MADH-HABISM: AN EXPOSITION OF FIQH DYNAMISM AND SCHOLASTIC RIVALRY AMONG CONTEMPORARY JURISTS

Abstract

The Islamic scholarship is undoubtedly a divine responsibility focused on the essence of waḥy through the continuous process of ijtihād to understand further and spread the Islamic jurisprudence better. However, the juristic efforts of c ulamā in the various madhāhib have often attracted scholastic partisanship and unhealthy rivalry among contemporary adherents of these different juristic schools. Some individuals who claim juristic sectism, champion the viewpoints of their madh-hab staunchly without due side-view and consideration of scholarly facts of other schools as well as the wisdom of fiqh differences of the madhāhib thereby disrupting the foundation of juristic dynamism. These modern pro-madh-habists have created staunch devotion to complicit juristic ideology for various reasons ranging from tribalism, devaluation of creativity in knowledge, as well as superficial motives of selfauthority and hatred for others when found with greater dexterity and advancement in the trade of scholarship. Thus, the paper examines the essence of profound madh-hab adherence

and the unhealthy rivalry amongst fuqahā in the contemporary time with and further evaluates the dangers of madh-habism as well as the unhealthy rivalry amongst fuqahā in the contemporary time with the aid of jurisprudential analytical methods. The \paper reveals that, despite the call for healthy rivalry through proven scholarly facts, the impetus for its continuity among scholars is innate and however endless. The paper thus concludes that the status of religious scholarship should however be based on tarjῑḥ (scholarly preference) and not taqlῑd (juristic dogmatism) to foster sound Islamic scholarship. The paper further recommends ways to fortify healthy rivalry and enhance sound methodology for ideal scholarship and tutelage in the various madhāhib.