In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger ﷺ.
The kinds of analogy:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i explains the kinds of analogy (qiyas), focusing on how they differ in clarity, in their grounds, and in their probative force, and he gives examples of them. He clarifies that analogy is not of a single degree of clarity: there is obvious analogy (qiyas jali) that ordinary people grasp, and analogy that requires reflection and close examination.
The main points Imam al-Shafi’i addressed in this section:
- Analogy is not of a single degree: Imam al-Shafi’i clarifies that analogy is not of a single degree of clarity. Some of it is obvious and grasped by ordinary people, such as the a fortiori analogy (qiyas al-awla), and some of it requires reflection and close examination, such as the analogy of the effective cause (qiyas al-‘illah) and the analogy of resemblance (qiyas al-shabah).
- Examples of obvious analogy (the a fortiori analogy): Imam al-Shafi’i cites examples of obvious analogy that ordinary people grasp, such as:
- The greater reward for doing much good than for doing a little of it, and the greater sin for doing much evil than for doing a little of it, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: “So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (al-Zalzalah 99:7-8).
- The prohibition of what is worse than saying “uff” and repelling, such as striking and insulting [one’s parents], based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: “say not to them [so much as], ‘uff,’ and do not repel them” (al-Isra’ 17:23).
- The permissibility of taking part of the wealth of hostile disbelievers (harbis) following from the permissibility of taking all of it.
- An example of analogy that requires reflection (the analogy of the effective cause): Imam al-Shafi’i cites an example of analogy that requires reflection and close examination, namely:
- Maintenance of ascendants by descendants and of descendants by ascendants: He explains that just as the ascendant (the father) is obliged to provide maintenance (nafaqah) for the descendant (the son) while he is young and unable, so too the descendant is obliged to provide maintenance for the ascendant when he is old and unable, by analogy with the child’s maintenance by the parent. He clarifies that this also includes grandfathers and grandchildren. He explains that maintenance is for the one in need who has no trade (ghayr al-muhtarif, i.e., who is not able to earn), whereas maintenance is not obligatory upon the wealthy one who has a trade.
- Revenue goes with liability: Imam al-Shafi’i cites the hadith “Revenue (al-kharaj) goes with liability (al-daman)” and explains its meaning: whoever buys something and then a defect appears in it may return it, and the benefits it produced during the period of his ownership (such as the earnings of a slave or the fruit of palm trees) belong to him, because it was under his liability.
- The disagreement over some issues related to revenue: Imam al-Shafi’i explains that some scholars disagreed on some issues related to revenue, such as the offspring of a slave woman: some of them said that it is not returned with the mother, while al-Shafi’i holds that it is returned with her, by analogy with revenue.
- Refuting the opponents on the issue of revenue: Imam al-Shafi’i refutes the opponents on the issue of revenue, explaining that all the benefits that arise while the thing is in the buyer’s ownership belong to him, whether they come from the sold item itself (such as offspring and fruit) or from its earnings (such as revenue), because they arose while it was in his ownership and under his liability.
- The differing degrees of clarity in analogy: Imam al-Shafi’i once again affirms the differing degrees of clarity in analogy: some of it is clear and obvious, with no disagreement over it, and some of it requires reflection and close examination and is subject to disagreement among the scholars.
Additional clarifications:
- The a fortiori analogy (qiyas al-awla): where the derivative case is more deserving of the ruling than the original case.
- The analogy of the effective cause (qiyas al-‘illah): joining the derivative case to the original case because of an effective cause common to both.
- Al-kharaj (revenue): what comes out of a thing in yield, fruit, or earnings.
- Al-daman (liability): bearing the consequences of a thing.
- Al-muhtarif: one who is able to earn.
Final summary:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i explains the kinds of analogy, focusing on how they differ in clarity, in their grounds, and in their probative force, and he gives examples of them. He clarifies that analogy is not of a single degree of clarity: there is obvious analogy that ordinary people grasp, and analogy that requires reflection and close examination and is subject to disagreement among the scholars. He also sets out his preferred view on the issue of revenue and what relates to it.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Shafi'i's al-Risala by Dr. Yasir Burhami