Taḥkīk al-Manāt as a Jurisprudence Method
Authors: Kacır Temel 
Published: December 2022

The ijtihād, one of the most important concepts of the usûl al-fıqh, expresses the human effort in understanding, interpreting and applying the verses. The theoretical dimension of ijtihād is called ijtihād of istinbāt and its practical dimension of applying the results obtained is called ijtihād of taḥkīk al-manāṭ. The ijtihād of taḥkīk al-manāt is a method that enables the abstract or general propositions to meet with the actions that occur in the realm of existence as specific and concrete. With this method, the situation of each case is investigated and it is determined whether it falls within the scope of the general provision. Otherwise, the shar'i provisions are imprisoned in the minds in an abstract way, and the provisions pertaining to facts or individuals or an individuals or a society are equal to the general provision due to formal similarity. This means ignoring the essential and secondary necessity in the provisions. It is also contrary to the purpose of the provisions. On the other hand, among the ijtihād activities related to manāṭ, the ijthiād of taḥkīk al-manāṭ is derived from the ijtihād of tenḳīḥ al-manāṭ, which is “The method of separating the appropriate qualification that is mentioned in the naṣṣ and suitable for being an affliction from other qualifications related to the provision” or the ijtihād of taḫrīc al-manāṭ, which is "the method of determining the qualification that is suitable for the ruling in naṣṣ and ijma". This difference arises from the fact that the former is continuous. In this respect, taḥkīk al-manāṭ has been accepted as an essential method in ijtihād. So much so that all schools of fiqh, even those who oppose qiyas, have accepted this ijtihād activity that provides dynamism to fiqh. Taḥkīk al-manāṭ, which expresses the adaptation of the Shari'ah ruling to the facts, is also an intricate concept related to the concepts of fatwa and qada. The importance of taḥkīk al-manāṭ, which constitutes the touchstone of the fatwa and the cauldron and continues as long as the offer of the shariʻa continues, is felt more especially when creating judgments on current issues that take on a complex structure in all areas of life. Determining the existence or non-existence of manāṭ necessitates knowing the Shari'ah ruling and the event to be bound by the Shari'ah ruling. In today's world where everything changes rapidly, it is not easy to determine the nature of the event. In this respect, taḥkīk al-manâṭ jurisprudence makes interdisciplinary collaboration inevitable. The aforementioned ijtihād method; apart from being related to mujtahid, mufti and judge, it also has a special importance for all taxpayers. Therefore, it is worthwhile to conduct a study on what the ijtihād of taḥkīk al-manâṭ is, which functions to determine the appropriate judgment based on the taxpayer in one aspect and the event in the other. In this study, which deals with the ijtihād of taḥkīk al-manāṭ, after the conceptual framework is revealed, the types of manāṭ that help to determine the source of the differences in the issues, the criteria to be taken into account in the ijtihād of taḥkīk al-manāṭ and the points to be considered while making this ijtihād will be emphasized. Thus, it will be clarified what kind of method should be followed both when applying the texts to the case and when making a judgment about the issues that have no provision in the text.