al-Wajiz fi Idah Qawaid al-Fiqh al-Kulliya
- Author died
- 1446 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah al-‘Ālamiyyah
al-Wajiz fi Idah Qawaid al-Fiqh al-Kulliya (The Epitome in Clarifying the Universal Legal Maxims) is a contemporary handbook on Islamic legal maxims written by the Palestinian-Saudi jurist Muhammad Sidqi al-Burnu (d. 1446 AH / 2024 CE) . The book presents a structured exposition of approximately 180 legal maxims and subsidiary rules, supported by legal proofs and comparative applications across the Sunni schools of law .
Background and Purpose
Al-Burnu composed the work after the Department of Usul al-Fiqh at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh decided around 1400 AH (c. 1980 CE) to introduce legal maxims into its undergraduate curriculum, commissioning him to design and teach the course . To meet the need for a modern, accessible textbook for students across Sharia faculties, al-Burnu prepared this treatise, which subsequently served as the foundation and precursor for his expansive multivolume work, Mawsu'at al-Qawa'id al-Fiqhiyya (Encyclopedia of Legal Maxims) .
Structure and Content
The work is organized into two main divisions :
- Part One: Introductions and Principles (al-Muqaddimat wa-l-Mabadi'): An extensive theoretical preface divided into introductory discourses addressing the lexical and technical definitions of legal maxims, the distinction between legal maxims (qawa'id fiqhiyya) and principles of legal theory (qawa'id usuliyya), the classifications and hierarchical tiers of maxims, their foundational textual and rational sources, and a survey of historical treatises in the genre .
- Part Two: Core Maxims and Explanations (al-Maqasid: al-Qawa'id al-Fiqhiyya wa-Sharhuha): The main body of the text, presenting the maxims hierarchically . It opens with the six comprehensive universal maxims (al-qawa'id al-kulliyya al-kubra), followed by their subsidiary branches and narrower rules .
The six major universal maxims featured in the book are:
- Matters are judged by their intentions (al-umur bi-maqasidiha / innama al-a'mal bi-n-niyyat) .
- Certainty is not dispelled by doubt (al-yaqin la yazul bi-sh-shakk) .
- Hardship brings about ease (al-mashaqqa tajlib al-taysir) .
- Harm must be eliminated (al-darar yuzal / la darar wa-la dirar) .
- Custom is an arbiter (al-'ada muhakkama) .
- Giving effect to speech takes precedence over disregarding it (i'mal al-kalam awla min ihmalih) .
Method
For each maxim, the author follows a standard pedagogical framework:
- Lexical and legal definitions of the maxim's terms .
- Evidentiary basis, citing direct textual proofs from the Quran, the Sunnah, scholarly consensus (ijma'), or reasoned deduction (al-ma'qul) where available .
- Practical application and illustrative case law drawn non-denominationally from various Islamic legal schools, with comparative notes highlighting areas of disagreement (ikhtilaf) among jurists .
Publication History
The first edition was published in 1404 AH (1984 CE) . A second edition was issued in 1410 AH (1989/1990 CE) by Maktabat al-Tawbah in Riyadh, followed by a third edition in 1415 AH (1994/1995 CE) by the same publisher . The book has also been printed by Mu'assasat al-Risalah .
Answer updated