Seminar on Fiqhi Disputes in Early Imami Hadith

A seminar examining fiqhi disagreements in early Imami hadith collections will be held by Dr. Ali Reza Rizik at Al-Mahdi Institute on the 7th February 2024, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. Titled “Fiqhi Disagreement (Khilāf) in Early Imami Hadith Collections: Between Ibn Junayd al-Iskafi and Shaykh al-Tusi,” the seminar will explore how legal disagreements among Imami scholars emerged from conflicting narrations.

The hadith compilations of Shaykh al-Tusi—Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām and al-Istibṣār—contain numerous conflicting reports alongside extensive discussions on their chains of transmission and fiqhi interpretation. These contradictions have historically led to fiqhi disagreements (khilāf) among Imami scholars.

Notably, Shaykh al-Tusi often does not explicitly name the scholars who transmitted narrations he critiques. With the later emergence and development of kutub al-khilāf (works dedicated to juristic disagreement), particularly in the writings of Allama al-Hilli, various legal positions were retrospectively attributed to earlier scholars.

Dr. Rizik will address:

• An analytical comparison between Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām and Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa 
• Tracing legal disagreements recorded in Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa back to debates found in Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām 
• Examining how legal positions derived from conflicting narrations were attributed to early Imami scholars 

As a case study, the seminar will also examine Ibn Junayd al-Iskafi, a prominent 4th-century Faqih whose legal views have been subject to critique.

The seminar will take place on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at 3:00 PM (GMT) at Al-Mahdi Institute. Participants may attend either in person or online.

For further information and registration, please visit the institute’s website.

Attendance is free.