Medieval Islamic Pragmatics

This book delves into the pragmatic theories of Muslim legal theorists, offering insights into communication principles and their relevance to modern pragmatics.

The primary aim of Medieval Islamic Pragmatics is to explore and articulate the pragmatic theories, communicative principles, and linguistic views of several Muslim legal theorists. By constructing these theories into models, the book seeks to establish a comprehensive framework that unifies various approaches to textual communication. This exploration includes two distinct pragmatic approaches: the mainstream perspective, represented by the 'Ash'ari, Hanafi, and Mu'tazili schools, and the Salafite approach, which is primarily associated with the Hanbali school and further developed by Ibn Taymiyyah.

In addition to outlining these two approaches, Medieval Islamic Pragmatics aims to unveil a significant body of information that remains largely unknown yet is highly pertinent to modern pragmatics. This study serves as an extensive introduction to the realm of medieval Islamic pragmatics, marking the first effort to analyze the Salafi and mainstream perspectives through a pragmatic lens. Previous research has largely focused on the differences among Islamic sects regarding the interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah, often neglecting the communicative principles that underpin these differences.

The author enhances the examination of Muslim legal theorists' views by establishing a robust theoretical foundation and investigating their philosophical principles. This includes connecting their insights on interpretation and communication to relevant ontological, epistemological, and theological perspectives, while also comparing these insights with contemporary pragmatic theories. Through this comprehensive analysis, Medieval Islamic Pragmatics provides valuable insights into the intricate relationship between language, interpretation, and legal thought in the Islamic tradition.