A Comparative Analysis of Two Text-oriented and Context-oriented Approaches in the Evolution of Imamiyyah Theology and Jurisprudence in 4th and 5th Centuries AH

A clear transformation has emerged in the thought of Imami jurisprudence and theology during the 4th and 5th centuries AH, and researchers have often investigated this issue and its factors using two different approaches. Some with a context-oriented approach have highlighted historical contexts and considered the evolution of Imamiyyah theology and jurisprudence in this period to be affected by the context and historical conditions, especially the rise of the Buyid dynasty. Some others, using an invariant approach, have emphasized on the stability of Imami thought from emergence to the period in question, and considered the Imami thought of that period to be merely an expansion of the previous texts of the Imamiyyah. In this paper, the first two approaches mentioned in the researches are introduced, then the third approach called “principle-reality” approach which is based on the tradition of Imamiyyah scholars has been concluded that in the analysis of the evolution of Imami theology and jurisprudence in the discussed period, neither contextualism nor pure invariantism was a comprehensive approach. Meanwhile, the "principle-reality" approach that takes contexts, requirements, historical variables of that era as well as preserving the principles and theological-jurisprudential principles of the Imams (AS) is more credible in explaining the issue.