1) Allah
(swt) sent the Messenger Muhammad (saw) with Islam to mankind in its entirety.
So he began with the Arabs whilst the Qur’an Al-Kareem had been revealed in
their language. Its revelation came in the age when the Arabic language was at
is ripest and indeed in the golden age of this language. This was at a time
when the Arab tribes had established special arts markets so that they could
present their poetry and compete with one another in respect to their skills
and prowess.
The
Arabs understood the Qur’an and the Hadith because the language which the Ayaat
and Ahadith came in represented a natural talent, trait and inborn
disposition which they were endowed with. They could fully take in the meanings
of its worded expressions and understood its styles. Consequently, each of them
would take the Hukm Shar’i that he required without difficulty.
The
situation of the Muslims then continued like that in the era of the Sahabah
(ra) and the Taabi’een until the beginning of the second Hijri century.
2) After
that, the Islamic State had expanded and many other nations had entered into Islam
like the Romans, the Persians, Hindus and Berbers. The Arabs then mixed with
them in terms of where they resided and in respect to their speech. As a
result, the Arabic tongue weakened due to the insertion of expressions,
colloquialisms and styles of a non-Arabic origin. This led to the weakening of
the understanding of the Shari’ah texts amongst the majority of the
Arabs. As a result, they became in need of linguistic controls and principles
in order to understand the Ayaat and the Ahadith as the first
Muslims had understood them. The scholars responded and made efforts to put
down and provide a Minhaaj (methodology) to explain the manner of how to
deduce the practical Ahkam Shari’ah through the Kitab and the Sunnah.
3) From
the host of these linguistic and Shar’i principles and controls (Dawaabit)
the ‘Ilm of Usool ul-Fiqh was formed and the beginning of this ‘Ilm
was in the second Hijri century.
4) The
first to gather together some of the principles of this ‘Ilm within a
book was Al-Imaam Abu Yusuf (rh) the companion of Al-Imaan Abu Haneefah (rh) as
was mentioned by Ibn un-Nadeem in his book ‘Al-Fihrist’. However, this book
written by Abu Yousuf did not reach us.
The Shee’ah
have said that the first to put the subject of Usool ul-Fiqh into
writing was Al-Imaam Ja’far Muhammad Al-Baaqir however this statement has not
been supported by evidence.
The ‘Ulama
before Shafi’ used to speak about the issues of Usool ul-Fiqh, make
deductions and objections however they did not have a complete methodology that
was put down on paper that could be referred back to.
5) The
first book that reached us in the subject area of Usool ul-Fiqh was
‘Ar-Risaalah’ of Al-Imaam Muhammad Bin Idrees Shafi’ (rh) who passed away in
the year 204 after Hijrah. He discussed the Adillah Al-Ijmaaliyyah
in an ordered and organised manner; the Kitab, the Sunnah, Qiyas and Ijmaa’.
And he also dealt with the linguistic principles and how to use them to deduce
the Ahkam Shari’ah
Therefore,
the ‘Ilm of Usool ul-Fiqh that Shafi’ provided represented a
disciplined yardstick to know the correct opinions from the incorrect ones and
a precise measure to know what is from the Shar’a and what is not from
the Shar’a.
Shafi’
restricted himself to this Minhaaj (methodology) in his Istinbat
(deduction) of the Ahkam Shari’ah and based his Madh’hab, known
as the Shaafi’iy Madh’hab in Fiqh, upon it which was recorded in
his book ‘Al-Umm’.
In his
‘Muqaddamah’ when discussing the ‘Ilm of Usool ul-Fiqh Ibn
Khaldoon said: “The first who wrote in it was Shafi’, may Allah be pleased with
him. He dictated in it (the subject area) in his famous ‘Risaalah’ and in this
he spoke about the commands and forbiddances, the Bayaan, the Khabar, An-Naskh
(abrogation) and the Hukm of the ‘Illah that has come in the text
in respect to Qiyas...” (Al-Muqaddamah
p455).
In his
‘Risaalah’ Shafi’ ordered (graded) the levels of the Adillah Al-Ijmaaliyyah
and placed them in their positions: “We judge (or pass verdict) in accordance
to the Kitab and the Sunnah upon which a consensus has been formed, in which
there is no difference and its position is essential, because it is not Halaal
to resort to Qiyas whilst the Khabar (i.e. Sunnah) is present” (Historical study of Fiqh and its Usool
– Dr. Mustafa Sa’eed p181 Vol 1)
The ‘Ilm of Usool ul-Fiqh
after Shafi’
Shafi’
founded the ‘Ilm of Usool ul-Fiqh and this was received (well) by
the ‘Ulama and Fuqahaa, who followed him, through examination and
study. So they added to it and revised a number of issues within it until it
became an ‘Ilm that was coherent, clear and distinguished in its
features, due to the firm foundation that Al-Imaam Shafi’ laid down solidly for
this noble knowledge.
Shafi’
did not reach the point of completion in respect to Usool ul-Fiqh and so
others came to complete the building that he had begun. There were from amongst
them those who followed him providing explanation and elaboration, there were
also those who came adding new principles whilst others came critiquing and
disagreeing with him in respect to some of the Qawa’id (principles).
These
areas of study after Ash-Shafi’iy were restricted to specific subjects in Usool
ul-Fiqh and they did not deal with Usool ul-Fiqh as a whole. They
were restricted to subjects in respect to explanation, addition and
disagreement.
The most
prominent explanations (Shurooh) of Shafi’’s Risaalah in Usool ul-Fiqh
were:
1) The Sharh
(explanation) of Abu Bakr Muhammad As-Seerfiy who passed away in the year 330
AH and it was called: ‘Dalaa’il Al-I’laam’.
2) The Sharh
of Muhammad Al-Qaffaal Ash-Shaashii who passed away in the year 365 AH.
3) The Sharh
of Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Yousuf Al-Juwainiy who passed away in the year 438
AH.
From the
earliest of those who wrote in Masaa’il (issues) of Usool ul-Fiqh after Shafi’
were:
1)
Al-Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal in his book: ‘Taa’at Ar-Rasool’, the book: ‘An-Naasikh
Wa-l-Mansookh’ and the book: ‘Al-‘Ilal’.
2)
Daawud Azh-Zhaahiriy in the book: ‘Ibtaal Al-Qiyas’ and the book:
‘Al-Khusoos Wa-l-‘Umoom’ amongst others. Most of what he wrote
was a critique of the Usool of Shafi’.
3)
Muhammad At-Tirmidhi who passed away in the year 255 in the book: ‘Ithbaat
Al-‘Ilal Ash-Shari’ah’.
Most of
these books were lost and it is clear to us from their headings and titles that
they were restricted to dealing with issues of disagreement or difference;
either in support of Shafi’ and as a rebuttal to those who disagreed with him,
or they were to establish the Madh’hab of the writer and as a rebuttal
in opposition to the Madh’hab of Shafi’.
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