The Letters of Meaning in the Works of Imam Ibn al-Jallab Al-Maliki (d. 378 AH): A Fundamental Jurisprudential Study Selected Examples

Abstract

This research examines the letters of meaning in the works of Imam Ibn al-Jalab al-Maliki (d. 378 AH) from a fundamental jurisprudential perspective, through an analysis of the use of these letters in his writings, particularly his book Al-Tafri'a, which is considered one of the oldest Maliki jurisprudential treatises in the Iraqi school. The research focused on six letters: waw, fa, thum, aw, and ba, due to their prominent role in the formulation and determination of jurisprudential rulings.

The importance of the research lies in clarifying the impact of these letters on the formulation of jurisprudential principles by Imam Ibn al-Jalab, and highlighting his fundamentalist awareness in choosing letters in accordance with their original meaning among fundamentalists and Maliki scholars. The research also contributes to highlighting the practical fundamentalist aspect of Maliki jurisprudence and provides a model for linking jurisprudential branches to fundamentalist rules through analytical textual study.

He demonstrated a conscious approach to differentiating between the meanings of letters according to the jurisprudential context, which was reflected in the soundness of the deduction and the precision of the legal formulation. He used letters as a tool for clarifying the basis of rulings; they were not merely linguistic structures, but fundamental pillars in determining the ruling.