Ayatollah Subhani: Jurisprudence Must Rely First on the Quran
Ayatollah Ja’far Subhani, a prominent Shia Marja’, said during a ceremony honoring the encyclopedia Ayat al-Ahkam that “jurisprudential practice must, before anything else, be based on the Book of God. In every issue, we must first examine whether we can use the Quran, and only then, if necessary, turn to traditions and other sources.”
He pointed to the distinctive Shia method of arranging Quranic verses by jurisprudential categories such as purity and blood money, unlike Sunni scholars who present them according to the order of the Quran. He noted that this approach has even drawn “astonishment and admiration” from some Sunni scholars.
Ayatollah Subhani emphasized that many Quranic verses contain legal implications that earlier collections had overlooked. “It was thought that some verses were only moral in nature and therefore excluded from Ayat al-Ahkam, but in fact, legal rulings can also be derived from them,” he said.
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He argued that paying closer attention to such verses can enrich Islamic jurisprudence and help address contemporary needs. He also recommended that the encyclopedia be issued in an abridged version for younger readers and researchers.
“Today, it is essential for jurists who are aware of people’s evolving needs to take the lead,” Ayatollah Subhani said, adding that this approach could open the way for dialogue among different schools of thought.
He noted that if Sunni scholars study works such as Ayat al-Ahkam, they will find areas of common ground as well as differences, providing “a basis for intellectual exchange and comparison of views.”
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