حجة الله البالغة

مقدمة

Shah Waliullah of Delhi, a scholar of hadith and Sufism who lived through the decline of Mughal power, wrote this major work in Arabic, probably in the 1740s. The first part explains the purposes behind the rules of Islamic law and argues that they can be understood by reason. Central is his doctrine of the irtifaqat, stages of civilisation, from the simple arrangements of household and village life through the city and the state to a universal caliphate; the law serves the needs of each stage. The second part goes through the individual areas of ritual and law. The book is regarded as one of the most ambitious attempts to give Islamic law a rational foundation and influenced later reform movements in South Asia.