Language and its impact on the differences among jurists: an applied study

Abstract

This study aims to shed light on an important aspect of Islamic legal deduction (ijtihād)—namely, one of the reasons behind juristic disagreement that arises from linguistic factors. It focuses on how variation in meaning of a single word, the multiplicity of its interpretations between literal and figurative usage, and the conflict between linguistic and legal conventions have led to diverse legal opinions among the established Islamic schools of thought. The study represents an effort to revive and clarify the intrinsic link between Islamic jurisprudence and the Arabic language and its sciences, highlighting the strong interdependence between them. Indeed, the process of juristic inference cannot be separated from a deep understanding of linguistic sciences, given that language serves as the vessel of Islamic law, and that the Sharia was revealed in the Arabic language. Thus, understanding Sharia is intrinsically tied to understanding the structures and implications of the Arabic language. This linguistic dimension has been a primary source of juristic disagreement due to divergent interpretations of texts from a linguistic perspective.