Kashan Shenasi

Kashan Shenasi

An Evaluation of the Gnostic-Hermeneutical Conception of the Term “Fiqh” in the Exegetical Thought of Mulla Muḥsin Fayḍh Kāshānī

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Abbasali Farahati 1
Mohammad-Baqer Amerinia 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran. (corresponding author).
2 Associate Professor, Department of Law, Islamic Azad University, Yasuj Branch, Yasuj, Iran
10.22052/kashan.2024.254466.1103
Abstract
The word fiqh and its derivatives in the Holy Qur’an and Islamic narrations have given rise to two different interpretations. Jurists have generally understood it as referring to knowledge of the Sharia and, consequently, have regarded the obligation of tafaqquh as referring to knowledge of the rulings concerning what is lawful and unlawful, while considering the virtues mentioned regarding it to apply to scholars in this field. In contrast, philosophers and mystics have understood the use of this term in a philosophical-mystical sense. Identifying the usage of this term in Qur’anic and narrational texts reveals its semantic position within Islamic culture. Mulla Muhsin Fayz Kashani is among those who, despite having a background in jurisprudence and the principles of jurisprudence, preferred the meaning of “inner jurisprudence” (fiqh al-batin), which corresponds to its philosophical-mystical conception, over the conventional concept of Sharia. He has therefore generally interpreted the term in question and its derivatives, as used in Qur’anic verses and narrations, from this perspective. The present study aims to identify the concept of fiqh in his interpretive perspective and ultimately reinforces the proposition that the use of fiqh in the meaning reflected in the writings of mystics and philosophers, including Fayz Kashani, despite its use to refer to knowledge of the Sharia in some early texts and the predominance of this meaning in later texts concerning Sharia jurisprudence, appears to be more accurate.
Keywords
Fayz Kashani
Fiqh
knowledge of the inner
Sharia
philosophy
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Kashan Shenasi
Volume 18, Issue 2 - Serial Number 35
35
March 2026
Pages 100-120