Inquiries on the Science of the Objectives of Sharia (Part 15)
Ways to Know the Purposes of Sharia (Istiqra)
In previous discussions, it was made clear that Sharia laws have purposes, and these laws were legislated based on these purposes and goals. In this discussion, we will examine and analyze one of the methods for understanding these purposes and wisdom. Scholars differ regarding the methods by which the purposes of Sharia can be known, including approaches that involve summarization, detail, clarification, and allusion. Among these, “Istiqra” is one way to discern the purposes of Sharia laws, and it will be explored here.
Scholars in the field of Sharia objectives have expressed various means to ascertain these purposes. Imam Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him, identified several ways to know the purposes of Sharia, including references to the Book of Allah, Sunnah, consensus, mastery of the rules of the Arabic language, and inference. Imam Razi and Qarafi also mentioned “Istiqra.” “Amadi” specified the Arabic language and the works of the Companions, while Ibn al-Qayyim highlighted “Istiqra” and the works of the Companions. Imam Shatibi, may Allah have mercy on him, who is regarded as an expert in the field of objectives, summarized the methods of discerning objectives into four categories:
1. Express command and prohibition – that is, the apparent nature of Sharia texts.
2. Recognition of the causes of Sharia rulings – or the paths of causation.
3. Validating the secondary objectives.
4. The silence of the Sharia.
Based on Sharia rulings, Ibn Ashur limited the understanding of objectives to inference, Quranic texts, explicit commands and prohibitions, and mutawatir Sunnah.
Among contemporary scholars, Dr. Saad Al-Yuubi has effectively considered the views of Imam Shatibi and Ibn Ashur, identifying the ways to know Sharia objectives as follows:
1. Inference.
2. Recognition of the causes of Sharia rulings (commands), referred to in Usul al-Fiqh as “paths of causation”.
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