z̳āhiriy(y)a, al

views updated

Ẓāhiriy(y)a, al. Those who derive law governing Muslim life from the direct text (z̳āhir) of the Qurʾān and Sunna. Their view rejected hermeneutical methods of relating Qurʾān and Sunna to life—not only rayʾy, istiṣḥāb, istiḥsān, but also qiyās; and ijmaʿ could only be accepted as the consensus of the Companions.