In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the Prophets and Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and Companions.
This is a summary of what was covered in this part of the explanation of Imam al-Shafi’i’s al-Risalah, focusing on the important points and clarifications:
An introduction to the proofs of rulings, ijtihad, and analogy:
The speaker gives a comprehensive introduction to the proofs of legal rulings and their kinds, and to the concepts of ijtihad and analogy, with important clarifications of certain terms and concepts.
- Legal rulings: They are divided into: obligatory (and below it, recommended), forbidden (and below it, disliked), and permissible (which is the lawful and the allowed).
- The proofs of rulings:
- The Book (the Qur’an).
- The Sunnah: on condition that it is soundly established and soundly understood.
- Consensus: of two kinds:
- Explicit consensus: its validity is agreed upon.
- Tacit consensus: its authority is disputed; some regard it as a proof and some do not take it into account. Silence in itself is not evidence of agreement except through contextual indicators, unlike the silence of the Prophet ﷺ, which is regarded as evidence of approval because he does not approve of a wrong.
- Analogy (or ijtihad): exerting effort to derive a ruling from a detailed proof.
- The detailed proof (al-dalil al-tafsili): the text that contains a specific ruling on a specific case; it is part of the comprehensive proof (such as the Qur’an). Examples: the verse on theft, “[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands” (Surah al-Ma’idah 5:38), and the verse on fornication, “The [unmarried] woman or [unmarried] man found guilty of sexual intercourse - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes” (Surah an-Nur 24:2).
- Ijtihad and derivation (istinbat): extracting a ruling from its proof, which is the work of the mujtahid scholars. Allah the Exalted says: “But if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it” (Surah an-Nisa’ 4:83), and He says: “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you” (Surah an-Nisa’ 4:59). (On “those in authority” there are several views, including: the scholars, the rulers, or everyone who holds a legitimate position of authority.)
- Analogy linguistically and technically:
- Linguistically: estimation.
- Technically: estimating something by an original, with an effective cause or uniting attribute shared between them. Example: prohibiting cognac by analogy to wine because of intoxication.
- The pillars of analogy:
- That on which analogy is drawn (the original): a proof that is agreed upon.
- The branch: the thing to which the analogy is to be extended.
- The effective cause or uniting attribute: the reason or quality shared by the original and the branch.
- Dispute about proofs: The dispute that nullifies the indication of a proof is a dispute that carries weight, not just any dispute.
- Al-nass (the text) according to the scholars of legal theory: it is what indicates [its meaning] by its very wording and needs no interpretation. The first to use the term nass in this sense was Imam al-Shafi’i.
- An example from the Qur’an (inheritance): The saying of Allah the Exalted: “Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females” (Surah an-Nisa’ 4:11). Some modern readings attempt to change this ruling, but that is not valid, because the text is consistent and established.
- An example from the Qur’an (the cow): The saying of Allah the Exalted: “Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:67). Some extremist Shi’ah interpreted the cow as ‘A’ishah, and this is a false interpretation.
- The categories of the Shi’ah:
- Those who loved ‘Ali and ranked him above ‘Uthman (this existed in the time of the Salaf).
- Those who ranked ‘Ali above all the Companions (innovators).
- Those who revile the Companions, especially Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (extremists).
- The issue of the relative merit of the Companions: It is a creedal issue on which there was dispute among the Companions themselves (ranking ‘Uthman above ‘Ali or the reverse); then the matter settled on giving precedence to ‘Uthman.
- Conclusion: The claim that matters of usul (fundamentals) are the creedal issues in which there is no dispute, while matters of furu’ (branches) are the juristic issues, needs qualification, because there are juristic issues on which there is consensus and creedal issues in which there is dispute. Examples: wiping over leather socks (a juristic matter with consensus); whether the Prophet ﷺ saw his Lord, and whether the Throne or the Pen came first (creedal issues in which there is dispute).
Some additional benefits:
- Clarifying the categories of legal rulings.
- Detailing the kinds of consensus.
- Explaining the concept of the detailed proof.
- Clarifying the meaning of ijtihad and derivation.
- Explaining the linguistic and technical meanings of analogy and its pillars.
- Clarifying the meaning of nass according to the scholars of legal theory.
- Detailing the categories of the Shi’ah.
- Clarifying that the issue of the relative merit of the Companions is a creedal issue.
- Clarifying that dividing issues into usul and furu’ on the basis of the presence or absence of dispute is imprecise.
Remarks on some points:
- It was clarified that silence is not evidence of agreement except through contextual indicators, unlike the silence of the Prophet ﷺ.
- The concept of the detailed proof and its examples were explained.
- The meaning of analogy and its pillars were clarified.
- It was shown that the dispute that nullifies the indication of a proof is a dispute that carries weight.
- It was clarified that the first to use the term nass in this sense was Imam al-Shafi’i.
- The categories of the Shi’ah were detailed.
- It was shown that the issue of the relative merit of the Companions is a creedal issue.
- It was clarified that dividing issues into usul and furu’ on the basis of the presence or absence of dispute is imprecise.
We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us success in understanding His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ, and to make us among those who follow them.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Risala by Shaykh Dr. Ahmad al-Naqeeb