Sheikh Ansari's Role in the Course of the Development of Procedural Principles

Sometimes a Mujtahid does not find any scriptural or textual proofs related directly to the subject-matter in which case he must inevitably rely on certain practical and procedural principles which originate in the (human) intelligence ('aql) as a source of derivation of Islamic laws or emanate from some existing generalities in textual sources. The existence of such principles have played a pivotal role in development and dynamism of jurisprudence to such an extent that one can, relying on them, opinionate on newly emerging and unprecedented subjects and can thus extract their rules which have been derived from reason and generalities in textual sources. Meanwhile, some scholars have played a very important role in the advancement and development of the procedural principles. This article aims to study the course of the development of the procedural principles from the time of Sheikh Mufid until the present era. Especially, the momentous role of two of the most renowned figures in the development of the procedural principles have been examined, their thoughts in the area of procedural principles as well as their innovations and novel ideas have been highlighted.