Proof of Reason in Hijri V. Century in Methodology of Caferî Fiqh

Abstract

Ahbarism, which emerged with the absence of the twelfth imam in 260/873, did not grant the right to life to rational interpretations and disciplines, claiming that religion can only be understood by the information provided by the imams. For this reason, it is a known fact that most of the imami scholars rejected the methods of mental revelation until the beginning of the hijri 6th / 11th century. With the prolongation of the twelfth imam's absenteeism (h.260/873), the disagreements among the imams and the inability to find solutions to new problems led to the weakening of this Salafi understanding. This has led to the emergence of a new system of thought but also principles of how to derive fiqh from the sources in question, and that makes use of the methods of Reasoning. In our article, it is mentioned to what extent the Usûlî School, which emerged as Mutazila affected a movement against Ahbâris since the V/XI century. Based on the examples of Sheyh Müfid, Sherif Murtazâ and Abû Cafer et-Tûsî, who set the basis of this school, the approaches of the Usûlî School to the evidence of reason in the V/XI century were evaluated. In particular, the main theme of our study is to examine whether the scholars of the aforementioned principles, based on the works they wrote on the fiqh method, see the mind as the fourth evidence after the Book, Sunnah and Icmâ.