OverviewThis entry discusses how women are treated in
the twelver Shì≠ì(Ja≠farì) school of law and the fac-
tors that shaped the issuance of juridical rulings on
women in Shi≠ism.
Derivation of legal rulings (a™kàm) on women in
Shi≠ism was contingent on the patriarchal character
of Arab culture prevalent in the eighth and ninth
centuries. The methodologies that the jurists
(fuqahà±) utilized in the derivation of juridical rul-
ings also affected the rulings on women. Hence
before dealing with women’s issues, the entry
examines the factors that contributed to the rise of
the Shì≠ìschool of law and the hermeneutical
devices that the jurists used to deduce rulings.
The formation and crystallization of a Shì≠ìschool
of law coincided with the rise of Sunnìschools of
law. The emergence of a distinct Shì≠ìschool can
probably be traced to the time of the fifth Shì≠ì
imam, Mu™ammad al-Bàqir (d. 117/735). Respected
by and contemporary to many Sunnìjurists in
Medina and Kufa, he is credited with laying the
foundations for the establishment of the Ja≠farì
school of law. Al-Bàqir is also the first Shì≠ìfigure
from whom a vast corpus of ™adìth(traditions) lit-
erature has been transmitted. His legal formula-
tions were later elaborated by his son, the sixth Shì≠ì
imam, Ja≠far al-Íàdiq (d. 148/765) after whom the
school was named. Al-Íàdiq was a contemporary
of prominent Sunnìjurists such as Abù£anìfa (d.
150/767) and Màlik b. Anas (d. 179/795).
Circumstances that led to the rise of the Sunnì
schools of law also precipitated a concurrent need
for a Shì≠ìschool. The goal of the jurists’ endeavor
in the eighth and ninth centuries was to reach an
understanding (fiqh) of the Sharì≠a, that is, to com-
prehend in precise terms the law of God. Guided by
a corpus of precepts and laws and their own inde-
pendent reasoning the jurists attempted to con-
struct a legal edifice by developing and elaborating
a system of Sharì≠a law. At the same time, the Shì≠ì
imams began to formulate their own understanding
of the law and to establish paradigmatic precedents
for the situations they encountered. Knowledge,
interpretation, and articulation of the law meant
that the imams became the main source of religious
authority in Shi≠ism.
During the period when the imams were with
Law: Other Schools of Family Law
them, the Shì≠ìs accepted their pronouncements as
the only valid source of law after the Qur±àn and the
sunna of the Prophet. The imam was believed to be
the final enunciator of the law, occupying the same
position as the Prophet himself. Since the imam is
also believed in Shi≠ism to have inherited the com-
prehensive authority of the Prophet, the sunnaof
the imam is seen to be as binding as the sunna of the
Prophet himself. As Shì≠ìtheology posited the imam
to be divinely appointed (naßß), endowed with
divinely inspired knowledge (≠ilm), and infallible
(ma≠ßùm), the authority of the imam supersedes the
authority of local practice or speculative reasoning.
The emergence of a distinct Shì≠ìschool of law
should thus be viewed as the result of the Shì≠ìs’ self-
understanding of the nature of religious leadership
and their limitation of juristic authority to the
imams.
Apart from the imams, some of their deputies in
places like Kufa reportedly acted as jurists in their
communities. In particular, Jàbir al-Ju≠fì(d. 127/
745), Burayd b. Mu≠àwiya (d. 150/767), Zuràra b.
A≠yàn (d. 150/767), and Mu™ammad b. Muslim al-
Thaqafì(d. 150/767) are mentioned as some of the
fuqahà±(jurists) of the Shì≠ìcommunity. Disciples
such as Abàn b. Taghlib (d. 142/759) were report-
edly authorized by the imams to issue juridical
edicts (fatwas) and to respond to legal questions in
Medina.
The Shì≠ìs were not allowed by the imams to prac-
tice qiyàs (analogy), ra±y(opinion), ijtihàd(inde-
pendent legal judgment), or other rational methods
that were employed in the Sunnìschools. They were
required to rely on the Qur±àn and narrations
(riwàyàt) from the Prophet and the imams in the
derivation of juridical rulings. In practice, some of
the disciples of the imams, such as Zuràra b. A≠yàn,
Mu™ammad b. Muslim, and Hishàm b. al-£akam,
probably influenced by the cosmopolitan and eclec-
tic nature of Kufa, employed many of the specula-
tive methods that were accepted in the Sunnì
schools. In addition, after the occultation of the
twelfth imam in 940 C.E., Shì≠ìjurists had recourse
to various hermeneutical devices such as maßla™a
(enacting a legal point that is most conducive to
the welfare of the community) and other interpre-
tive principles to respond to the needs of the times
and to go beyond the rulings stated in the revealed
texts.