Regarding the sources of Islamic law, the tool of teleological interpretationgenerally
determines both its questions and answers by searching for the divinemeaning of the
legal material under examination. One of the main reasons for this isthat religion
and law, and the person of the religious and legal scholar, areinseparably intertwined
in the Islamic world. However, the modern critical approachrequires objective examination,
so by placing this interpretation in the appropriatehistorical period, we can arrive
at completely different questions and answers. Thereal dogmatic foundation of Islamic
law begins under the Umayyads, but its truefulfillment occurs under the rule of the
Abbasids. This is when the hadith, based onoral traditions, took on a key role, proving
to be a more authentic source materialthan written sources. The collection, selection,
and recording of hadith material hadhelped to support the aspirations of religious
and political parties since the 7thcentury, but its real power was harnessed by the
Abbasids, thus creating a truetradition, beginning, and form for the new, ethnically
diverse ummah.
