Mâlikî Fıkıh Usûlünde Beyân
Bayān in the Method of Mālikī Fiqh

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: The discipline of uṣūl al-fiqh is concerned with identifying the principles and evidentiary bases (adillah) upon which the substantive rulings (furūʿ) of Islamic law are constructed. The Qurʾān and the hadith constitute the primary textual sources from which these principles are derived. Central to this legal hermeneutics is the process of understanding, interpreting, and elucidating these texts a process conceptualized in the literature through the notion of bayān (clarification). Method: This my article examines the bayān theory of Mālikī legal theorists situated within the mutakallimūn methodological tradition. Of particular interest are those Mālikīs who define bayān strictly in terms of legal evidence (dalīl), asserting that “what constitutes dalīl likewise constitutes bayān” such an approach underscores the epistemological alignment between textual indication and interpretive validity in Mālikī uṣūl. The Mālikī conception of bayān provides insight into how this school, generally associated with the raʾy-oriented tradition, developed a systematic theory for interpreting legal texts. Findings: In the context of uṣūl al-fiqh, bayān (lit. clarification or exposition) is defined as the act of removing ambiguity (ghumūḍ) from meaning and rendering it intelligible to the interlocutor. Regarding bayān, various definitions have been advanced by legal theorists, particularly among the two dominant schools of legal theory: the fuqahāʾ and the mutakallimūn. These definitions differ according to whether bayān is conceived as the act of clarification, the means of clarification, or its epistemic result. Thus, bayān has been variously described as the interpretation of the legal intent (maqṣūd), the evidence that yields the intended meaning, or the knowledge derived from that evidence. One of the central findings of this study is that the theory of bayān advanced by the mutakallimūn was significantly shaped by the Mālikī tradition. Notably, al-Bāqillānī (d. 403/1013), the first to compose a systematic work of uṣūl within the Mālikī school, appears to have set a precedent followed by subsequent mutakallimūn theorists. Conclusion: Ultimately, although variations exist among Mālikī scholars, the school ultimately formulated a coherent theory of bayān, articulating its definitions, classificatory schemes, and functional roles within the broader uṣūl framework. This inference is significantin that it reveals the logic and originality of classical usūl thought. Examining the theory of bayān in a comparative framework alonside contemporary legal methodologies- particularly through the lenses of philosophy of language and normative theory- would enhance the analytical depth and scholarly value of the subject. Such an approach would not only make the internal coherence of Islamic law more visible but also strengthen its relationship with contemporary legal theories.

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