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An ethical solution to the problem of legal indeterminacy: sharīʿa scholarship at E gypt's al‐ A zhar
Author(s) -
Nakissa Aria
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of the royal anthropological institute
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1467-9655
pISSN - 1359-0987
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9655.12081
Subject(s) - imitation , interpretation (philosophy) , indeterminacy (philosophy) , scholarship , ethnography , constant (computer programming) , set (abstract data type) , sociology , epistemology , law , philosophy , political science , anthropology , social psychology , psychology , computer science , linguistics , programming language
This article explores the importance of ethical discipline in resolving the ambiguities characteristic of legal interpretation. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among religious scholars at Egypt's al‐Azhar, I demonstrate that traditional Muslim educational techniques are structured with the aim of imparting a particular set of dispositions (modelled on those of the Prophet) by enjoining meticulous and constant imitation of the Prophet's personal habits ( sunna ). By transforming themselves into living replicas of the Prophet, jurists believe that they acquire the ability to mirror his textual interpretations.