Introduction to Islamic Jurisprudence

1. Usul al-Fiqh (‫الفقہ‬ ‫)أصول‬
Principles of Jurisprudence
Iqbal Saujan
Temp. Assist. Lecturer in Islamic Law & Legislation
Dept. of. Islamic Studies
savjaniqbal@seu.ac.lk

2. Introduction
Usul al-Fiqh: Principles of Jurisprudence
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✿ All Muslim Jurists unanimously agreed that every word and action of a man though related to
worship, trade, crime, and politics or even to personal life, has legal ruling (Hukm) under Islamic
Law.
✿ Some of the legal rules (Ahkam) explicitly have been described in the text of the Quran and Sunnah
and some legal rules are not mentioned, however, guidance has been provided to Muslim Jurists
(Mujtahideen) to find and explore in the light of Quran and Sunnah.
✿ The study and exploration of these legal rules by Muslim Jurists may be called Islamic Jurisprudence.
Islamic Jurisprudence is the study of Islamic law. It is a type of science that explores the creation,
application, and enforcement of laws.
✿ It is the study of theories and philosophies regarding Islamic law. If we understand the theories and
philosophies behind the law, then we can better understand laws.

3. Continue….
Usul al-Fiqh: Principles of Jurisprudence
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✿ Islamic Jurisprudence deals with the primary sources of Islamic law, the Quran and the Sunnah, and
what are the methods of deduction of law from primary sources. It also discusses the secondary
sources of Islamic law such as Ijma (consensus), Qiyas (analogical deduction), Istihsan (Juristic
preference) and other methods of Ijtihad (reasoning and investigation) etc.
✿ Example:
The Science of Usul al-Fiqh is about the method by which rules are deduced from indications
(evidences), so imagine a man thinking of a way to pick a fruit from a tree! The man is the
mujtahid; the tree is the source/ evidence; the fruit is the hukm (ruling) and the method of
picking is the procedure of deduction.
1. The Rules …………………………………………….(Fruit)
2. The Sources………………………………………… (Tree)
3. The Rules of Interpretation (Istinbaat)/ Implications (Dalalaat)……………. (Method of Picking)
4. The Interpreter (al-Mujtahid) and His Work (Ijtihaad)…………………………… (Man)

4. Islamic Jurisprudence
Usul al-Fiqh: Principles of Jurisprudence
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✿ Literal Explanation:
Islamic Jurisprudence and Usul al-Fiqh are used as synonyms. Both terminologies are
interchangeable, but they have slight differences in their origins and meanings as follows:
Uṣūl al-fiqh ( ‫أصول‬
‫الفقه‬ ) comprises the conjunction of two Arabic terms, usul and fiqh. The word
Usul is derived from the root word ASL (Usul is plural of Asl) which refers to the bases or roots
(principles or rules) of Islamic Law.
Fiqh (‫)الفقه‬ linguistically refers to knowledge, deep understanding or comprehension. Thus, it is
the knowledge of the fundamentals of Islamic law.
Imam Abu Hanifah (d.150 A.H) Defined fiqh as “ ‫معرفة‬
‫النفس‬
‫مالها‬
‫وما‬
‫عليها‬ (A person’s knowledge of
his rights and duties)”
Imam Shafi’s define fiqh as “ ‫العلم‬
‫باألحكام‬
‫الشرعية‬
‫العملية‬
‫المكتسبة‬
‫من‬
‫أدلتها‬
‫التفصيلية‬ (It is the knowledge of
the Shari ahkam (legal rules), pertaining to conduct, that have been derived from their
specific evidence)”
✿ Islamic Jurisprudence: The word jurisprudence is derived from a Latin maxim as referred
'jurisprudentia’. It is a combination of two words 'juris' which means 'law' and 'prudence’
which means 'knowledge' or 'skill'. Therefore Islamic jurisprudence is the study, knowledge,
skill and theory of Islamic law. Jurisprudence includes principles behind law that make the law.

5. Legal Definitions
Usul al-Fiqh: Principles of Jurisprudence
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✿ Islamic Jurisprudence can be defined in many ways:
1. Imam Ibn al Hajib in his book “Mukhtasar al-Muntaha”, states as
“They are the principles by the use of which the Mujtahid (Jurist) derives the legal rules of
conduct from the specific evidences”
This definition explores that Islamic jurisprudence is a body of principles of interpretation by the
help of which the Mujtahid is able to derive the law from the detailed evidences in the Quran, the
Sunnah, Ijma and Qiyas.
2. Imran Ahsan Nyazee describes in his book “Islamic Jurisprudence” as
The discipline imparting a knowledge of the sources and principles of interpretation and of legal
reasoning that helps the jurist arrive at the legal rules of conduct in Islamic jurisprudence. It also
defined as “Science of basic principles of Islamic Law”

6. Usul al-Fiqh: Principles of Jurisprudence
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Thank You