مميزات المنهج العلمي للفقه الظاهري و موقف المذاهب الأربعة منه : دراسة نقدية

Abstract EN

This study sheds light on the trends reflecting positive and negative features of Zahiriyah school of law, following an inductive and deductive approach and depending on comparison as a significant way of criticism.

The study concludes that the Zahiriyah doctrine was established in the third Hijri century by Dawood bin Khalaf Al-Asbahani, and the doctrine was then transferred to Andalusia through the scholars of Andalusia who were educated in the East.

It seems that one of the most important factors that helped the spread of the doctrine in Andalusia was the status of Imam Ibn Hazm in his era for he was merely distinguished in Sharia knowledge, was good in foundational argument and could structure a documentation for the doctrine's sayings through his well-written books.

One of the most important characteristics of the doctrine is that it adopted four principles, namely the Book, then the Sunnah and Consensus, and lastly the Istishab (Presumption of Existence).

It used to see the Sunnah as being reported in continues (Mutawatir) way if it was transmitted in each phase of its chain by no less than two, and thus it may disagree with the opinion of the mainstreams in limiting the sources of deduction as four, abolishing analogy and rational opinion and prohibiting imitation and doctrinism in Islamic law.

The Zahiriyah school disagreed with the mainstream schools in adopting an apparent style for interpreting texts of the Noble Qur'an and the Sunnah, without deep researching the meanings and intentions of the Law-Giver, as they saw their duty is only to adopt the apparent textual meanings without much concentration on explaining them with justifications or demonstration of the higher intentions and hidden meanings and purposes of the laws.