The Possible State? Renewal of Ijtihād and Its Role in Enforcing Sharia through the Intellectual Project of Jamāl Al-Dīn ʻaṭīya

Abstract

Sharia has occupied the center of attention by Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike. The term, Sharia, in itself, is controversial, sometimes is exaggerated and often misinterpreted. When it comes to the different ways in which Sharia is to be applied, we find many suggestions and methods emanating from within the Islamic parlance. But such approaches focus, for the most part, on the renewal of the Islamic sciences. There is paucity of literature that examines the integration of Sharia into the social and, more importantly, legal fabrics of the nation-state. In this thesis, I examine the different ways in which Sharia has been applied or proposed to be applied. I examine the integrative approach advocated by Jamāl al-Dīn ʻAṭīyah in institutionalizing collective ijtihād and the new classification of maqāṣid, and its role in the new juristic system.