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The Conflict between the Actual and Apparent Regulations

Two part publication

The discussions pertaining to God’s sanctioning of the ‘apparent’ regulations, albeit indirectly, acquire a central position within the post-Anṣārī uṣūlī tradition. This is because a significant proportion of the regulations derived by the legists fall under the category of the ‘apparent’ regulations. The problem is whether it is logically possible for God to sanction a type of regulation wherein the possibility of error subsists. Phrased in another way, the uṣūlī theoreticians are seeking to justify the existence of the ‘apparent’ regulations because of the possibility of error inherent within them. The origins of the discourse are deemed to be certain objections raised by Abū Jaʿfar Ibn Qiba al-Rāzī, an Imāmī theologian who was active during the minor occultation of the Twelfth Imām.