Ja'fari school

The Jaʿfarī school,[a] also known as the Jafarite school, Jaʿfarī fiqh (Arabic: الفقه الجعفري) or Ja'fari jurisprudence, is a prominent school of jurisprudence (fiqh) within Twelver and Ismaili (including Nizari)[1] Shia Islam, named after the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq.[2] In Iran, Jaʽfari jurisprudence is enshrined in the constitution, shaping various aspects of governance, legislation, and judiciary in the country.[3]

It differs from the predominant madhhabs of Sunni jurisprudence in its reliance on ijtihad, as well as on matters of inheritance, religious taxes, commerce, personal status, and the allowing of temporary marriage or mutʿa.[4] Since 1959, Jaʿfari jurisprudence has been afforded the status of "fifth school" along with the four Sunni schools by Azhar University.[5] In addition, it is one of the eight recognized madhhabs listed in the Amman Message of 2004 by the Jordanian monarch, and since endorsed by Sadiq al-Mahdi, former Prime Minister of Sudan.[6]

The Ja'fari school was imposed as the state jurisprudence in Iran during the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam from the 16th to the 18th century. Followers of the Ja'fari school are predominantly found in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain where they form a majority, with large minorities in eastern Saudi Arabia, southern Lebanon and Afghanistan.[7]


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  1. ^ "Letter from H. H. the Aga Khan". Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  2. ^ John Corrigan, Frederick Denny, Martin S Jaffee, Carlos Eire (2011). Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions. Cambridge University Press. 978-0205026340.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Book: Islamic Law: According to Ja'fari School of Jurisprudence Vol. 2". 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. ^ Nasr, Vali (2006), The Shia Revival, Norton, p. 69
  5. ^ Jafari: Shii Legal Thought and Jurisprudence
  6. ^ Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim, "An Overview of al-Sadiq al-Madhi's Islamic Discourse." Taken from The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought, p. 172. Ed. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi'. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 9781405178488
  7. ^ Islam. p. 228. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.