al-Qawaid wa al-Dawabit al-Fiqhiyya al-Mutadammina lil-Taysir
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- Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University
al-Qawaid wa al-Dawabit al-Fiqhiyya al-Mutadammina lil-Taysir (Legal Maxims and Specific Principles Embodying Facilitation) is a contemporary treatise in Islamic jurisprudence and legal theory by Abd al-Rahman bin Salih al-Abd al-Latif, dedicated to gathering, classifying, and analyzing legal maxims (qawaid) and sub-principles (dawabit) across the four Sunni legal schools that incorporate the Islamic legal principle of ease and facilitation (taysir).
Background and Purpose
The work originated as the author's doctoral dissertation in the Department of Usul al-Fiqh at the Islamic University of Madinah, prepared under the academic supervision of Ahmad bin Mahmud Abd al-Wahhab and defended on 2 Sha'ban 1415 AH. The author initially intended to title the work Qawaid wa-Dawabit al-Taysir fi al-Shari'a (Maxims and Principles of Facilitation in Islamic Law), but later adopted the title al-Qawaid wa al-Dawabit al-Fiqhiyya al-Mutadammina lil-Taysir for publication because he deemed it more precise in reflecting the book's core content.
The primary purpose of the book was to address the scattered nature of legal maxims across classical compendia by isolating and organizing those specific maxims and principles that embody leniency and the alleviation of hardship for legally accountable persons (mukallafin) in acts of worship (ibadat) and civil transactions (mu'amalat).
Structure and Scope
The book is organized into an introduction, a preliminary study (tamhid), two main parts, a conclusion, and extensive indices:
- Introduction: Details the significance of the subject, reasons for selecting it, data-collection methods, analytical approach, structure, and methodological difficulties.
- Preliminary Study: Divided into three sections:
- Definitions of legal maxim (qaida fiqhiyya) and specific principle (dabit fiqhi), and the scholarly distinction between them.
- The concept and meaning of taysir in Islamic law.
- A survey of existing literature on facilitation and how this study compares to prior works.
- Part One: Presents the general legal maxims (qawaid) arranged in alphabetical order.
- Part Two: Presents the narrower, topic-specific legal principles (dawabit), likewise arranged alphabetically.
- Conclusion and Indices: Summarizes key findings—chiefly that maxims of facilitation are largely agreed upon across juristic schools, with disagreements primarily concerning their application to subsidiary cases—and includes eight indices covering Quranic verses, Prophetic traditions, Companions' reports, defined terms, maxims, subsidiary issues arranged by fiqh chapters, cited scholars, and subjects.
Methodology and Sources
The author relied on an inductive survey of primary maxim literature across the four Sunni legal schools:
- Hanafi works: including Abu al-Hasan al-Karkhi's Usul, Ibn Nujaym's al-Ashbah wa al-Nazair, and Ahmad al-Zarqa's commentary on the Majallat al-Ahkam al-Adliyya.
- Maliki works: including Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi's al-Furuq, Abu Abd Allah al-Maqqari's al-Qawaid, and Ahmad al-Wansharisi's Idah al-Masalik.
- Shafi'i works: including Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam's Qawaid al-Ahkam fi Masalih al-Anam, Khalil ibn Kaykaldai al-Ala'i's al-Majmu al-Mudhhab, Taj al-Din al-Subki's al-Ashbah wa al-Nazair, and Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi's al-Manthur fi al-Qawaid.
- Hanbali works: including Ibn Taymiyya's al-Qawaid al-Nuraniyya, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali's al-Qawaid, Ibn Abd al-Hadi's conclusion to Mughni Dhawi al-Afham, and Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di's al-Qawaid wa al-Usul al-Jami'a.
For each maxim or principle treated, the author followed a consistent eight-step procedure:
- Recording the exact textual phrasing used by classical jurists (explicitly noting modifications where phrasing was adapted).
- Identifying classical scholars who explicitly articulated, alluded to, or reasoned with the rule.
- Explaining obscure or technical terms within the formula.
- Offering an overall explanation of its legal meaning.
- Citing textual proofs from the Quran and Sunnah, explaining modes of deduction, and noting opposing arguments where disagreements exist.
- Outlining which juristic schools implement or reject the rule based on their transmitted positions on subsidiary issues.
- Providing illustrative applied subsidiary cases (furu').
- Clarifying how the maxim or principle delivers legal facilitation (wajh al-taysir).
Publication
The book was published in its first edition in 1423 AH / 2003 CE by the Deanship of Academic Research at the Islamic University of Madinah in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
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