Al-Shaybānī and contemporary renunciant piety

Renunciation (zuhd) was a major part of the social and intellectual background of jurists’ circles during the formative period of Ḥanafi legal doctrine. Accordingly, the works attributed to Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī (d. 189/804-5) touch on renunciant concerns, especially the incomplete Kitāb...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Melchert, C
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Brill 2019
Description
Summary:Renunciation (zuhd) was a major part of the social and intellectual background of jurists’ circles during the formative period of Ḥanafi legal doctrine. Accordingly, the works attributed to Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī (d. 189/804-5) touch on renunciant concerns, especially the incomplete Kitāb al-Kasb (Book of Gain). A discussion of al-Shaybānī’s views on renunciation together with comments taken from other renunciant literature shows that, although he affirms some renunciant values, he usually seems to uphold a more world-embracing piety. This puts al-Shaybānī in opposition to a section of the nascent school favouring more extreme forms, such as the repudiation of gain (inkār al‑kasb).