Al-Suyuti's "Al-Ashbāh wa al-Nazā'ir fī Furū' al-Shāfi'iyya"

Together with the emergence of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and as a result of different perspectives on its body of knowledge, studies on disciplines such as qawa'id (regulations), ashbah wan nazair, nawazil, waqiat, fatwa (religious law), sharh (explanation), mukhtashar and tahdzib brought about different kinds of writings, purposes and functions in terms of content and methodology and a broad literature of fiqh has emerged within the time. It is also a necessity to mention that these sub-disciplines, as results of Islamic canonists' efforts, indicate the dynamic structure of fiqh as a science and provide great convenience in access to provisions within this field. Al-Ashbāh wa al-Nazā'ir, which contains similarities and differences between accessory matters, is among the writings in disciplines mentioned above. This study analyzes Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's "Al-Ashbāh wa al-Nazā'ir fī Furū' al-Shāfi'iyya" (Inter-Related Topics in Shāfi'ī Law), which has a significant place in qawa'id literature in general and discipline of Al-Ashbāh wa al-Nazā'ir in particular. The study first gives a succinct background of al-Suyuti's life as an appreciated figure in Islamic sciences and briefly explains the concept and historical development of Qawa'id as a subject relevant to the context. The first chapter analyzes both theoretical and practical sides of Al-Ashbāh wa al-Nazā'ir discipline and al-Suyuti's mentioned writing in terms of its content and methodology with a comparison with its namesakes, in the sequel. The last chapter, on the other hand, analyzes resources, terms and names and tries to identify al-Suyuti's fiqhî (jurisprudential) inheritance together with the development of concepts and terms mentioned in this special work which was written in a period of Shāfi'ī Madhhab (sect), a period significant for the development of its specific concepts and terms.