EPILOGUE

WE have followed the development of Muhammadan jurisprudence from its origins through its formative period to its apex which it reached in Shāfi‘ī. What came after him was first a time of consolidation which produced the classical system of legal theory, and then a long period of scholasticism.

The idea we have gained of the formative period is thoroughly different from the fiction which asserted itself from the early third century A.H. onwards. After the work of Goldziher there remained no doubt that the conventional picture concealed rather than revealed the truth; and I trust that the sketch by which I have tried to replace it comes nearer to reality. Beyond the detailed evidence on which this book is based, the coherence of the picture which emerges ought to confirm its essential outlines. Furthermore, our results are in harmony with the general trends of political and intellectual development during the period. Finally, the method which we used for investigating the origins of Muhammadan jurisprudence is equally applicable to the development of positive law. But this is a subject for another book.