Characteristics of the Late Usul School Integrating the Methodologies of the Theologians and the Hanafis: Their Approaches to the Organization of Usul al-Fiqh Topics

Abstract

This study examines the characteristics and methodological approaches of the late integrative school (al-mutaʾakhkhirūn) in Usul al-Fiqh, which emerged to reconcile the methodologies of the Mutakallimun and the Hanafi jurists. It aims to analyze the intellectual foundations of this school, identify its major strengths and limitations, and compare the organizational structures adopted in its principal works. The research employs analytical, historical, comparative, and inductive methods through an examination of six representative texts: Badīʿ al-Niẓām by Ibn al-Sāʿātī, Al-Tanqīḥ by Ṣadr al-Sharīʿah, Jamʿ al-Jawāmiʿ by al-Subkī, Fuṣūl al-Badāʾiʿ by al-Fanārī, Al-Taḥrīr by Ibn al-Humām, and Musallam al-Thubūt by Ibn ʿAbd al-Shakūr. The findings reveal that, despite differences in the arrangement of Usul topics, these works share a common objective of integrating rational and textual evidence while linking legal principles with their practical juristic applications. The study further demonstrates that the integrative methodology significantly contributed to the maturation of Islamic legal theory by promoting comparative analysis, methodological coherence, and a balanced synthesis of the Mutakallimun and Hanafi traditions. However, it also identifies certain limitations, including excessive brevity, strong adherence to established legal schools, and the repetition of inherited juristic examples. The study concludes that the integrative school represents a pivotal stage in the historical development of Usul al-Fiqh and recommends further comparative research into the evolution and organization of Usul literature across different methodological traditions.