Usuli
- noun
- Specialized
- A new institutional development in Shi'ism in the late eighteenth century, the rise of the Usuli school and the decline of the Akhbari provided a strong organizational ideology for ulama political action, further enhancing their power and influence in society.
Examples
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The Usuli claimed primacy for the ulama in interpreting law and demanded that all believers pick a living mujtahid to follow and abide by his judgments.
Academic text (1993) -
The Usuli movement emphasized the importance of reason in interpreting Islamic law among its followers.
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In Iran, the Usuli ulama ascendancy and the Qajars' consolidation of political power mutually reinforced each other.
Academic text (1993) -
Thus the Usuli doctrine, says Keddie, "gave the living muj-tahids a power beyond anything claimed by the Sunni ulama, and gave to their rulings a sanction beyond anything merely decreed by the state."
Academic text (1993) -
Crucial also was the role of the Qajar state in suppressing Sufism and Akhbarism, thus assisting the Usuli ulama to establish their religious dominance in nineteenth-century Iran.
Academic text (1993) -
As a supporter of the Usuli ideology, he believed in the necessity of independent legal judgment.
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Many Usuli scholars played a key role in shaping the religious landscape of 17th-century Iran.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Usuli comes from the Arabic usul, which means 'roots' or 'principles'. The name was used for a 17th-century movement in Iran among Shiite Muslims. So Usuli refers to people who follow those 'principles' and who use reason and independent judgment in Islamic law.
