On 7th – 8th July 2025, Dr Haidar Hobballah participated in a conference on “Islamic Jurisprudence and Contemporary Ethics” hosted by the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. He presented a paper entitled “Shi‘i Ijtihād Methodologies in Contemporary Issues”, in which he explored three approaches to how Islamic jurisprudence engages with emerging topics, such as environmental jurisprudence, AI jurisprudence, and the jurisprudence of technological advancement.
Dr Hobballah analysed the traditional methodology prevalent in Shi‘i seminaries, then introduced two alternative approaches: one attributed to Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Dīn and the other, his own preferred methodology, which he regards as more accurate. He offered a series of critical observations on the first two approaches, ultimately arguing against the comprehensiveness of the Shari‘ah. Accordingly, he concluded that the domain of contemporary issues is largely subject to human legislation, albeit framed within religious and legal objectives (maqāṣid).
