Comparative Analysis of the Foundations of the Authority of Fame (Shuhrah) in Imami Jurisprudence and Its Influence on the Process of Deriving Legal Rulings

Abstract

The concept of shuhrah (fame) holds a distinct position in Imami jurisprudence and is considered one of the significant topics within the domain of uṣūl al-fiqh. Imami jurists have long expressed differing views regarding the credibility and authoritative force (ḥujjiyyah) of shuhrah in deriving Sharīʿa rulings. In its technical sense, shuhrah refers to the accumulation of juristic opinions and fatwas concerning a specific legal ruling, in such a manner that it does not reach the level of consensus (ijmāʿ) yet enjoys substantial acceptance among jurists. According to Imami jurisprudential sources, shuhrah is divided into three categories: narrative (riwāʾiyya), practical (ʿamaliyya), and fatwā-based (fatwāʾiyya), each of which plays a particular role in the process of derivation (istinbāṭ). Among these types, fatwā-based shuhrah has received the most attention from Imami jurists, and the debate concerning its authoritative status has long remained a central challenge in uṣūl al-fiqh. Some jurists—such as Shaykh Ansārī, Ayatollah al-Khūʾī, and a number of later scholars—consider fatwā-based shuhrah to lack independent authority, and they accept it merely as a supporting indicator or a tie-breaking preference when legal evidences conflict. In contrast, another group—including Ayatollah Burūjirdī, Imam Khomeini, and Bijanurdi—particularly regarding the fatwā-based shuhrah of early jurists, maintain that it possesses evidentiary force and view it as revealing the opinion of the infallible Imam or as an indicator of the existence of an authoritative textual source. This article, adopting a descriptive-analytical approach and relying on primary jurisprudential and uṣūlī sources, undertakes a comparative examination of the theoretical foundations of the authority of shuhrah in Imami jurisprudence and elucidates its impact on the process of deriving Sharīʿa rulings. The findings indicate that although shuhrah does not possess definitive authoritative force on its own, it can, alongside other transmitted and rational evidences, strengthen valid presumption (ẓann muʿtabar) and generate confidence in the actual legal ruling. Consequently, it can play a determining role in the processes of ijtihād and jurisprudential derivation.