ABSTRACT
Despite her dismissive approach, Lambton does make a very important point. It was not until Shafi'i that Islamic law tookon a conservative reluctance toward change.161 Lambton argues that neither the Qur'an nor Muhammad exhibited the degree or rigidity that Shafi' i successfully imposed on Islamic law through ijma ( consensus ). 162 Further, she contends that while Shafi'i attempted to exclude change and growth from lslamic law through ijma, the first two centuries of Islamic legal practice were much less restrictive. "Recent research has shown that Islamic law in its fonnative period down to the middle of the seeond century was by no means immutable in theory l et alone in practice. The persistent refusal to admit to the possibility of change dates on! y from the time ofShafi' i. " 163 Accepting Lambton's position seemingly would open lslamic law to the possibility of much more liberal refonn.
