Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE

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Ahl al-raʾy
(746 words)

Ahl al-raʾy, also aṣḥāb al-raʾy, were the proponents of the use of independent legal reasoning to arrive at legal decisions. When used by its proponents, who included many early Ḥanafī and Mālikī jurisprudents, the term raʾy had the positive connotation of “sound” or “considered” reasoning. Legal conclusions derived through raʾy were often elicited by means of a question-and-answer dialogue characterised by the use of the use of the terms qultu (“I said”) and qāla (“he said”). Typical techniques of raʾy-based legal discourse included reliance on qiyās (“analogical reasoning”), a…

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Hennigan, Peter C., “Ahl al-raʾy”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Devin J. Stewart. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_22177>
First published online: 2009
First print edition: 9789004178533, 2009, 2009-2



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