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32-643: Since the crushing of the Akhbaris in the late 18th century, it has been the dominant school of Twelver Shi'a and now forms an overwhelming majority within the Twelver Shia denomination . The name Usuli derives from the term Uṣūl al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence). In Usuli thought, there are four valid sources of law: the Quran , hadith , ijma' and 'aql . Ijma' refers to a unanimous consensus. Aql, in Shia jurisprudence,

64-577: A "source of imitation" (Arabic marja taqlid مرجع تقليد, Persian marja ) or less exaltedly as an "imitated one" (Arabic مقلَد muqallad ). However, his verdicts are not to be taken as the only source of religious information and he can be always corrected by other muqalladeen (the plural of muqallad) which come after him. Obeying a deceased muqallad is forbidden in Usuli. Taqlid has been introduced by scholars who felt that Quranic verses and traditions were not enough and that ulama were needed not only to interpret

96-466: A person's faith, in that their belief or affiliation crosses over formal boundaries that strict adherents would not consider. For instance, someone may have been raised Protestant but find Buddhist or Hindu scripture or practice to be helpful without fully abandoning their affiliation with Christianity and therefore may not consider themselves fully Hindu or Buddhist, nor do they consider themselves fully Christian as much as strict adherents. This would not be

128-458: A traditionalist approach. The second wave of the Usuli was shaped in the Mongol period when al-Hilli introduced the term mujtahid , meaning an individual qualified to deduce ordinances on the basis of authentic religious arguments. By developing the theory of the usul , al-Hilli introduced more legal and logical norms which extended the meaning of the usul beyond the four principal sources. Amili

160-416: Is Sunni Islam . A Christian denomination is a generic term for a distinct religious body identified by traits such as a common name, structure, leadership and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church or fellowship. Divisions between one group and another are defined by doctrine and church authority; issues such as the biblical interpretation,

192-429: Is applied to four practical principles which are applied when other religious proofs are not applicable: bara'at (immunity), ihtiyat (recommended precautions), takhyir (selection), and istishab (the presumption of continuity in the previous state). The term Usuli is also sometimes used to refer more generally to students of usul especially among early Muslims, without regard to Shia Islam. Students/scholars of

224-439: Is doubt whether a given situation (such as ritual purity) exists but it has certainly existed in the past, one can rely on a presumption that it is more likely to have continued the same than to have changed. Given the probabilistic nature of this approach, and the need for practical certainty, it followed that there must be people with the authority to decide on the application of these principles to particular facts. Accordingly,

256-767: Is nearly more than 0.5% of the world's Muslim population, Musta’li Ismaili ( with nearly 0.1% whose Taiyabi adherents reside in Gujarat state in India and Karachi city in Pakistan . There are also significant diaspora populations in Europe, North America, the Far East and East Africa ). On the other hand, new Muslim sects like African American Muslims , Ahmadi Muslims (with nearly around 1% ), non-denominational Muslims , Quranist Muslims , and Wahhabis ( with nearly around 0.5% of

288-819: The Akhbari and Usuli schools of Shia Islam. Briefly, the Akhbari believed that the sole sources of law were the Qur'an and the Hadith , in particular the Four Books accepted by the Shia: everything in these sources was in principle reliable, and outside them there was no authority competent to enact or deduce further legal rules. The Usuli believed that the Hadith collections contained traditions of very varying degrees of reliability, and that critical analysis

320-639: The Orthodox , Reform and Conservative lines, with several smaller movements alongside them. This threefold denominational structure is mainly present in the United States, while in Israel the fault lines are between the religious Orthodox and the non-religious . The movements differ in their views on various issues. These issues include the level of observance, the methodology for interpreting and understanding Jewish law , biblical authorship , textual criticism and

352-566: The military or other large secular organizations, are specifically trained to minister to members of many different faiths, even faiths with opposing religious ideology from that of the chaplain's own faith. Military organizations that do not have large numbers of members from several individual smaller but related denominations will routinely hold multi-denominational religious services, often generically called " Protestant " Sunday services, so minority Protestant denominations are not left out or unserved. Multi-denominational may also refer to

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384-414: The principles of fiqh are distinguished from scholars of fiqh itself, whose scholars are known as faqīh (plural fuqahā' ). The Usuli believe that the Hadith collections contained traditions of varying degrees of reliability, and that critical analysis was necessary to assess their authority. In contrast, the Akhbari believe that the sole sources of law are the Qur'an and the Hadith, in particular

416-435: The "liberal denominations" or "progressive streams." The term "multi-denominational" may describe (for example) a religious event that includes several religious denominations from sometimes unrelated religious groups. Many civic events include religious portions led by representatives from several religious denominations to be as inclusive or representational as possible of the expected population or audience. For example:

448-553: The Afghan invasion in 1722 and the rise of a new generation of Bahraini Akhbari clerics, state-centric Usulism lost its self-confidence. The most influential Bahraini cleric, Yusuf Al Bahrani , was installed as the dean of scholarship in Karbala , where he led an intellectual onslaught on Usuli scholarship in the mid-eighteenth century. Behbahani's role in the 1760s was at first to tentatively challenge Al Bahrani's neo-Akhbarism before building up

480-473: The Four Books accepted by the Shia: everything in these sources is in principle reliable, and outside them, there was no authority competent to enact or deduce further legal rules. In addition to assessing the reliability of the Hadith, Usuli believes the task of the legal scholar is to establish intellectual principles of general application ( Usul al-fiqh ), from which particular rules may be derived by way of deduction. Accordingly, Usuli legal scholarship has

512-722: The Quran and Sunna but to make "new rulings to respond to new challenges and push the boundaries of Shia law in new directions." By their debates and books, Al-Mufid , Sayyid-al Murtada , and Shaykh al-Tusi in Iraq were the first to introduce the Uṣūl al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence) under the influence of the Shafe'i and Mu'tazili doctrines. Al-Kulayni , in Rey , and al-Sadduq , in Qom , were concerned with

544-671: The Sunday thanksgiving mass at Campamento Esperanza (English: Camp Hope ) in Chile , where services were led by both a Roman Catholic priest and by an Evangelical preacher during the Chilean 2010 Copiapó mining accident . Chaplains - frequently ordained clergy of any religion - are often assigned to secular organizations to provide spiritual support to its members who may belong to any of many different religions or denominations. Many of these chaplains, particularly those serving with

576-413: The Usuli over the Akhbari came when Behbahani led the Usuli to dominance and "completely routed the Akhbaris at Karbala and Najaf ", so that "only a handful of Shi'i ulama have remained Akhbari to the present day." Religious denomination A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition, among other activities. The term refers to

608-511: The authority of apostolic succession, eschatology, and papal primacy often separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices and historical ties are known as branches of Christianity . In Hinduism , the major deity or philosophical belief identifies a denomination, which also typically has distinct cultural and religious practices. The major denominations include Shaivism , Shaktism , Vaishnavism and Smartism . Historically , Islam

640-559: The mid-nineteenth century, and the Usuli school remains the dominant force in Shi'ite Islam. According to scholar Moojan Momen , Behbahani played a very important role in Shii Islam by bringing in "the threat of takfir " — i.e. declaring the opponent an apostate , apostasy being a capital crime — into the central field of theology and jurisprudence where previously only ikhtilaf (agreement to hold differing opinions) had existed. Bihbahani

672-433: The nature or role of the messiah (or messianic age ). Across these movements there are marked differences in liturgy , especially in the language in which services are conducted, with the more traditional movements emphasizing Hebrew. The sharpest theological division occurs between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews who adhere to other denominations, such that the non-Orthodox movements are sometimes referred to collectively as

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704-465: The procedures of Aristotelian logic. The Akhbari scholar Muhammad Amin al-Asterabadi criticised this approach, arguing that since the alleged general principles were arrived at by way of generalisation from the existing practical rules, the whole process was circular. Behbahani led the Usuli intellectual challenge to Akhbari dominance in Karbala in the 1760s. With the defeat of the Safavid state following

736-402: The role of Islamic jurist ( mujtahid ) becomes one of political and judicial authority, and not merely one of scholarly expertise. Behbahani is blamed, in particular by Akhbaris, for having used physical force to enforce his authority and for having laid the intellectual foundations of Iranian Shi'a theocracy . The principles of probability were further analysed by Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari in

768-469: The same as pantheism as they may not feel any affiliation to say islam. They may class themselves as Christian-Buddhist or Advaita-Christian or just simply spiritual but not religious. They may pray but not meditate or vice versa or both and they may benefit from a wide range of scripture and they may attend both Church and temple. Muhammad Baqir Behbahani Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Akmal al-Wahid Bihbahani , also Vahid Behbahani (1706–1791),

800-415: The supporters, confidence (and financial support) to eventually lead an Usuli revival following Al Bahrani's death in 1772. Behbahani's main contribution to legal theory was the analysis of probability. Granted that general principles cannot be arrived at with complete syllogistic certainty, there are still presumptions, sufficient in ordinary life, for deciding on the better view. For example, where there

832-444: The tools in principle for resolving new situations that are not already addressed in Quran or Hadith (see ijtihad ). An important tenet of Usuli doctrine is Taqlid or "imitation", i.e. the acceptance of a religious ruling in matters of worship and personal affairs from someone regarded as a higher religious authority (e.g. an 'ālim) without necessarily asking for the technical proof. These higher religious authorities can be known as

864-591: The various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox , Catholic , and the many varieties of Protestantism ). It is also used to describe the five major branches of Judaism ( Karaite Judaism , Orthodox , Conservative , Reform , and Reconstructionist ). Within Islam, it can refer to the branches or sects (such as Sunni and Shia ), as well as their various subdivisions, such as sub-sects, schools of jurisprudence , schools of theology and religious movements. The world's largest religious denomination

896-461: The world's total Muslim population ) were later independently developed. A survey by the Pew Research Center suggests that up to 25% of Muslims globally self-identify as non-denominational Muslims . Jewish religious movements, sometimes called "denominations" or "branches", include different groups which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the main division is between

928-511: Was a Twelver Shia Islamic scholar. He is widely regarded as the founder or restorer of the Usuli school of Twelver Shi'a Islam and as playing a vital role in narrowing the field of orthodoxy in Twelver Shi'a Islam by expanding "the threat of takfir " against opposing scholars "into the central field of theology and jurisprudence ". In the eighteenth century there was a dispute between

960-739: Was divided into three major sects, well known as Sunni , Khawarij and Shi‘ah . Nowadays, Sunnis constitute about 90% of the overall Muslim population ; the Shi'ahs are around 10%, while Ibadis , from the Kharijites , have diminished to a level below 0.15%. Today, many of the Shia sects are extinct . The major surviving Imamah - Muslim Sects are Usulism (with nearly more than 8.5%), Nizari Ismailism (with nearly more than 1%), Alevism (with slightly more than 0.5% but less than 1% ). The other existing groups include Zaydi Shi'a of Yemen whose population

992-467: Was necessary to assess their authority. On this view, the task of the legal scholar is to establish intellectual principles of general application ( Usul al-fiqh ), from which particular rules may be derived by way of deduction: accordingly, legal scholarship has the tools in principle for resolving any situation, whether or not it is specifically addressed in Quran or Hadith (see Ijtihad ). Traditionally these intellectual principles were analysed through

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1024-415: Was the first scholar to fully formulate the principles of ijtihad . These traditional principles of Shi'a jurisprudence were challenged by the 17th-century Akhbari school, led by Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi . A reaction against Akhbari arguments was led in the last half of the 18th century by Muhammad Baqir Behbahani . He attacked the Akhbari and their method was abandoned by Shia. The dominance of

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