Preface ............................................................................................ 8 Works of Arabic origin on usul al-fiqh: ........................................ 9 Chapter One: Introduction to Usul al-Fiqh ....................................... 16 [Definition and Scope Usul al-fiqh]............................................... 16 The definition of fiqh is ............................................................... 18 The founder of usul al-fiqh .......................................................... 19 [The Difference Between the Usul, and the Maxims of Fiqh(alqawa'id al-fiqhiyyah)] ............................................................ 20 Two Approaches to the Study of Usul al-fiqh ................................. 22 III. Proofs of Shari'ah (Al-Adillah Al-Shar'iyyah) ............................ 24 Adillah Shar’iyyah ................................................................... 24 [Classification of Proofs] ........................................................... 25 Chapter Two: The First Source of Shari'ah: The Qur'an ..................... 28 The contents of the Qur’an are not classified subject-wise ............ 29 The Qur’an consists of manifest revelation .................................. 29 In the Hadeeth Qudsi .............................................................. 29 [Words of non-Arabic origin] ................................................... 29 [Graduality] ............................................................................ 30 [Transmission] ........................................................................ 31 3 [makki & Madani] ................................................................... 31 Characteristics of Qur’anic Legislation ........................................... 34 The Definitive (qat’i) and the Speculative (zanni) ........................ 35 Brevity and Detail (al-ijmal wa'l-tafsil) ....................................... 38 The Five Values As a characteristic feature of Qur'anic legislation .. 41 Ratiocination (ta'lil) ................................................................. 42 Inimitability (i'jaz) of the Qur’an ............................................... 44 Occasions of Revelation (asbab al-nuzul) ................................... 46 Chapter Three: The Sunnah ............................................................ 48 Introduction .............................................................................. 48 Usage of the word ‘Sunnah” by various types of ulama ................. 49 Sunnah and Hadeeth ............................................................... 50 khabar and Athar' .................................................................... 50 Proof-Value (Hujjiyyah) of Sunnah ............................................... 52 Classification and Value ............................................................... 54 Verbal, Actual Sunnah and Tacit Approval ................................. 54 Non-legal and Legal Sunnah .................................................... 55 Qur'an and Sunnah Distinguished ................................................. 62 Priority of the Qur'an over the Sunnah .......................................... 63 Is Sunnah an Independent Source? ................................................ 65 Distortion and Forgery ................................................................ 69 [History of Forgery] ................................................................ 69 4 [Types of Forgery] ................................................................... 69 Classification and Value: .............................................................. 71 [From the viewpoint of the continuity of their chains] ..................... 71 The Continuous Hadeeth ........................................................ 72 The Discontinued Hadeeth (al-Hadeeth Ghayr al-Muttasil) ......... 76 Sahih, Hasan and Da’if ................................................................ 77 [Varieties of Da’if] ................................................................... 78 Chapter Four: Rules of Interpretation I: Deducing the Law from its Sources ................................................................................................ 79 Words have beenclassified into various types. .............................. 79 [Benefits of learning the implications of words] ........................... 80 Ta'wil (Allegorical Interpretation) ................................................. 80 [Conditions of Proper Ta’wil] ................................................... 81 There are two types of ta'wil, namely ......................................... 82 Classification I: Clear and Unclear Words ...................................... 83 I. 1 & 2 The Zahir and the Nass ................................................ 83 I. 3 & 4 Unequivocal (Mufassar) and Perspicuous (Muhkam) ........ 86 [Perceived Conflict Between Mufassar and Nass Is not Conflict] ... 87 II. Unclear Words (al-Alfaz Ghayr al-Wadihah) .......................... 88 II. 1 The Obscure (Khafi) ......................................................... 89 II.2 The Difficult (Mushkil) ...................................................... 89 II.3 The Ambivalent (Mujmal) .................................................. 90 5 II.4 The Intricate (Mutashabih) ................................................. 91 Classification II: The 'Amm (General) and the Khass (Specific). ......... 93 'Amm .................................................................................... 93 [Khass] ................................................................................... 94 [Types of ‘Amm] ..................................................................... 94 [Linguistic forms of ‘Amm] ....................................................... 95 [Is ‘Amm Definitive?] .............................................................. 96 [Takhsees by a clause in the same text] ....................................... 98 [Takhsees by a clause in a separate text] ...................................... 98 Chronological order between the general and the specifying provisions. ................................................................................... 99 [‘Amm after takhsees not definitive, even by Hanafis] ................ 100 [The cause never specifies a general ruling] ............................... 100 Conflict between 'Amm and Khass .......................................... 100 Classification III: The Absolute (Mutlaq) and the Qualified (Muqayyad) ...................................................................................................... 101 [The hanafi Position] ............................................................. 104 Classification IV: The Literal (Haqiqi) and the Metaphorical (Majazi) ...................................................................................................... 104 [linguistic (lughawi), customary (urfi) and juridical (shar'i) usages of words] ........................................................................................ 105 The Homonym (Mushtarak) ................................................... 107 6 Chapter Five: Rules of Interpretation II: Al-Dalalat (Textual Implications) ......................................................................................................... 109 I. The Explicit Meaning (Ibarah al-Nass) ..................................... 109 II. The Alluded Meaning (Isharah al-Nass) ................................... 110 III. The Inferred Meaning (Dalalah al-Nass) ................................. 111 IV. The Required Meaning (Iqtida' al-Nass) ................................ 112 [Order of Priority] ................................................................. 112 V. Divergent Meaning (Mafhum al-Mukhalafah) and the Shafi'i Classification of al-Dalalat ................................................................. 114 [Shafi'i approach to textual implications (al-dalalat')] .................. 115 [Conditions of deduction by way of mafhum al-mukhalafah] ...... 117 [Types of mafhum al-mukhalafah] ........................................... 119 Chapter Six: Commands and Prohibitions ....................................... 122 I. Commands ........................................................................... 122 [What does a command infer] ................................................. 122 [Other implications of a command] ......................................... 123 [The command after a prohibition (al-amr ba'd al-hazar)] ........... 124 [ Does a command require a single compliance or repetition?] .... 124 [Does a command require immediate or delayed performance?] .. 125 [Does a command to do something imply the prohibition of its opposite?] .................................................................................... 125 II. Prohibitions ......................................................................... 126 7 III. Value of Legal Injunctions .................................................... 127 [Does a prohibition require both immediate as well as repeated compliance?]................................................................................ 128 Chapter Seven: Naskh (Abrogation) ............................................... 131 [Juridical Definition] .............................................................. 131 There may be instances of conflict between two texts ................ 133 [Establishment of the chronological sequence] .......................... 134 Types of Naskh ........................................................................ 135 In the case of explicit abrogation ............................................. 135 In the case of implicit abrogation ............................................. 135 Implicit abrogation has been sub-divided ................................. 136 [Total Abrogation] ................................................................ 136 Partial abrogation (naskh juz'i ) ................................................ 137 [Abrogation of the Words and Rulings] ................................... 138 [Classification according to the Abrogator] ............................... 138 Naskh and takhsis differ from one another in that ...................... 141 Does a subsequent addition (taz'id) to an existing text, which may be at variance with it, amount to abrogation? ....................................... 142 The Argument Against Naskh .................................................... 143