A Critique of the Mechanism of Metaphysical Realism in Shiite Prin-ciples of Jurisprudence

According to some Muslim scholars, manners of living are not exhausted by modern style of living (regardless of prior traditions)—we might still turn to Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), find the Prophet’s words, and live accordingly. The nature or spirit of Islamic jurisprudence is the discovery of the practical doctrines, or rulings, of Islam. A jurist is not therefore a lawmaker, but a discoverer of laws. A jurist’s process of ijtihad (or inference of rulings) ends with an inferences of a proposition that suggests a jurisprudential ruling. Of the prominent Shiite intellectual trends, both Akhbāris and Uṣūlis endorse metaphysical realism about divine rulings. The main problem with which this article is concerned is an assessment and critique of the mechanism of realism in jurisprudential inferences in Shiite principles of jurisprudence. Based on the results of this research, which are obtained through description and analysis of content, although realism is part and parcel of the principles held by Imami Shiite Uṣūlis, the solutions proposed to achieve the goal are inadequate because of their confusion of existential and legislative effects of certainty, and thus, they cannot do justice to the concerns of Akhbāris in reaching the reality. For this reason, it is necessary to account for a more efficient mechanism of realism through a revision of the common elements of Uṣūli arguments and how they arrive at an authoritative reason or proof. It seems that by transferring the locus of inculpatoriness (munajjiziyya) and exculpatoriness (muʿadhdhiriyya) from the essence of certainty (qaṭʿ) to its causes, and the minimization of the impact of psychological states on inferences, the ground can be prepared for realism and further justification of the propositions in the principles of jurisprudence.