The Context of the Noble Prophetic Hadith in the Juristic Writings of Algerian and Tunisian Scholars: Signification and Legal Argumentation: Al-Mudawwana Al-Kubrā and "Al-Mi‘yār" as Case Studies 10.35781/1637-000-151-002

Abstract

Abstract This study seeks to explore the semantic and argumentative dimensions of the use of Prophetic hadiths within the Maliki legal tradition, focusing on two foundational texts: Al-Mudawwana al-Kubra by Imam Sahnun and Al-Mi‘yar al-Mu‘rib by Al-Wansharisi. Adopting a pragmatic approach, the research examines the contextual deployment of hadiths in these works to uncover how Maliki jurists employed Prophetic traditions as a means of legal reasoning across diverse historical and cultural settings. The study investigates the strategies of persuasion, justification, and argumentation used by jurists, particularly how they interpret and sometimes monopolize the meanings of hadiths to support specific legal positions. While such justificatory mechanisms are inherent to any discursive practice, they may at times become detached from the lived realities and practical concerns of Muslim communities, relying on hadiths without critical engagement with their chains of transmission or adherence to the methodological principles of hadith sciences.This occasionally results in a problematic engagement with solitary (ahad) reports, which are inherently probabilistic in nature. A key finding of the study is the deliberate effort by Maliki jurists to harness the universal ethical dimensions embedded in Prophetic traditions, in alignment with the overarching objectives of Islamic law — namely, the promotion of public welfare and the prevention of harm. Keywords: Prophetic Hadith – Context – Mālikī Madhhab – Imam Sahnūn – al-Wansharīsī