The Controversy over the Law Schools (lā madhhabiyya) in Twentieth-Century Syria

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Abstract

The validity of the established schools of law (sing. madhhab) is a major bone of contention between contemporary Salafis and Traditionalists. The controversy reached its peak around 1970 in a famous exchange between Nāir al-Dīn al-Albānī, who called for direct reliance on authenticated hadith, and Muammad Saīd Ramaān al-Būī, who favored the jurists' legal expertise. In this essay, I chart the course of the lā madhhabiyya debate in Syria by analyzing the polemical writings of three generations of Syrian ulama from 1870 to 1970. I argue that the seeds of the controversy were sown in the late Ottoman period in the Salafi challenge to taqlīd. I also uncover the central role of the Indian Ahl-i Hadith in mediating the anti-madhhabī position to the core Arab lands, and the part of Syrian anafī-Naqshbandī ulamā in defending the madhhabs. Finally, I allude to the political split among the Traditionalist ulamā between the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the Bath regime.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)403-430
Number of pages28
JournalIslamic Law and Society
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Itzchak Weismann.

Keywords

  • Ahl-i Hadith
  • Muslim Brotherhood
  • Naqshbandiyya
  • Salafism
  • Traditionalist Islam
  • lā madhhabiyya
  • taqlīd

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Law

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