Treats the strands of Shi'ite legal theory as a family of legal traditions, providing illustrative examples with editions of previously unpublished worksExamines for the first time in English an intergrated analysis of Shiite traditions and legal theories, including the validity of personal juristic reasoning (ijtihād), linguistic interpretations, the role of certainty in the deduction of law and the legal authority of the imāmsCovers Shiʿi uṣūl, which has received little attention in scholarly discussions of Islamic legal theory Focuses not only on the less-neglected Twelver uṣūl but also on Ismaʿili and Zaydi uṣūl traditionsPresents texts from a range of regions (Yemen, Iraq and Safavid Persia) and written across a broad time period (from the 5th/11th century to the 13th/18th century)Incorporation of Zaydi, Ismaʿili and Twelver legal traditions in a single analytical framework Alongside the individual rules of God's law (sharīʿa), there has been a vibrant history of more philosophical or theoretical discussions in Islamic thought. Where does God's law come from? How are God's rules to be discovered for situations not covered in the revealed sources? Who, within the Muslim community, can make a valid pronouncement |