The Mufti, the Text and the World: Legal Interpretation in Yemen Export

@article{citeulike:1395184, abstract = {Muftis are literate scholars who specialise in Muslim legal-religious interpretation. They provide an example of a higher level of systematic indigenous interpretation than the common sense, everyday constructions of reality that have been discussed in anthropological accounts. I discuss the institutional form of the muftiship, and contrast it with the judgeship, with reference to indigenous ideal-types found in several categories of written Muslim social thought. This ideal form is then compared with the identities of historical and contemporary muftis in Yemen. The interpretive method employed by muftis joins a Greek-derived concept of analogy with recitation and hermeneutics. While their method is structurally similar to scriptural interpretation, muftis are worldly interpreters who address practical life problems posed by lay questioners.}, author = {Messick, Brinkley}, citeulike-article-id = {1395184}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/2802649}, keywords = {islam, law, messick, mufti}, posted-at = {2007-06-17 15:01:45}, priority = {4}, title = {The Mufti, the Text and the World: Legal Interpretation in Yemen}, url = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/2802649} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1395184 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1395184 N2 - Muftis are literate scholars who specialise in Muslim legal-religious interpretation. They provide an example of a higher level of systematic indigenous interpretation than the common sense, everyday constructions of reality that have been discussed in anthropological accounts. I discuss the institutional form of the muftiship, and contrast it with the judgeship, with reference to indigenous ideal-types found in several categories of written Muslim social thought. This ideal form is then compared with the identities of historical and contemporary muftis in Yemen. The interpretive method employed by muftis joins a Greek-derived concept of analogy with recitation and hermeneutics. While their method is structurally similar to scriptural interpretation, muftis are worldly interpreters who address practical life problems posed by lay questioners. TI - The Mufti, the Text and the World: Legal Interpretation in Yemen KW - islam KW - law KW - messick KW - mufti AU - Messick, Brinkley UR - http://www.jstor.org/stable/2802649 ER -