Critique of al-Qurṭubī’s Statement Regarding Analogy

Al-Qurṭubī says: In argumentation and reasoning, God drew an analogy (qiyās) between the story of Jesus (a.s.) and the case of Adam (a.s.), and this is evidence for the validity of analogy.(612)

In response, it must be said that this verse is an instance of the best form of argumentation (jadal aḥsan), not analogy as defined by jurists. Analogy as discussed in legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh), which logic calls “representation” (tamthīl), leads to fallacy when used in rational matters and is impermissible in jurisprudence, whereas the analogy in the verse under discussion has a certain common factor.(613) Such an analogy is no longer logical representation or the prohibited analogy in legal theory and jurisprudence, and there are many such instances of “best argumentation” in the Qur’an.(614)