004

Resource Type:

Book

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Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

Early Islamic hermeneutics: Language, speech, and meaning in preclassical legal theory

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Additional Author/Creators:

Emory University

Description/Summary

Summary:

The opening chapters of Islamic legal theory manuals offer extended discussions of the language of the Qur'an, and principles for its interpretation. This discourse takes the form of detailed analyses of specific verbal constructions---for example, when a command has the form "if A then do B," must one do B every time condition A is met? Taken as a whole, this discourse constitutes a sophisticated theory of language and hermeneutics addressing basic linguistic issues such as ambiguity, reference, scope, the classification of speech acts, and verbal implication.
This dissertation tentatively reconstructs the emergence of this theory, in relation to the various theological models of divine speech that informed it, during the formative period of debate that preceded the crystallization of classical Sunni legal theory in the late 5th/11th century. Chapter 2 identifies early discussions of key hermeneutical concepts in early exegetical, theological, and legal discourses, and then shows how al-Shafi'`i (d. 204/820) integrated these concepts into a hermeneutical theory that reconciles conflicting revealed texts and laws by systematically exploiting the ambiguities of Arabic, thus making it possible to ground Islamic law in revelation. Chapter 3 shows how Mu`tazili theologians such as `Abd al-Jabbar (d. 415/1025) resisted al-Shafi`i's emphasis on the ambiguity of revealed language, and formulated an alternative legal hermeneutics based on the principle that all God's speech functions as a perfectly clear, created indicator of the intrinsic goodness or badness of human actions. Chapter 4 interprets the work of al-Baqillani (d. 403/1013) as a theoretical vindication of al-Shafi`i's hermeneutics of ambiguity, based on the Ash`ari doctrine of the uncreatedness of the Qur'an.
This dissertation demonstrates that the fierce debates of early Islamic legal hermeneutics were not mere quibbles about the fine points of interpretation; they were a central part of an interdisciplinary struggle over the nature of the Islamic canon and its role as a source of knowledge and practice for the Muslim community. In addition to providing the first historical overview of this arcane discourse, the dissertation seeks to make it accessible to students of hermeneutics in contemporary Islamic thought and in other religious traditions.

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

281 pages

General Note:

Source of abstract: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-02, Section: A, page: 0564.
Advisor: Richard C. Martin.

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9937361995902486

ISBN:

9780496706808