From Evidence to Ruling
العربية / English

The system map

Usul al-fiqh is the science of moving from evidence to a ruling. Choose a pole or a station to see what it does and where the book treats it.

ApplicationObjectivesUsulal-FiqhThe Fruitthe rulingThe Sourcethe evidenceThe Methodshow texts signifyThe Juristwho may derive12345678

The Fruit: the ruling

Its question What are we trying to reach?

Describes the ruling the jurist seeks: obligatory, recommended, permitted, disliked or forbidden, or a declaratory ruling such as cause, condition, impediment, validity; and who is addressed by it.
Its stations on the line: 1

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The Source: the evidence

Its question Where is the ruling taken from, and what establishes it?

Lists the sources of rulings and weighs their authenticity: Quran, Sunna, consensus, analogy, then the disputed sources such as juristic preference, unregulated interests and presumption of continuity.
Its stations on the line: 2, 5

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The Methods: how texts signify

Its question How is the evidence understood, and how are conflicts resolved?

Explains how wording yields a ruling: command and prohibition, general and specific, absolute and qualified, explicit and implied meaning; then how conflicting evidence is reconciled or weighed.
Its stations on the line: 3, 4

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The Jurist: who may derive

Its question Who may derive rulings, and what of everyone else?

Sets the qualifications and ranks of the jurist, the position of the follower, the mufti and the questioner, and how each school's relied-upon view is identified.
Its stations on the line: 8

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Objectives: the Lawgiver's aims

Its question What end does the ruling serve, and where does it lead?

A ring around all the poles: it governs reasoning by the objectives of the Law (necessities, needs, refinements) and works where texts are silent and in weighing consequences.
Its stations on the line: 6

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Application: usul at work

Its question How did rulings grow from principles, and how is a ruling applied to a case?

The outer ring: deriving each school's rulings from its principles, verifying the ruling's basis in the specific case, and contemporary application.
Its stations on the line: 7

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Foundations: what the science is

Its question What is this science and what does it rest on?

Defines usul al-fiqh, its subject and sources, and lays down the tools of reasoning every pole relies on: definition, proof, certainty and probability.

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Station 1: Identify the ruling sought

Its question What kind of ruling does this case need?

Pole: The Fruit. defining or declaratory

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Station 2: Gather the evidence and test it

Its question What evidence bears on the question, and is it established?

Pole: The Source. certain or probable in transmission

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Station 3: Extract the meaning and its strength

Its question What does the text signify, and how strongly?

Pole: The Methods. certain or probable in meaning

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Station 4: Check for opposing evidence

Its question Is there evidence that specifies, qualifies or abrogates it?

Pole: The Methods. specification, qualification, abrogation, preference

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Station 5: Extend to what has no text

Its question Where the text is silent, by what route is the ruling extended?

Pole: The Source. analogy, interest, preference, custom

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Station 6: Weigh objectives and consequences

Its question Does the ruling serve the Law's aim, and where does it lead?

Pole: Objectives. benefit and harm

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Station 7: Verify the basis in the case

Its question Is the ruling's basis present in this particular case?

Pole: Application. applying to the particular

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Station 8: The ruling and its certainty

Its question What is the ruling, how certain is it, and who may state it?

Pole: The Jurist. and the standing of who states it

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About the book

A book and platform for learning usul al-fiqh according to the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafiʿi schools, with the Hanbalis where their view stands apart. Each topic answers: what it is, why it exists, where the schools differ and why, what follows from it, and how it is used.

The two layers

Overview (Taqrib)

Eight short chapters that draw the whole science as one structure, then a numbered core text for memorising and review.

Detail (Tafsil)

Twenty-two chapters that set out each topic with the schools' positions, their evidence and the practical consequences.