Van İlahiyat Dergisi (Dec 2023)
The Effect of Kāsim al-Rassî on the Formation of Zaydiyya: An Evaluation on the Axes of His Views on the Furû al-Fiqh
Abstract
The third century of the hegira represents an extremely important period in terms of the formation process of Islamic sciences and the acquirement of the identity of a systematic school of fiqh madhhabs. In terms of the Zaydiyya madhhab, this century has an identity that affects the next period in terms of both political and scientific studies. Because in this period, the scholars of the madhhab like Kāsim al- Rassı̄ (d. 246/860), Ahmad b. Isā (d. 247/861) and Yahyā b. al-Husayn (d. 298/911), who were in a leading position both in politics and in sciences such as kalām, hadith and fiqh, emerged. Kāsim al-Rassı,̄ who was accepted as the star of the Ahl al-Bayt by Zaydî sources in the first period, was presented as the Plato of Muslims by orientalists in modern studies. The main reason why today's studiesonhimaremostlyaboutthehistoryofsectsandtheology,mostofRassı'̄sworksareaboutkalām.However,Kāsimal-Rassı̄is an important name in the science of fiqh and İslamic legal theory as well as in the science of kalām. According to Abī Tālib Nātik bi’l- Hakk (d. 424/1033), one of the important jurists of the Zaydiyya madhhab, Rassî was a scholar who came to the fore with his ability in fiqh issues; in order to see his ijtihād method, his skill in furû al-fiqh, his mastery in using hadiths and knowing the disagreements of scholars, ‘‘Masā’il al-Dja’far b. Muhammad and Abd Allah b. Hasan” should be consulted. Rassi's epistles named Kitab al-Nāsikh wa’l- Mansūkh, Kitab al-tahāra, Kitab al-salāt al-yevm ve al-Laylā and Kitab al-menāsik are important studies on fiqh that have survived to the present day. In addition, Mueyyed-Billah (d. 411/1021) compiled Kāsim al- Rassı’̄s and Yahya b. al-Husayn's views on fiqh in his worknamedal-Tecrîd.Kāsimal-Rassı'̄sviewsonfiqharealsodeterminativeinlaterfiqhbookssuchas Tahrīr,al-Cāmi'al-Kāfi,al- Intisār and al-Azhar. In time, the emergence of a jurisprudence sect named Kāsimiyya in Zaydiyya, referring to his name, is also importantintermsofrevealinghisposition.AlthoughRassı'̄sviewsonfiqhhavebeenreferredtoanumberofstudiesinourcountry, no independent study has been found that deals with his views on fiqh. However, considering both of his works on fiqh that have survivedtothepresentdayandtheearlyworksinwhichhisviewsarecompiled,itisobviousthatKāsimal-Rassı'̄sviewsonfiqh deserve an independent works. The aim of this study is to reveal Rassı'̄ s position within the madhhabs and his perspective on fiqh in general. In this context, in the study, the period in which Rassı̄ lived, his life and works were briefly mentioned, and then the basic views of the fiqh, especially in the field of worship, were discussed in outline.
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