Praise
be to Allah
Firstly:
In linguistic
terms, sharee‘ah refers to a water source, which is the source to which
people who want to drink come, so they drink from it and fill their buckets,
and perhaps bring their animals to drink from it as well.
The Arabs do not
call a water source sharee‘ah unless the water is flowing without
interruption, and is visible and can be seen.
Lisaan al-‘Arab
(8/175).
In shar‘i
terminology, sharee‘ah refers to the entire religion (Islam), which Allah
has chosen for His slaves to bring them forth thereby from the depths of
darkness into the light. It is what He has prescribed for them and what He
has explained to them of commands and prohibitions, halaal and haraam.
Whoever follows
the sharee‘ah of Allah, regarding as permissible (halaal) that which He has
permitted and regarding as forbidden (haraam) that which He has prohibited,
will triumph.
Whoever goes
against the sharee‘ah (laws) of Allah has exposed himself to divine
vengeance, wrath and punishment.
Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Then
We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way [sharee‘ah]
concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the
inclinations of those who do not know”
[al-Jaathiyah
45:18].
See also the
answer to question no. 210742.
Secondly:
In linguistic
terms, fiqh means understanding. It may be said that so-and-so has been
given fiqh fi’d-deen, meaning understanding of the religion. Another
example is the du‘aa’ of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) for Ibn ‘Abbaas: “Allahumma faqqihhu fi’d-deen (O Allah, give
him understanding of the religion).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (143) and
Muslim (2477).
Tahdheeb al-Lughah
(5/263).
In shar‘i
terminology, fiqh refers to knowledge of the practical, minor shar‘i rulings
which are derived from detailed evidence and proof.
Al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah
(1/13).
Ibn Hazm (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:
The definition
of fiqh is: knowledge of the rulings of sharee‘ah as derived from the Qur’an
and the words of the one who was sent with it (the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him)), for these rulings can only be taken from him.
What is implied
by this definition is: knowledge of the rulings of the Qur’an, and what
abrogates and what is abrogated of it (an-naasikh wa’l-mansookh); and
knowledge of the rulings in the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him), what abrogates and what is abrogated of it,
and what is soundly narrated of it and what is not; and knowledge of the
matters concerning which there was consensus among the scholars and what
they differed about; and knowledge of how to refer differences of opinion to
the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him). This is what is meant by having knowledge of the rulings of sharee‘ah.
End quote.
Al-Ihkaam fi
Usool al-Ahkaam
(5/127).
Ibn Jibreen (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:
Fiqh is
understanding of the texts, Qur’anic verses and hadiths, and knowing how to
derive rulings from them.
Sharh Akhsar
al-Mukhtasaraat
(1/2)
Thirdly:
With regard to
usool al-fiqh,
The word asl
(pl. usool) refers to the origin of a thing and what it is based on. Hence
the father is the origin of the child, and the river is the origin of the
channel.
Al-Misbaah al-Muneer
(1/16).
Usool al-fiqh is
knowledge of shar‘i evidence and the way in which that evidence is
interpreted in order to reach a ruling, in general terms or in detail.
Sharh Mukhtasar
ar-Rawdah
(1/106).
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Usool al-Fiqh
may be defined in two ways:
Firstly, on the
basis of the two words that make up the phrase, namely the word usool and
the word fiqh.
Usool is the
plural of asl, which is the basis on which something else is built, such as
the foundation of a wall (asl al-jidaar), or the trunk of a tree (asl ash-shajarah)
from which the branches stem. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“Have you not
considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good
tree, whose root [asl] is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky?”
[Ibraaheem
14:24].
In linguistic
terms, fiqh means understanding; in shar‘i terminology it refers to
knowledge of the practical shar‘i rulings, with detailed evidence.
Knowledge may be
definitive or speculative, because shar‘i rulings may be either definitive
(yaqeeni) or speculative (zanni), as is the case in many issues of fiqh.
What we mean by
the shar‘i rulings (conclusions) is the rulings that are learned from the
shar‘i texts, such as the obligations and prohibitions. That excludes
rulings (conclusions) derived by means of reasoning, such as knowing that
the whole is greater than its parts, or regular rulings (conclusions), such
as knowing that dew will come down on a winter’s night if the sky is clear.
What we mean by
practical is that which does not have to do with beliefs, such as prayer and
zakaah. That excludes anything that has to do with beliefs (‘aqeedah), such
as the Oneness of Allah (Tawheed) and knowledge of the divine names and
attributes. Such topics are not called fiqh in shar‘i terminology.
What we mean by
detailed evidence is evidence of fiqh that has to do with detailed issues of
fiqh. This excludes usool al-fiqh, because discussing issues of usool
al-fiqh is done on the basis of the general evidence of fiqh.
Secondly, on the
basis of the phrase (the two words together, usool al-fiqh) that forms the
name of this branch of knowledge, it is defined as the branch of knowledge
that deals with the general evidence of fiqh and how to make use of it, and
the situation of the one who engages in this process (which is called
ijtihad).
What we mean by
general is the general principle, such as when the scholars said that a
command means that something is obligatory, a prohibition means that
something is haraam, and the soundness of a report means that it has
authority. This excludes detailed evidence, which is not discussed within
the framework of usool al-fiqh except by way of explaining a general rule.
What we mean by
how to benefit from it is knowing how to derive rulings from the evidence by
studying what the words of the text mean, and whether the meaning is general
or specific, applicable with no restrictions or subject to some
restrictions, what abrogates and what is abrogated, and so on. This is done
by understanding all of the evidence of fiqh from which rulings are derived.
What we mean by
the situation of the one who engages in this process is trying to find out
his situation (and whether he is qualified), because he is the one who is
engaging in this process (ijtihad), as he himself derives rulings through
his efforts based on the evidence, as he has reached the level of ijtihad
(having the ability to work out rulings based on the evidence). Knowing the
definition of the mujtahid, the conditions and rulings on ijtihad, and so
on, are matters that are discussed in the field of usool al-fiqh.
The benefit of
usool al-fiqh is that it enables a person to attain the ability to derive
shar‘i rulings from the evidence by means of a sound process.
The first one to
write about usool al-fiqh as an independent branch of knowledge was Imam
ash-Shaafa‘i, Muhammad ibn Idrees (may Allah have mercy on him); then he was
followed in that by scholars who wrote various books on this topic. End
quote.
Al-Usool fi ‘Ilm
al-Usool
(p. 7-9).
See also the
answer to question no. 220167.
For more
information, please see the answers to questions no.
22311 and 13189.
And Allah knows
best.
Conclusion:
Sharee‘ah is the entire religion; fiqh is knowledge of the practical, minor shar‘i rulings that are derived from detailed evidence; and usool al-fiqh is knowledge of the evidence for shar‘i rulings and the ways in which these rulings are derived from the evidence, in general or in detail.