Fiqh-e-Jafariya — al-fiqh al-Ja‘fari — is the jurisprudence of the Twelver Shia, named after Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq عليه السلام. This library explains how the school works. It does not issue rulings: for any personal question, consult the published rulings (risala ‘amaliyya) of your marja‘ al-taqlid or their authorised representative.
Sources of law
- The Qur’an
- The word of God, the first source of all law.
- The Sunna
- The words, actions and approvals of the Ma‘sumin — the Prophet, Fatima and the Twelve Imams — as transmitted in reliable narrations.
- Consensus (ijma‘)
- Agreement of the jurists, authoritative insofar as it reveals the view of the Ma‘sum.
- Reason (‘aql)
- Definitive judgements of reason, used to understand and apply the law.
The Four Books
al-Kafi
Compiled by al-Kulayni (d. 329 AH): theology, ethics and law.
Sources: al-Kafi
Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih
Compiled by al-Saduq (d. 381 AH): legal narrations.
Sources: Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih
Tahdhib al-Ahkam
Compiled by al-Tusi (d. 460 AH): legal narrations with commentary.
Sources: Tahdhib al-Ahkam
al-Istibsar
Compiled by al-Tusi: reconciles narrations that appear to conflict.
Ijtihad and taqlid
Ijtihad is the expert derivation of rulings from the sources, requiring mastery of Arabic, Qur’anic interpretation, hadith, the assessment of narrators (rijal) and legal theory (usul al-fiqh). A person who has reached this level is a mujtahid.
Those who are not mujtahids follow (taqlid) a qualified living mujtahid in practical matters — just as one follows a qualified physician — or act by precaution (ihtiyat). The most learned jurists whom many follow are called maraji‘ al-taqlid (sing. marja‘). Each publishes a manual of rulings, and offices of the maraji‘ answer questions directly. Rulings can differ between maraji‘; follow the rulings of your own marja‘.
Jurists who shaped the school
- al-Shaykh al-Mufid (d. 413 AH)
- Theologian and jurist of Baghdad; teacher of al-Murtada and al-Tusi.
- al-Sharif al-Murtada (d. 436 AH)
- Systematised legal theory and theology.
- al-Shaykh al-Tusi (d. 460 AH)
- Author of two of the Four Books; credited with founding the seminary of Najaf after moving there in 448 AH.
- al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli (d. 676 AH)
- Author of Shara’i‘ al-Islam, a foundational legal manual.
- al-‘Allama al-Hilli (d. 726 AH)
- Refined the classification of hadith and comparative law.
- al-Shahid al-Awwal (d. 786 AH) and al-Shahid al-Thani (d. 965 AH)
- Authors of al-Lum‘a al-Dimashqiyya and its commentary al-Rawda al-Bahiyya, still taught in seminaries.
- Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari (d. 1281 AH)
- Reshaped legal theory with al-Rasa’il and al-Makasib.
- al-Akhund al-Khurasani (d. 1329 AH)
- Author of Kifayat al-Usul.
- Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Yazdi (d. 1337 AH)
- Author of al-‘Urwa al-Wuthqa, the base text annotated by many later maraji‘.
Glossary
- Wajib
- Obligatory.
- Mustahab
- Recommended.
- Mubah
- Permissible.
- Makruh
- Disliked.
- Haram
- Forbidden.
- Ihtiyat
- Precaution — acting so as to be certain of fulfilling one’s duty.
- Tahara / Najasa
- Ritual purity / ritual impurity.
- Khums
- A religious due of one-fifth on certain kinds of wealth, divided according to the rulings of one’s marja‘.
- Risala ‘amaliyya
- A marja‘’s published manual of practical rulings.
- Marja‘ al-taqlid
- A mujtahid whose rulings are followed by believers.
A note on this library
This page describes the structure and history of Ja‘fari jurisprudence. It is not a fatwa and does not replace the rulings of a qualified jurist. Where practice differs between maraji‘, the differences are real and legitimate within the school.
Sources
- al-Kafi — al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub (d. 329 AH / 941 CE)
- Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih — al-Saduq, Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Babawayh al-Qummi (d. 381 AH / 991 CE)
- Tahdhib al-Ahkam — al-Tusi, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (d. 460 AH / 1067 CE)
- al-Istibsar fima Ukhtulifa min al-Akhbar — al-Tusi (d. 460 AH / 1067 CE)
- Shara’i‘ al-Islam fi Masa’il al-Halal wa al-Haram — al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli, Ja‘far ibn al-Hasan (d. 676 AH / 1277 CE)
- al-Lum‘a al-Dimashqiyya — al-Shahid al-Awwal, Muhammad ibn Makki (d. 786 AH / 1384 CE)
- al-Rawda al-Bahiyya fi Sharh al-Lum‘a al-Dimashqiyya — al-Shahid al-Thani, Zayn al-Din al-‘Amili (d. 965 AH / 1558 CE)
- Fara’id al-Usul (al-Rasa’il) and al-Makasib — al-Ansari, Shaykh Murtada (d. 1281 AH / 1864 CE)
- Kifayat al-Usul — al-Akhund al-Khurasani, Muhammad Kazim (d. 1329 AH / 1911 CE)
- al-‘Urwa al-Wuthqa — al-Yazdi, Sayyid Muhammad Kazim (d. 1337 AH / 1919 CE)
- An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi‘ism — Momen, Moojan
- Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi‘ite Islam — Modarressi, Hossein