Shar'u man kablanâ in the usûl al-fiqh literature of the first five centuries

This study aims to handle the examinations of shar'u man kablanâ in the first five centuries usûl al-fiqh literature and to appoint the characteristics of these books in this special issue. In the fırst chapter of this research, composed of two main chapters, we try to introduce the approach of the matter, the discussions handled in the farmework of this subject and the scientists' opinions about the evidence value of shar'u man kablanâ. In the second chapter, the scientists' examinations of shar'u man kablanâ is evaluated by different angle, based on the knowledge obtained in the first chapter. In these books, we observe that the discussion about shar'u man kablanâ is specially focused on the bindingness of the previous sharia rules, in whitch there are no evidences about its abrogation (naskh) or validity in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. There are two main opinions, one positive and one negative, about the bindingness of shar'u man kablanâ. Because, there are translative (naqlî) and mental (aqlî) evidences to support both views. In this study, we try to appoint the factors which lead the scientists to choose one of these views. Finally, we try to reveal the development process of shar'u man kablanâ as an evidence during the first five centuries. Keywords: Usûl al-Fiqh, Shar'u Man Kablanâ, Sharâi'u Man Kablenâ, Sharâi'u Sâlifa, Laws of Those Before Us, Laws of Earlier Prophets, Laws of Previous Prophets