Reasoning By Analogy According to The Ibāḍis In The Second Century AH

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This research presents a preliminary study on qiyas (analogy) in the Ibadi School, focusing on the second century A. H. in which Abū ʿUbaydah Muslim bin Abī Karīmah and his students were present. It has shown that the school paid early attention to analogy. Abū ʿUbaydah, al-Rabīʿ, and Ibn ʿAbd al- ʿAzīz used it to varying degrees, and the latter one comes in the forefront of those who used it abundantly. Abū ʿUbaydah initially expressed reservations, due to the absence of standardized values, and the fear of adopting whims as a hidden premise for analogy, especially if the matter was related to dimāʾ (killing life) and furūj (private parts). However, the applied practices of what later became known to the uṣūlī scholars as the qiyas al-ʿillah wa al-dalālah (analogy of cause and indication) were evident in Abū ʿUbaydah’s masāʾil (issues) and inspired in his later students. Ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz considered Abū ʿUbaydah as skilled and precise in his applications of analogy. This research traces these applications through the Mudawwanah (writings) of Abū Ghānim Al-Khurāsānī (d. 200 A. H.).