Usul al-Fiqh - Osama Sulayman
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- Usul al-Fiqh - Osama Sulayman
Usul al-Fiqh (أصول الفقه, lit. 'Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence') is an educational lecture series by the contemporary Egyptian scholar Osama Sulayman, comprising transcribed didactic lessons dedicated to foundational topics in Islamic legal theory and textual hermeneutics.
Structure and Content
The work consists of numbered lessons delivering simplified explanations of legal theory principles, combining textual analysis, theological context, and practical applications across Quranic sciences and jurisprudence:
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The Absolute and the Qualified (al-Mutlaq wa-l-Muqayyad): The opening lesson defines the absolute (al-mutlaq) as that which signifies an essence without qualification, and the qualified (al-muqayyad) as that which signifies an essence with a restricting qualification. It classifies textual interactions between absolute and qualified provisions into four scenarios depending on the agreement or difference of their underlying cause (sabab) and legal ruling (hukm):
- Unity of cause and ruling: such as the expiation of oaths in فَصِيَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ (fasting three days), where carrying the absolute over to the qualified variant reading attributed to Ibn Mas'ud specifying consecutive days is discussed alongside the majority stance regarding non-canonical readings.
- Unity of cause with difference in ruling: as exemplified in the differing textual stipulations for washing the arms up to the elbows in ablution versus wiping the hands in dry ablution (tayammum).
- Difference of cause with unity of ruling: such as the general requirement of emancipating a slave in the expiation of zihar compared to the explicit qualification of faith required in accidental manslaughter.
- Difference in both cause and ruling: where the absolute text cannot be qualified by another, as in the amputation of a thief's hand compared to the washing of hands up to the elbows in ablution.
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The Explicit and the Implied (al-Mantuq wa-l-Mafhum): The second lesson addresses textual signification, defining the explicit (al-mantuq) as that which the spoken text indicates at the point of utterance, contrasted with underlying implication (al-mafhum), as well as implicit signification (dalalat al-iqtida'), where understanding the intended meaning relies on an unstated ellipsis required by the context. It delineates figurative interpretation (ta'wil) into praiseworthy interpretation supported by contextual indicators and blameworthy interpretation lacking textual warrant.
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The Clear and the Ambiguous (al-Muhkam wa-l-Mutashabih): The third lesson outlines linguistic and technical definitions of clear (muhkam) and ambiguous (mutashabih) texts. It examines the scholarly disagreement over pausing at the divine name in Surah Al 'Imran: 7, connecting different syntactical readings to three distinct meanings of ta'wil: diverting a term to its less probable meaning due to evidence, explanation and exegesis (tafsir) as exemplified by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, and the ultimate reality or outcome of an affair.
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Abrogation (al-Nasikh wa-l-Mansukh): The fourth lesson covers abrogation, defining it linguistically as removal or transference and technically as the lifting of a legal ruling by subsequent revealed address. It explains the methods for identifying abrogation through explicit textual declaration, consensus, or chronological succession when reconciliation is impossible. It also reviews historical doctrinal stances on abrogation, detailing the arguments of the Sunni majority against Jewish rejections of abrogation, the concept of bada' in Shi'i theology, and the stance associated with the Mu'tazilite scholar Abu Muslim al-Isfahani, who permitted abrogation rationally while rejecting its textual occurrence in the Quran by reinterpreting it as specification (takhsis).
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