Al-Qadi al-Nu'man’s view on the interpretation of jurisprudential verses and rulings

Al-Qadi al-Nu'man Ibn Hayyun (d. 363 AH) is one of the Fatimid theorists who has embarked on interpreting the secrets of jurisprudential verses. He argues the rules of jurisprudence, as the appearance of Shari'a, and faith and wisdom, as its hidden core, have several levels. By defining faith, he posits that the observance of principles such as "guardianship, purity, prayer, fasting, zakat, Hajj, jihad" are only part of religious practices. Further, by stressing that faith and practice are hand in hand, and using Qur'anic verses and the narrations of the Prophet (pbuh) and the Infallibles up to Imam Ja'far Sadegh (pbuh), he has embarked on interpreting the secrets of rules and verses of jurisprudence. This article adopts a descriptive-analytical method to explore the intellectual foundations of Al-Qadi al-Nu'man, and discover its method in interpreting the rules and verses of jurisprudence. The findings suggest that he, strongly influenced by the Ismaili religion, interprets jurisprudential verses based on their main pillar of belief, "Welyat", which is not founded upon any rational reasoning.