Manahij al-Shawkani al-Fiqhiyyah al-Mustaqillah li al-Mazahib al-Arba'ah fi Kitabihi Nayl al-Awtar: Dirasah Tamhidiyyah [The Methodology of al-Shawkani's Jurisprudence Selections of The Four Schools of Thought from His Book Nayl al- Awtar: A Introduction]

Abstract

Imam al-Shawkani was a great Islamic scholar who had reached the level of mujtahid and mastered various fields of knowledge. Among his greatest works is the book of Nayl al-Awtar, lectures on Legal Hadith. There are some of his opinions especially in the matter of fiqh that contradict the views of the Imam of the Four Sects (Imam Malik, Imam Hanafi, Imam Syafie, Imam Hanbali). He had his own personal view in determining a hukum based on the method of istinbath hukm. Some people opine that views which contradict the views of the Imam of the Fourth Sects are wrong and out of ijma’. The right views are only based on the views of the Imam of the Four Sects. In actual fact, the views of the Imam of the Four Sects in the matter of fiqh only reflect  the views of the majority and its truth can be accepted. Even so, their views are not mandatory arguments that other mujtahids need to follow if there are other arguments. Therefore, this study will gather his personal views that contradict the views of the Imam of the Four Sects in his book Nayl al-Awar through the highlights of previous literature review and explain that the truths are based on arguments. The methodology used in this study is qualitative in nature by analyzing the data obtained descriptively. The primary source referred to is the original work composed by Imam al-Shawkani. While the secondary source is previous studies such as theses, journal articles and books. The result of the study shows that there are several personal views of Imam al-Shawkani that contradict the Imam of the Four Sects views in his book, Nayl al-Awtar. This has proven that the door of ijtihad for a mujtahid is open until the Day of Judgment. If the ijtihad is correct then two rewards are bestowed, if not, one reward is bestowed.