Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi

Early life Birth

Teachers As was customary at the time, al-Shatibi received his early education in Arabic language, grammar, and literature. Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Biri (d. 754H/1353CE), dubbed the "master of grammarians" (Shaykh al-Nuhat) in Andalus, was his first instructor in Arabic language and grammar. After Al-Biri's passing, Shatibi completed his study of Arabic language and grammar with Abu al-Qasim al-Sharif al-Sibti (d. 760H/1358CE). Al-Sibti's greatness in the Arabic language and grammar earned him the title "The Bearer of the Standard of Rhetoric." He was also highly regarded by al-Timbukti, who referred to him as "Ra'is al-'Ulum alLisaniyyah" (The King of Linguistics).

Two additional of the Imam's disciples were named by Abul-Ajfan: Abu Ja'far al-Qassar and Abu Abdullah al-Majari, who wrote the Imam's first biography, which we already discussed.

Legacy One of the few classical jurists who is regarded as being heavily relied upon by contemporary writers on usul al-fiqh is Imam al-Shatibi. His theories of maqasid al-Shariah and Maslahah are widely studied and frequently noticed in the creation of modern laws and in the search for concepts for the larger agenda of civilizational renewal. This is mostly due to the fact that these beliefs were developed in response to the problems, difficulties, and societal shifts of his period, which was an extremely affluent and thriving al-Andalus.

Al-Muwafaqat ("The Reconciliation of the fundamentals of Islamic Law"), this is regarded as his greatest work and his magnum opus. He is greatly owed by contemporary writers on usul al-fiqh for this masterwork. The notions of maslahah (public interest/welfare) and maqasid al-Shari'ah (higher purposes of the Shari’ah), which are frequently mentioned in modern Islamic legal theories that primarily draw from al-Shatibi’s work, are particularly elaborated upon. Here, al-Shatibi adhered to the Hanafi methodology of drawing rules and principles from the Qur'an and Sunnah (tariqah al-Hanafiyyin, or jurists' method). By applying this technique, he discovered that the fundamental idea of all Sharia rulings was maslahah. Additionally, he was one of the few Maliki scholars who combined Hanafi School with Maliki School teachings. Kitab al-Itisam ("The Book of Adherence"): often known as The Book of Adherence, is one of Imam al-Shatibi's most well-known books. The subject of the two-volume work is bid'ah, or poisonous innovation, which the Imam has strongly denounced. Additionally, he makes a distinction between maslahah mursalah (public interest), istihsan (jurisprudential choice), and bid'ah here. Al-Shatibi comes to the conclusion that two things typically contribute to such deviations in Islamic legal traditions: a lack of understanding of the Arabic language and its intrinsic meaning in religious literature, as well as a lack of awareness of the goals and purposes of the Shari’ah. Bid’ah has led to heresies and deviations in Islamic legal traditions. Muhammad Rashid Rida introduced al-Shatibi and his writings in his al-Manar, frequently referring to al-Shatibi as a “warrior against bid'ah”. Sharh ‘Ala al-Khulasa fi al-Nahw ("Explanation on the Summary of Arabic Grammar"), this is a four volume commentary on Ibn Malik’s al Khulasa al-Alfiyya. Al-Timbukti holds this as “an unprecedented work on Arabic grammar!” ‘Unwan al-Ittifaq fi ‘Ilm al-Ishtiqaq ("Addressing the Agreement in Science of Derivation"), it's a book on Arabic morphology. Kitab Usul al-Nahw ("Principles of Arabic Grammar"), both of the above mentioned books are on Arabic grammar, which Imam al-Shatibi also mentioned in his Sharh ‘Ala al-Khulasa fi al-Nahw. However al-Timbukti mentioned that al-Shatibi destroyed these works during his lifetime for reasons not described by his biographers. Kitab al-Majalis, this is a commentary on the chapter of sale (buyu’) of Sahih al-Bukhari. Al-Ifadat wal-Inshadat (Testimonies and Recitations): a treatise on Arabic literature edited by Abul Ajfan and published in Beirut in 1983. Fatawa ("Legal Verdicts"), the several fatawa that al-Shatibi presented were eventually collected by Abul Ajfan, despite the fact that he did not compose or compile them into a single volume. It has sixty fatawa covering topics such as salat, ijtihad, zakah, vows, slaughter, punishments, inheritance, creativity, and so on.