Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part 1 The History of the Ẓāhirī Madhhab

Chapter 1 Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī and the Beginnings of the Ẓāhirī Madhhab

1 Life and Doctrines

2 Teachers and Students

3 Muḥammad, Son and Student

4 Conclusion

Chapter 2 The Spread and Retreat of the Ẓāhirī Madhhab

1 Third/Ninth- and Fourth/Tenth-Century Ẓāhirīs

2 Fifth/Eleventh-Century Ẓāhirīs

3 Sixth/Thwelfth- and Seventh/Thirteenth-Century Ẓāhirīs

4 Ẓāhirīs after the Seventh/Thirteenth Century

5 Ibn Ḥazm al-Andalusī (456/1064)

5.1 Life and Doctrines

5.2 The Ibn Ḥazm Influence: A Mixed Blessing?

Part 2 Ẓāhirism: A Critical Review

Chapter 3 Jurisprudence in Third/Ninth-Century Baghdad

1 The Ahl al-Raʾy and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth

1.1 Medieval and Modern Literature

2 The Ahl al-Raʾy and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth Revisited

3 Dāwūd’s Ẓāhirism between the Ahl al-Raʾy and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth

Chapter 4 Ẓāhirism between the Ahl al-Raʾy and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth

1 Ẓāhir in the Muslim Tradition

1.1 Arabic Lexica

1.2 The Qurʾān

1.3 Al-Shāfiʿī’s Risālah

1.4 Al-Ṭabarī’s Tafsīr

2 Ẓāhirism between the Ahl al-Raʾy and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth Revisited

2.1 Ẓāhirism and the Ahl al-Raʾy

2.2 Ẓāhirism and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth

3 Conclusion

Chapter 5 Ẓāhirism, Literalism and Textualism

1 Textualism

1.1 Textualism and Ẓāhirism

1.2 Case Studies

1.3 Conclusion

2 Literalism

2.1 Literalism in Religion and Law

2.2 Literalism in Linguistics

3 Ẓāhirism between Literalism and (Con)Textualism

Chapter 6 Case Studies

1 Long Case Studies

1.1 “Touching” Women and Men’s Ritual Purity

1.2 Breastfeeding and Foster Relationships

2 Short Case Studies

2.1 The Status of Imraʾat al-Mafqūd

2.2 Ṭalāq al-Sakrān

2.3 Al-Luqaṭah

3 Conclusion

Conclusions

Bibliography

Index