Ibn Rushd's Bidayat al-Mujtahid (The Distinguished Jurist's Primer) occupies a unique place among the authoritative manuals of Islamic law. It is designed to prepare the jurist for the task of the mujtahid a fully qualified and independent jurist who derives law and lays down precedents to be followed by the judge in the administration of justice. In this manual Ibn Rushd traces most of the issues of Islamic law describing not only what the law is but also elaborating the methodology of some of the greatest legal minds in Islam to show how such laws were derived
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