The Zahiris: Their Doctrine and their History. A Contribution to the History of Islamic Theology

Ignaz Goldziher wrote his book ‘Die Zahiriten’ in 1883. The English translation of this standard work on Islamic jurisprudence appeared in 1971. The book has been in print ever since. This new edition in the Brill Classics in Islam series shows that The Zahiris has not lost any of its actuality.

The individual that adheres to the principles of madhhab al-Zahir, the Islamic legal school, is called Zahiri. Goldziher gives an extensive presentation of the Zahirite school, its doctrine and the position of its representatives within orthodox Islam. Zahirism accepts only the facts clearly revealed by sensible, rational and linguistic intuitions, controlled and corroborated by Qur'anic revelation. This history of Islamic theology sheds light on the Zahirite legal interpretation vis-a-vis other legal schools and gives an interesting insight in questions like ‘are all prescriptions and prohibitions in Islamic law commanded or forbidden?