The Role of the Tafsiri Questions of the Sahabah in the Development of Juristic Evolution

Abstract

This research article explores the pivotal role of the Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ interpretive inquiries in the evolutionary development of Islamic jurisprudence. While much scholarship has focused on the Qur’anic Tafsīr of the Ṣaḥābah and their independent legal reasoning, the specific impact of their questions regarding scriptural meanings on jurisprudential growth remains underexamined. The present study argues that the queries posed by the Companions to the Holy Prophet (R.A) acted as catalysts for legal theorization, clarification of ambiguous rulings, and expansion of juristic principles. These inquiries ranged from matters of worship, transactions, family law, penal law and state policy. These interpretive inquiries preserved the dynamic spirit of legal reasoning, preventing juristic stagnation. The article follows a structured thematic progression, beginning with conceptual foundations, then analyzing exemplary cases, and concluding with the legacy of these inquiries in the post-Sahabah schools of law. Key findings reveal that the Sahabah’s questions did not merely seek information but actively shaped the parameters of ḥalāl and ḥarām, influencing the juristic methodologies of Imams Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. 

Keywords: Fiqh ,Interpretive inquiries ,Islamic jurisprudence, Legal Evolution, Sahabah, Tafsir.