al-Wajiz fi Usul al-Fiqh al-Islami
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- دار الخير للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع (مطبوعات وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية إدارة الشؤون الإسلامية - دولة قطر)
al-Wajiz fi Usul al-Fiqh al-Islami (The Concise Guide to Islamic Legal Theory) is a modern two-volume treatise on Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) by the Syrian scholar Muhammad Mustafa al-Zuhayli . Written as an accessible manual covering the core themes of legal theory, the work synthesizes classical and contemporary methodologies .
Background and Purpose
The author composed the work drawing upon more than forty years of study in Islamic legal theory—spanning his education in secondary religious schooling, the Faculties of Sharia and Law at Damascus University, Cairo University, and Al-Azhar University—alongside more than twenty-five years of teaching, authoring, and editing classical manuscripts in the field . He completed the first volume in Sharjah on 8 Ramadan 1422 AH / 23 November 2001 CE while serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies at the University of Sharjah . The second volume was completed in Sharjah on 12 Jumada al-Ula 1424 AH / 10 August 2003 CE .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into two volumes, comprising an introductory section and five main parts (abwab) :
- Volume 1 contains three sections:
- Introductory Section (al-Bab al-Tamhidi): Introduces the definition and utility of legal theory, its historical development, methodologies of classical composition, major reference works, the causes of juristic disagreement (asbab ikhtilaf al-fuqaha), and the higher objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-shari'ah) .
- Part 1 (al-Bab al-Awwal): Examines the sources of Islamic legislation (masadir al-tashri'), dividing them into agreed-upon and disputed sources .
- Part 2 (al-Bab al-Thani): Discusses the legal ruling (al-hukm al-shar'i), its division into defining rulings (taklifi) and declaratory rulings (wad'i), and covers the Lawgiver (al-Hakim), the legally responsible agent (al-mahkum 'alayh), and the act subject to the ruling (al-mahkum bih) .
- Volume 2 covers the remaining three parts:
- Part 3 (al-Bab al-Thalith): Focuses on textual interpretation and linguistic implications (tafsir al-nusus or dalalat al-alfaz) in the Quran, Sunnah, and legislative texts .
- Part 4 (al-Bab al-Rabi'): Addresses legal reasoning (ijtihad), the following of legal authority (taqlid), and the issuance of legal opinions (fatwa) .
- Part 5 (al-Bab al-Khamis): Examines apparent conflict between legal proofs and methods of harmonization and preference (al-ta'arud wa-l-tarjih) .
Method
The author adopted an objective, simplified presentation that combines theoretical maxims and rules with practical legal rulings, avoiding granular digressions . For disputed questions, he organizes the divergent opinions, attributes each view to its proponents, outlines their respective proofs, concisely discusses those arguments, and demonstrates the practical legal branches (furu') resulting from the disagreement . The book relies directly on primary classical sources while drawing on contemporary literature and documenting citations in footnotes .
Publication
The work has been published by Dar al-Khayr in Damascus and Beirut (including a second edition in 1427 AH / 2006 CE), and has also been issued as part of the publications of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Qatar .
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