Shah Wali Allah explained how Shafi‘i’s vision of law erased regional boundaries and built on a common body of Hadiths, Companion rulings and regimented reasoning. Finding the answer to a new question about how to act or adjudicate would begin with consulting the verses of the Qur’an and reliable Hadiths together. The local practice of Medina or the teachings of Kufa had no weight. If nothing in the Qur’an, Hadiths or universally agreed-upon positions among the early Muslims could be found to address the question, then the scholar could search for a ruling by a leading Companion or use strict
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