An Interpretation of Quran and the Constitution: Similarities between the Interpretive Method of Shīʿa Jurisprudence and American Law

فقه و اصول (Fiqh va uṣūl)

Article 4, Volume 57, Issue 2 - Serial Number 141, August 2025, Pages 87-113   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/jfiqh.2024.85007.1672

Author

Reza Pour Mohammadi^*

Assistant Professor, Department of Fiqh and Law, Family and Woman Research Center, Qom, Iran

Abstract

The present article makes a comparison between the interpretive theories in the method of Islamic Shīʿa Jurisprudence and American Law, and explains how these two legal systems, which are entirely different and at times opposing, have adopted similar approaches in interpreting the law, as mentioned in the Quran and the Constitution. The comparison is comprised of four sections: The role of exoteric meaning in the interpretive tradition of Imāmī jurisprudence and American Law. Whether meaning is fixed or changeable. The role of purpose or obectives of Islamic laws (maqāṣid al-sharīʿah). Considering the interpretive consequences by jurists and legal scholars. The main claim of the paper is that although the interpretive traditions of Imāmī jurisprudence and American law had emerged in entirely different cultural contexts, they have a fairly similar theoretical fram ework due to their shared focus on “customary meaning” and the antiquity of the interpreted text. It is expected that the study will create new capacities and horizons for comparative research in uṣūl al-fiqh.

Keywords

text-oriented approach; exoteric meaning; Ākhūnd Khurāsānī; Scalia; objective-oriented approach

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