Shia Jurisprudence

The Qur’an is the most fundamental and authentic source of the Islamic law ( sharīʿah ) and the primary reference for attaining the principles of Islam among all Muslims. Throughout the history of Islamic civilization, scholars have derived answers to many of their religious questions on diverse issues from the noble verses of the Qur’an. Within this framework, the Qur’anic verses have also served as the primary fountainhead of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), guiding the practical lives of devout Muslims. Nevertheless, it appears that certain opinions expressed in the corpus of fiqh literature are not fully aligned with the recommendations and guidance offered in the Qur’an. One such area of tension concerns the Qur’an’s proposed model for dealing with those who show disrespect toward religious sanctities, which seems to be inconsistent with the prevailing jurisprudential approach. In view of the importance of this issue, the present study adopts a problem-oriented approach and employs a descriptive-analytical method. It first elucidates the manner in which the Qur’an addresses this phenomenon and then, based on the Qur’anic model, critically evaluates the Shia jurisprudential opinions in light of these teachings. The findings indicate that the current jurisprudential approach is not capable of withstanding the unequivocal principles ( muḥkamāt ) of the Qur’an or the practical conduct ( sīrah ʿamalīyyah ) of the Prophet and Shia Imams. At the very least, this approach destabilizes the basis of the prevailing  jurisprudential ruling and suggests the adoption of a perspective that maximizes the protection of human life and does not permit coercive measures except on the basis of definitive evidence.