The Methodology of ʿIlm Uṣūl Al-Fiqh "The Science of the Fundamentals of Islamic Jurisprudence" in Explaining the Meaning of Justice 10.35781/1637-000-104-002

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to illustrate the methodology of ʿilm uṣūl al-fiqh (the science of the fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence) in arriving at al-ḥaqīqah ash-sharʿiyyah (the sharīʿah-established meaning) , and to illustrate the routes of its identification. For ʿilm uṣūl al-fiqh regulates al-istidlāl (legal reasoning) in al-ʿulūm ash-sharʿiyyah (the sharīʿah sciences) and protects it from being tampered with. Among al-ḥaqāʾiq ash-sharʿiyyah (the sharīʿah-established meanings) , I chose justice as an example because justice is the desire of all human beings, but nations and sects differ in the routes to identifying it. The methodology of ʿilm uṣūl al-fiqh is the pioneer of research methodologies in general and of the methodology of deduction in particular, and it is the ‘‘balance’’ (i.e., criterion) of this research on the routes to identifying justice. The nature of this research required that it consist of an introduction, two discussion sections, and a conclusion. The introduction: it includes definitions of the key terms of the topic The first discussion section: establishing the concept of justice based on the evidence from the Qurʾān, the Sunnah, al-iğmāʿ (scholarly consensus) and al-qiyās (analogical reasoning). It has four objectives: The first objective: to establish the concept of justice based on the evidence from the Holy Qurʾān. The second objective: to establish the concept of justice based on the evidence from the Prophetic Sunnah. The third objective: to establish the concept of justice based on the evidence from al-iğmāʿ. The fourth objective: to establish the concept of justice based on the evidence from al-qiyās. The second discussion section: establishing the concept of justice based on the evidence from qawl aṣ-ṣaḥābī (lit. a Companion’s statement: technically refers to the opinions and statements of the Companions arrived at by way of iğtihād i.e., independent reasoning) , al-maṣlaḥah (lit. utility or interest or benefit: technically refers to the purposes of legal rulings and the intended utility of Islamic Law in general) , and al-ʿurf (lit. custom or tradition: technically refers to what people customarily acknowledge and condone in a certain time and place). It has three objectives: The first objective: to establish the concept of justice based on the evidence from qawl aṣ-ṣaḥābī. The second objective: to establish the concept of justice based on the evidence from al-maṣlaḥah. The third objective: to establish the concept of justice based on the evidence from al-ʿurf. The conclusion: it contains the most important results. The research adopted the Inference, which is appropriate for this research, because the paths to identifying justice can only be achieved through Sharia evidence, just as Sharia rulings can only be learned through Sharia evidence. The research reached several results, the most prominent of which is that justice is the work to obey God and follow His Almighty law.