Afal al-Rasul wa Dalalatuha ala al-Ahkam al-Shariyya
- Author died
- 1430 AH
- Editions
- Mu'assasat al-Risalah lil-Tiba'ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzi'
Af'al al-Rasul wa-Dalalatuha 'ala al-Ahkam al-Shar'iyya (The Prophet's Actions and Their Legal Significance for Sharia Rulings) is a foundational modern work on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) by Muhammad Sulayman al-Ashqar (d. 1430 AH / 2009 CE), examining the derivation of Islamic legal rulings from the non-verbal acts and conduct of the Prophet.
Origin and Composition
The book originated as al-Ashqar's doctoral dissertation in usul al-fiqh at the Faculty of Sharia of Al-Azhar University. The dissertation was prepared under the supervision of Sheikh Abd al-Ghani Abd al-Khaliq and was defended on October 25, 1976 CE (25 Shawwal 1396 AH) in the Sheikh Muhammad Abduh Hall, with Sheikh Muhammad Anis 'Ubadah and Dr. Muhammad al-Sa'id Abd Rabbih serving as examiners; it was awarded first-class honors.
Scope and Structure
The work is organized into an introduction and three major parts (abwab), published across two volumes:
- Part One: Explicit Actions (al-Af'al al-Sariha): Spans nine chapters covering clarification through actions (al-bayan bi-l-af'al), the legal classification of the Prophet's acts with respect to his own person, their legal authority (hujjiyya), their classifications and modes of indicating rulings, bare or unqualified actions (al-fi'l al-mujarrad), the prescriptive and declarative rulings (al-ahkam al-taklifiyya wa-l-wad'iyya) derived from actions, the semantic nature of actional indication, the legal significance of circumstantial attachments (such as cause, agent, object, time, place, form, instruments, and frequency), practical methods for jurists (mujtahidun) to derive rulings, responses to counter-arguments, and issues surrounding the transmission of actions and the intention of emulation (niyyat al-ta'assi).
- Part Two: Non-Explicit Actions (al-Af'al Ghayr al-Sariha): Addresses indirect actional indications, dedicating individual chapters to writing, gesturing, actional aspects of verbal statements, intentional omission or non-performance (al-tark), silence, tacit approval (al-taqrir), and the Prophet's inclination or intention toward an action (al-hamm bi-l-fi'l), followed by matters supplementary to prophetic acts.
- Part Three: Conflict of Evidence (al-Ta'arud): Examines apparent contradictions among prophetic actions themselves as well as conflicts between actions and other legal proofs across four chapters. As an appendix to this section, al-Ashqar included an excerpt from al-Hafiz al-Ala'i's treatise Tafsil al-Ijmal fi Ta'arud al-Aqwal wa-l-Af'al (Detailed Treatment of the Ambiguities Regarding Contradictions between Words and Deeds).
Method
Al-Ashqar established his inquiry on the premise of authenticated narrations established by hadith specialists, leaving the transmitter-criticism of reports to the discipline of hadith terminology, while focusing directly on legal and theoretical derivation. He utilized applied subsidiary legal cases (furu' fiqhiyya) as concrete illustrations to clarify theoretical principles, deliberately avoiding extended digressions into substantive legal disputes. In evaluating classical positions, he maintained an independent analytical approach, weighing arguments on their substantive evidence rather than accepting positions solely because they were attributed to a majority or to prominent figures.
Publication
The work was first published in Kuwait by Maktabat al-Manar al-Islamiyya in 1398 AH / 1978 CE. It was later issued in multiple editions by Mu'assasat al-Risala in Beirut in two volumes.
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