Polysemes and Synonyms (wujūh and naẓāᵓir) in Hanbali Legal Terminology: An Inductive Analysis of Kashshāf al-Qināᶜ

Abstract

Objectives: This research contributes to the Hanbali legal corpus an expert study of the methodology of “wujūh and naẓāᵓir” (the lexical classification of polysemous and synonymous expressions). It identifies the various meanings of specific terms within this tradition and investigates the underlying reasons for their differences.

Methodology: The study pursues an inductive approach that traces the occurrences of polysemous statements in the Hanbali legal tradition, with a particular focus on al-Bahūtī’s book Kashshāf al-qināᶜ ᶜan matn al-iqnāᶜ. Additionally, it employs an analytical approach to present, compare, and critically examine the different meanings of these statements while explaining the reasons behind their variations.

Findings: The research highlights the significance of the wujūh and naẓāᵓir typology in legal texts, and its role in facilitating comprehension and enhancing accessibility for scholars and practitioners. It identifies and classifies statements with multiple meanings, including those uniquely engaged and clarified by al-Bahūtī and those whose meanings can only be discerned through contextual analysis within the same work. Also, this study attributes the variation in meaning to four principal factors.

Originality: This research represents the first dedicated study to systematically examine polysemous statements within the Hanbali legal tradition and explore the causes of their semantic multiplicity. It is expected to stimulate further scholarly engagement with legal terminology in other jurisprudential works.