The Methodology of Detecting the Intention of the Lawmaker (Midhāq-i Shāriʿ)(A Case Study : Verdicts of Revoking from Husband to Wife)

The Intention of the Lawmaker (Midhāq-i Shāriʿ) is one of the recurring proofs in jurisprudence (fiqh) in order to obtain religious verdicts. However, jurisprudential and ʾUṣūlī books have not dedicated independent chapters for the refining of this subject. The present study aims at achieving a clear definition of the term and the method of detecting it the field of Ijtihād and jurisprudence. The study concludes that the Intention of the Lawmaker (Midhāq-i Shāriʿ)  includes the following: the resultant of the understanding of the jurist from a network of propositions indicating the epistemological system of religion, the characteristics of the lawyer, humanity, and society, the purposes of Sharīʿa, the collection  of legal verses (Āyāt al-Sharīʿa), the collection of jurisprudential principles, the priorities of the lawyer and his preferences, similarities and analogies in rulings with Shīʿa interpretation, the collection of definitive rulings in determining the boundaries of Wājib (obligatory) and Ḥarām (prohibited) acts, the collection of definitive verdicts in determining the lawyer’s desirable actions concerning Mustaḥabāt (recommended acts) and Makrūhāt (discouraged acts), and practical principles (ʾUṣūl). The present article outlines fifteen steps in understanding the aforementioned issues. These have been applied in a case study of the Intention of the Lawmaker (Midhāq-i Shāriʿ) in the matter of a husband revoking his gift from his wife.