THE RELEVANCE OF QIYAS (ANALOGICAL DEDUCTION) AS A SOURCE OF ISLAMIC LAW IN CONTEMPORARY TIME
THE RELEVANCE OF QIYAS (ANALOGICAL DEDUCTION) AS A SOURCE OF ISLAMIC LAW IN CONTEMPORARY TIME
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Date
2004-07-01
Authors
TAJUDEEN, MUHAMMED B. ADIGUN
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Abstract
Islamic Law covers every sphere of human endeavor. It comprises
of the primary and the secondary sources of Law. The former consists of
the Qur’an and the sunnah, to which all the jurists are at ad-idem. Qiyas
is the second secondary source. However, there are divergent opinions
amongst the jurists as to whether it can stand as a source or not.
It is in view of this that the choice of the topic of this thesis namely
The Relevance of Qiyas (Analogical Deduction) As a Source Of
Islamic Law In Contemporary Time.
Scholars of earlier times and the contemporary ones differ as
regards to Qiyas been a source of Islamic law or not. The question
however is: are the opinions different in essence? It is this fundamental
question and others that this thesis will examine.
The aim of the research is to analyze the different opinions of the
scholars. Also to clarify some fundamental controversial issues as relates
to our present day world. Also, to show that Islamic law is not rigid and
barbaric as misconceived by some people. Hence, it can be applied to
solve modern day needs brought about by rapid development achieved
due to break -through in technology. Observation in this research work
shows that Qiyas is a correctly accepted source of Islamic law and the
opponent of the above view are indirectly using Qiyas as a source of
Islamic law. It has been observed that Muslims abandoned Qiyas and
believed that they were solving their legislative problems. However, all
they succeeded in doing was crippling their own intellectual powers.
Even so, there has never been a time when the call for Qiyas was entirely
silenced, only that such calls were never enough to extricate the ummah
from the intellectual crisis in which it was, become ensnared, and as a
result, Qiyas was left mainly to heretics, deceivers and the orientalists. If
jurists were to articulate ideas to which people were unaccustomed to or
to announce their readiness to practice ijtihad, Muslims could have
advanced better. The ummah must understand that Qiyas provides it with
the fundamental means to recover its identity to re-establish its place in
the world. The express textual injunction in the Qur’an and the sunnah
are limited in number, while the incidents and problems of life are
unlimited and unending. Hence, it would be illogical to assert that all the
problems and exigencies of life will be covered by the textual injunctions.
Reason demands that rules of law should be derived from the
fundamental sources by means of exercising reasons and individual
opinion. Qiyas therefore is a mode of reasoning to legislate for novel
questions, to reveal the divine rule of law and to harmonize between
divine legislation and human interests. No one among the Companions is
reported to have injected correct qiyas, nor had any of them ever
hesitated to exercise it in legal matters. They were all at one on the
validity of this doctrine. From this, one must conclude that the
companions must have been familiar with the permissibility of this
doctrine, and of exercising correct personal opinion and independent
legal reasoning by the instruction of the Prophet (SAW).
Public benefit and general interest are the aims and objectives of
divine legislation. If two incidents are similar, and one of them is covered
by clear legal rule, but not the other, it would be illogical not to apply the
rule of the one to the other on the basis of the common link. If the
purpose of the prohibition of wine is the preservation of human sense and
reason, then all intoxicants should logically be prohibited on account of
intoxication hence the importance of this which most jurists wrote about
in Arabic.
The study comprises of five chapters. Chapter one centers on
general survey of the sources of Islamic law.
Chapter two deals with the various definitions of qiyas in
accordance with the various views of the jurists.
Chapter three discusses the four pillars of qiyas namely: original
case, new case, effective cause and the ruling.
Chapter four discusses the validity of qiyas as a source of Islamic
Law and Chapter five, being the last of all the chapters, consist of
summary, conclusion and recommendations.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF LAW,
INSTITUTE OF ADMINISTRATION, AHMADU BELLO
UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF LAW IN
ISLAMIC SHARI'AH LAW.
Keywords
RELEVANCE,, QIYAS,, ANALOGICAL DEDUCTION,, SOURCE,, ISLAMIC LAW,, CONTEMPORARY TIME