Usul al Fiqh discusses both the sources (Adillah) of Islamic law and the law (Fiqh). This view is held by a group of jurists, according to Nurul Anwar written by Sheikh Ahmad Ibn Abu Sayiid, known as Mullah Jaiun, who was the house tutor of Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor. However, primarily Usul al Fiqh deals with the sources or roots of Islamic law.

Usul al Fiqh (Usul is plural of Asl) the bases or roots of Islamic Law, expound the methods by which Fiqh (detail Islamic law) is derived from their sources. In this view, Usul is the methodology and the Fiqh is the product.

Usul deals with the primary sources of Islamic law, the Quran and the Sunnah, i.e. Usul discusses the characteristics of the Quran and Sunnah, and what are the methods of deduction of law from the Quran and the Sunnah. In doing that, Usul discusses various kinds of words used in the Quran and the Sunnah in particular and Arabic language in general such as the Amm (general) and the Khass (particular), Mutlaq (unconditional) and Muqayyid (conditional), Haqiqi (literal) and the Majaji (Metaphorical), various types of clear words and unclear words. Methods of deductions from the legal verses of the Quran and the legal Ahadis (singular Hadis) are what the Fuqaha (jurists) have called Ibarah al Nass (whereby Ahkam or rules are derived from the obvious words and sentences themselves), Isharah al Nass (where Ahkam are inferred from signs and indications inherent in the text) Dalalah al Nass (where Ahkam are derived from the spirit and rationale of a legal text) and Iqtida al Nass (whereby Ahkam are derived as a requirement of the provision of the text though the text is silent on the issue). For details, please read the chapters on Interpretation in Hashim Kamali's book "Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence"

Usul al Fiqh also discusses the secondary sources of Islamic law, the Ijma (consensus), Qiyas (analogical deduction), Istihsan (Juristic preference) and other methods of Ijtihad (reasoning and investigation). All the secondary sources are either directly or indirectly based on the primary sources of Islamic law, the Quran and the Sunnah. For instance, three main elements of Qiyas, that is Asl (original case), Hukm (ruling on asl) and the Illah (effective cause ) are based on primary sources. Usul al Fiqh also discusses other main issues involving Islamic law such as the effect of custom on law or custom as a source of law, and grades of the Islamic legal provision (i.e. what is Haram, what is Maqruh; what is Farz, what is wazib and what is Mandub (recommended) and also the methods of removal of conflict (i.e. Taa'rud).

In some books of Usul, grammar of Arabic language is discussed at length. Of course the knowledge of Arabic language and grammar is a must for one who wants to be a Usuliuun or a jurisprudent. However, this is not really a subject matter of Usul.

The benefits of the study of Usul al Fiqh are many. From a study of Usul, we come to know the methods of interpretations of the Quran and Sunnah, all the secondary sources of Islamic law, the views on Usul of major scholars of the past and present, the rules of Qiyas and other methods of Ijtihad, the history of development of Islamic law and legal theory. All these make anybody who studies Usul cautious in approach to Islamic law. He develops respect for the methodology of past masters and becomes aware of the need to follow rules in the matters of deduction of new rules of Islamic law. He then is likely to avoid careless utterance and action. Ummah can produce great mujtahid only by study of Usul in addition to other sciences. The principal objective of Usul is to regulate Ijtihad and guide the jurist in his effort at deducing the law from the sources.

Imam Shafii is considered to be the father of the science of Usul. This is true in the sense that the systematic treatment of the principles of Usl al Fiqh was first made by him. Before him, the jurists of course followed some principles in the deduction of law but these principles were not integrated and systematized. After Shafii, many scholars have contributed in the study of Usul, of them, the most famous are : Abul Hasan al Basri (d. 436), Imam al Haramayn al Juwayni (d.487), Abu Hamid al Gazali (d.505), Fakhruddin al Razi (d. 606), Saifuddin Al Amidi, Abul Hasan Al Karkhi (d.349), Fakhruddin Al Bazdawi (d. 483), Abu Bakr Al Jassas (d. 370), Sadr Al Shariah (d. 747), Tajuddin Al Subki (d.771), and Al Shatibi. There have been many writers on Usul in modern times, particularly in Arab lands.

Initially two approaches developed in the study of Usul, the theoretical and the deductive. The theoretical approach was developed by Imam Shafii who enacted a set of principles which should be followed in the formulation of Fiqh. On the other hand primarily the early and later Hanafi scholars looked into the details of law given in the Quran and Sunnah and derived legal rules or Usul principles therefrom. However, the later scholars combined the two approaches and presently the subject essentially follows the some format.

In some classical books of Usul (such as Nurul Anwar by Sheikh Ahmad Ibn Abu Said or Manar by Sheikh Abul Barakat Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Nasaki) most of the discussion of Usul have been made under the heading "Kitabullah" (that is the Quran). Such discussion include discussion on the classification of words in the Quran (or Arabic language), grammatical issues pertinent to interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah, such as Haruful Maa'ni (words with meaning), Haruful Atf (conjunction), Haruful Zar, (which gives Kasra to the noun when it is used before noun), Haruful Asmauz Zaruf (Haruf which indicate time, place, etc.) and Haruful Shart (haruf which indicates conditions). Discussion under Kitabullah also include the methods of interpretation such as Ibaratun Nass, Isharatun Nass, etc.

However, in our discussion on Usul under the "Quran" we shall not discuss any of the aforesaid things. In following some modern Usul scholars we shall take the discussion on the methods of interpretation and classification of words under "Methods of Interpretation" We shall not discuss rules of grammar in Usul and ask the readers to study Arabic language and its grammar separately. In this part we shall discuss some of the characteristics of Quran as its introduction.

Quran is the book which Allah revealed in His speech to His Prophet Muhammad (SM) in Arabic and this has been transmitted to us by continuous testimony or tawatur.

There are 114 suras of unequal length. The contents of the Quran are not classified subjectwise. The Quran consists of manifest revelation ('Wahy Zahir) which is direct communication in the words of Allah. This is different from Wahy Batin (non-manifest revelation) which consists of inspiration and concepts. All the Ahadis of the prophet fall under this category.

Hadis Qudsi, in which the Prophet (SM) quotes Allah in the Hadith, is also not equivalent to the Quran. In fact, this kind of Hadith is also subject to examination of Isnad (chain of narrators from the Prophet (SM) to the compiler of the Hadith compilation). If the sanad (chain) is weak, the hadith will be treated as weak, even though it is Hadis Qudsi. It should be noted that the Prophet (SM) did not make any distinction between Hadis Qudsi and other Hadis.

Only meaning (Maa'ni) or text (Nazm) is not the Quran. The jurisprudents agree that text and meaning together constitute the Quran.

Quran was revealed in stages (Bani Israil, 17:106), and gradually (Al-Furqan,25:32). Graduality in the revelation afforded opportunity to reflect over it and memorize it. The Ulama are in agreement that the entire text of the Quran is "Mutawatir", i.e. its authenticity is proven by universally accepted testimony.

The larger part of the Quran was revealed in Mecca (about 19/30^th part) and rest in Madinah. The Meccan revelations mostly deal with beliefs, disputation with unbelievers and their invitation to Islam. But the Madinan suras, apart from the aforesaid, deal with legal rules regarding family, society, politics, economics, etc. The sura is considered Meccan if its revelation started in Mecca, even if it contains Madinan period Ayats. The information regarding which one is Makki or Madani are Sbased on the sayings of the Sahabis or the following generation.

The legal material of the Quran is contained in about 500 Ayats, according to various estimates. These injunctions were revealed with the aim of repealing objectionable customs such as infanticide, usury, gambling, unlimited polygamy; prescribing penalties and core Ibadah like Salat, Siam, Zakat, Hajj. Other legal Ayats deal with charities, oaths, marriage, divorce, Iddah, revocation of divorced wife (Rijah), dower, maintenance, custody of children, fosterage, paternity, inheritance, bequest; rules regarding commercial transaction such as sale, lease, loan, mortgage, relations between rich and poor, justice, evidence, consultation, war and peace.

One of the things that has been discussed is about Qati (definitive) and Zanni (speculative). Qati and Zanni concepts have been discussed in terms of text and in terms of meaning. The whole of the Quranic text in Qati (definitive) that is its Riwyah (report) is conclusive and beyond doubt. Only other text, which has been considered Qati is only Mutawatir Sunnah or Hadith (at least in essence). Other Hadith and Ijtihad are Zanni material.

The text of the Quran which has been reported in clear words (Alfaz al Waziha) which has only one meaning are considered Qati also in terms of meaning (Dalalah). Qati and Zanni have significance in the matter of belief and in the gradation of Ahkam into Farz, Wazib, Sunnah, Haram, Makruh, etc. Articles of faith can be determined only by Qati text with Qati meaning. A person can be declared Kafar if he denies the Qati text of the Quran or Mutawatir Sunnah. Otherwise not. Similarly Farz is determined only by Qati text with Qati meaning (please see chapter 17 of Kamali's book).

Most of the text of the Quran are Qati in meaning. Example of Zanni in meaning are the words "banatukum" in Nisa : 23 and "yanfaw minal ard" in Maida : 33.

In the discussion on Qati and Zanni, Quran and Sunnah are integral to one another. Zanni of one verse can be made Qati by another verse or definitive Sunnah. Similarly, the Zanni Sunnah can be elevated to Qati by Qati Ayat of the Quran or by other corroborative evidence of Qati Sunnah.

By far, the large part of the Quranic legislation have been given in broad outlines, only in a few area, the Quran has given instruction in considerable details. Hardly there is anything where Quran has given all details. We are dependent on Sunnah and Ijtihad to fill up the gaps or for explanations.

One issue of concern is whether it is permissible to research the cause (talil) of Ahkam. Majority of scholars hold that this is permissible, indeed a must for development of Islamic law through Ijtihad (primarily Qiyas).

However, a few hold, talil is not permissible and as such deny legality of Qiyas. This view is weak and appears to have been born out of misunderstanding the purpose of talil.

Another issue is Asbab al Nazul or events which are related to revelation of the Ayats. The Hukm (law) is not limited to the events or circumstances. However Asbab al Nazul helps to understand the Quran and its law. .

3. The Sunnah

Literal meaning of Sunnah in Arabic is beaten track or established course of conduct. Pre-Islamic Arabs used the word for ancient or continuous practice.According to Ulama of Hadith, Sunnah refers to all that is narrated from the Prophet(sm),his acts,his sayings and whatever he tacitly approvedThe Jurisprudents exclude the features of the Prophet (SM) from Sunnah.In the Hadith literature,there are uses of the word Sunnah in the sense of source of law, for instance in THE Prophet's farewel Hajj address and at the time of sending Muadh(R.A.) to Yemen.

The term Sunnah was introduced in the legal theory towards the end of the first century. It may be noted that in the late 2^nd Century Hijra Imam Shafii restricted the term to the Prophetic Sunnah only. In the Usul al Fiqh Sunnah means the source of Shariah next to the Quran.But to the Ulama of Fiqh Sunnah primarily refers to a Shariah value which is not obligatory but falls in the category of Mandub or recommended. But as a source, Sunnah can create obligation (wajib), Haram, Makruh, etc. In the technical usage Sunnah and Hadith have become synonymous to mean conduct of the Prophet (SM) The Sunnah of the Prophet (SM) is a proof (Hujjah). The Quran testifies that Sunnah is divinely inspired (53:3). The Quran enjoins obedience to the Prophet(SM) [59:7;4:59; 4:80; 33:36]Allah asked the believers to accept the Prophet as judge (4:65)One classification of Sunnah is Qawli, Faili and Taqriri (verbal, actions and tacit approval)

A very important classification is legal and non-legal Sunnah . Legal Sunnah consists of the Prophetic activities and instructions of the Prophet (sm) as the Head of the State and as Judge. Non-legal Sunnah (Sunnah Ghayr tashriyyah) mainly consist of the natural activities of the Prophet (Al-afal-al-jibilliyyah),such as the manner in which he ate, slept, dressed and such other activities which do not form a part of Shariah. This is called adat (habit) of the Prophet in the Nurul Anwar,a text -book of Usul. Certain activities may fall in between the two. Only competent scholars can distinguish the two in such areas.Sunnah which partake of technical knowledge such as medicine, agriculture is not part of Shariah according to most scholars. As for the acts and sayings of the Prophet that related to particular circumstances such as the strategy of war, including such devices that misled the enemy forces, timing of attact, siege or withdrawal, these too are considered to be situational and not a part of the Shariah.

Certain matters are particular to the Prophet (SM) such as the case of number of wives, marriage without dower, prohibition of remarriage of the widows of the prophet (sm). The Quran has priority over Sunnah, because of nature of revelation (wahy zahir over wahy Batin), authenticity and also because Sunnah is basically and mostly an elaboration of the Quran. In case of real conflict, the Quran should prevail. Never the Quran was abandoned in favor of the Sunnah.

It may be noted that Sunnah in many instances confirms the Quran. Please look into examples given in the book. There is no disagreement on this.Sunnah also explains and clarifies the Quran as in the case of Salat, Zakat, Hajj, Riba and many other maters of transactions.Another part of Sunnah which is called Sunnah al Muassisah or founding Sunnah (such as prohibition of marrying paternal or maternal aunt or the right of pre-emption in property (shuf') cannot be traced in the Quran and originate in the Sunnah.

Implication of verse 16 : 44 (Sura Nahl)) does not clearly over-rule the recognition of Sunnah as an independent source, at least in some respects. It may be noted from other books (not discussed in Hashim Kamali's book) that the experts in Hadith literature at the stage of collection of Hadith examined all Hadith before recording in their collections (particularly the claim of transmission from the Prophet [SM] downward) and classified Hadith into strong (sahih/hasan), weak (daif) and forged (Mawdu). It is easy for an expert in Hadith to find out the status of Hadith. Even now re-examination of Hadith literature is continuing. In current century, Nasiruddin Albani had good work on this subject. Anybody who knows Arabic well, can look into Albani's works (see also M.M.Azami, Studies in Hadith methodology, published by American Trust Publications. Mutawatir Hadith has been considered Qati (definitive) in concept (Mutawatir bil Ma'na) mostly. There are only a few hadith which are Mutawatir bil Lafz (Mutawatir word by word). Also note that because of large number of reporters of Mutawatir Hadith, diversity of residence of the reporters. It is impossible to concoct a lie in this manner. The main conditions of Mutawatir Hadith are: (a) large number of reporters (b) reports must be based on direct knowledge and through sense perception, (c) reporters must be upright, (d) reporters are free from sectarian or political bias of that time. According to the majority of Ulama of Usul, the authority of Mutawatir is equivalent to the Quran. It gives positive knowledge, the denial of Mutawatir Hadith or Sunnah is equivalent to denial of the Quran.

Mashhur Hadith is a kind of Hadith, which is reported by one or two companions, then become well known. The majority of Ulama considered Mashhur as a kind of Ahad Hadith and it gives speculative knowledge, not positive knowledge. Ahad Hadith (in most cases reported by a single companion and which did not become well-known in the 2 or 3 generations) does not give positive knowledge. Majority of Jurists hold that if Ahad is reported by reliable reporters, it establishes a rule of law. Some hold acting upon Ahad is only preferable. Aqidah (beliefs) or Hadud (prescribed punishment) should not be based on Ahad.

If a hadith is narrated by a number of narrators and there is additional words in some of them, then it should be looked into whether the hadith was originally uttered in one sitting. In that case ,the words narrated by more narrators will be accepted.. Imam Malik did not rely on Ahad., if it was in conflict with the practice of Madinah. Most Imams considered Ahad to be authoritative in principle if reported by reliable reporters. Majority of Ulama do not insist on verbatim transmission (rewait bil Lafz) of Ahad. Transmission of a part of Hadith is permitted, if it is not in conflict with the full hadith.

What is the difference between Muttasil (connected) and Ghair al Muttasil (disconnected) Hadith? Mutawatir, Mushhur an Ahad are kinds of Muttasil hadith. Mursal, Mudal and Munqati are various types of Ghair al Muttasil Hadith. According to majority, Mursal means that a successor (Tabii), narrates a hadith without mentioning the name of companions. Majority of Ulama of Hadith do not accept the Mursal as evidence. Imam Ahmad and Imam Shafii do not rely on Mursal unless reported by famous successor, even then Mursal have to meet certain conditions as mentioned in books on Usul. Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik are less stringent in their acceptance of Mursal. Munqati refers to a Hadith whose chain of narrator has a single missing link somewhere in the middle of the chain. The Mudal is a Hadith in which two consecutive links are missing.

The Hadith has also been classified into Sahih, Hasan and Daif. Hadith is called Sahih (that is excellent in terms of quality of narrators - not in the sense of Qati or absolutely correct), if it is reported by Thiqat Sabitun (highly trustworthy) or by Thiqat (trustworthy) narrator. A Hadith is considered Hasan if among the narrators are included (apart from the categories of narrators of Sahih hadith) some persons who are Sadiq(truthful),Sadiq Yahim(truthful but commits error) and Maqbul(accepted that is there is no proof that he is unreliable).A hadith is considered Daif if among the reporters are any Majhul person(that is unknown person in terms of identity or conduct) or if there is any Fasiq(violator of any important practice) or any liar..

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