Analogical Reasoning In Islamic Jurisprudence

Analogical Reasoning In Islamic Jurisprudence

A Study of the Juridical Principle of Qiyas 

By Prof. Ahmad Hasan

Hardback 486 Pages 

ISBN: 8174350276

Publisher: Adam Publishers, India

About The Book

Qiyas (analogy) is one of the four sources of Islamic law. unlike other modes of ijtihad. It is a process of systematic reasoning to discover the legal rule. It is dependent entirely on an authority, which may he the Qur'an, Sunnah or Ijma. It is the most important principle of deriving rules from the original sources. Most of the legal material contained in the Fiqh literature is an outcome of analogical deductions. 

This study falls into 20 chapters. It deals with the concept, rules, and application of Qiyas (analogy) in law. The early chapters contain a general treatment of this principle. They are followed by the chapters which present a detailed analysis of the definition of Qiyas (analogy), the original and the parallel case, the definition, and conditions of the legal cause ('illah) and the methods of its determination. The principle of istihsan (preferential reasoning), rules of immediate cause (sabab), condition (shart), impediment (mani) and critique of Qiyas are some of the important chapters. 

Ahmad Hasan needs no introduction to the students of Islamic jurisprudence. His first book The Early Development of Islamic Jurisprudence was widely acclaimed as a well-researched publication on the subject and has since run into three editions. His second book The Doctrine of Ijma in Islam, first published in 1978, and reprinted in 1984 was also received with similar approbation. The present work deals with analogical reasoning (Qiyas) which is the bed-rock of the great edifice of Islamic law, and the fourth principle among the sources Tashri, after the Qur'an, the Sunnah and Ijma, according to most Usuliyyun (Authorities on the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence).

Islam's claim to being the eternal way of life for all mankind at all times pre-supposes a legal mechanism to determine its response to the constantly changing situations in human societies. Confronted with new questions and problems for which no direct answers are available in the Qur'an and Sunnah, the principle of ijtihad has to be invoked by Muslim scholars of recognized competence, who have been charged with the all-important task of searching out solutions strictly in the light. Of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The often-quoted Hadith of Mu'adh bin Jabal provides a veritable beacon of light and has rightly continued to be the legal maxim par excellence for all Muslim Jurisconٌsults. The principle of Qiyas thus lies at the root of the permanent and universal character of Shariah Indeed the bulk of the corpus juris of Islam is a product of the exercise of this principle. The reason is doubtless endemic to Islamic Law and therein lies the secret of its permanence.

A vast quantum of literature exists on the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, produced both in medieval and modern times. Dr. Ahmad Hasan's book can, however, be described safely as one of the pioneer works on the subject written in English by a Muslim. It is hoped that the book will fulfill one of the greatest needs of the hour by providing an exhaustive and authoritative statement on the status and exercise of the principle of Qiyas.

About The Author

Prof. Ahmad Hasan needs no introduction to the students of Islamic jurisprudence. 'The Early Development of Islamic Jurisprudence' is his first book which is widely acclaimed as a well researched  publication on the subject and has since run into three editions. 

His second book "The Doctrine of Ijma in Islam", first published in 1978, and reprinted in 1984 was also received with similar approbation.