What Are the Sources of Islamic Legislation and Their Interconnection?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
What are the sources of Islamic legislation, and how are they interconnected?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
The sources of legislation refer to the methods and means by which we attain knowledge of the rulings of Allah (Most High). These are referred to as legal proofs or sources of legislation and these are also known as the principles of law (‘Usul al-Tashri‘). The term “foundation” (Asl) linguistically means that upon which something else is built, and it is relied upon in the establishment of knowledge.
The sources of legislation that scholars rely on to determine the rulings of Allah (Most High) are numerous, potentially exceeding twenty in number. The most important of these are the Quran, the Sunna, consensus (ijma‘), analogy (qiyas), juristic preference (istihsan), the presumption of continuity (istishab), public interest (masalih mursala), the opinion of a companion, the laws of previous communities, custom (‘urf), and blocking the means (sadd al-dhara’i‘).
Scholars have categorized the sources of legislation in various ways based on different considerations. I will suffice with mentioning the most prominent categorization, which is the division of the sources of legislation in terms of consensus and disagreement. These are divided into two categories:
First: Primary Sources
Sources agreed upon by the majority of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a, which are four: the Quran, the Sunna, consensus, and analogy. These are called primary sources.
Second: Secondary Sources
Sources that are disputed, which include: juristic preference, presumption of continuity, public interest, custom, the laws of previous communities, the opinion of a companion, and blocking the means. These are called secondary sources because they revert back to the primary ones.
I will explain the primary sources and their relationship briefly, leaving the secondary sources for further study in books of Usul al-Fiqh.
Agreed-Upon Sources
These are four as mentioned above:
First: The Quran
The Noble Book revealed by Allah (Most High) to His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), to bring people from darkness into light by the permission of their Lord, to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy.
The Quran contains the legal rulings and general principles that regulate the lives of Muslims.
A Muslim should refer to the Quran first to derive rulings for any issues. If the legal ruling is not apparent in the Quran, then one moves to the second source of legislation, which is the noble Sunna.
Second: The Noble Sunna
This refers to what has been transmitted from the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) in terms of sayings, actions, or approvals. The Sunna consists of the Prophet’s sayings, actions, and approvals (verbal, practical, or tacit).
The Sunna is considered the second source after the Quran, and it includes many details and precise regulations in legislative matters. This is because the Sunna came as an explanation of the Quran and as a detailed elaboration of its general principles mentioned in its decisive verses.
Therefore, we must rely on the Sunna, be guided by its light, and use it to understand the Book of Allah (Most High) and to know the legal ruling for issues that do not have an explicit ruling in the Quran.
Allah (Most High) says:
“(We sent them) with clear proofs and divine Books. And We have sent down to you (O Prophet) the Reminder, so that you may explain to people what has been revealed for them, and perhaps they will reflect.” [Quran, 16:44]
He also says:
“But no! By your Lord, they will never be (true) believers until they accept you (O Prophet) as the judge in their disputes, and find no resistance within themselves against your decision and submit wholeheartedly.” [Quran, 4:65]
If we do not find the legal ruling for an issue in either the Quran or the Sunna, we move to the third source of legislation, which is consensus (ijma‘)
Third: Consensus
Consensus (ijma‘) is the agreement of the scholars of the Muslim community at a certain time on a particular legal ruling.
Muslims have agreed that consensus is legitimate proof and a source of Islamic legislation for clarifying legal rulings and that it should not be opposed. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“Indeed, Allah will not cause my umma—or he said, the umma of Muhammad—to agree on error, and the Hand of Allah is with the group. Whoever deviates, deviates into the Fire.” [Tirmidhi]
Consensus holds the third position after the Quran and Sunna, as explained by Imam Shafi‘i (Allah have mercy on him) in his book “al-Risala”. Consensus relies on the Quran and Sunna as its basis for determining rulings.
If the learned scholars—those capable of ijtihad—from the umma of our Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) do not find a ruling for a particular issue in the Book of Allah or the Sunna of His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), they gather to derive the ruling for that issue, drawing upon what is contained in the Book of Allah and the noble Sunna.
It is narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud (Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
“When one of you is asked about something, let him refer to the Book of Allah. If he does not find it there, then let him refer to the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah. If he does not find it there, then let him look to what the Muslims have agreed upon, and if he does not find it there, then let him strive (to find the answer).” [Ghazali, al-Mustasfa; Sarakhsi, Usul al-Sarakhsi; ‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’]
This striving (ijtihad) leads us to the fourth source of legislation, which is analogy (qiyas).
Fourth: Analogy
Analogy (qiyas) involves applying the ruling of a case with clear textual evidence to a new case that lacks direct evidence, due to the shared underlying reason (‘illa) between the two cases.
Analogy is the fourth legal proof upon which the majority of Muslims have agreed, and it is considered a primary source of Islamic legislation. Analogy is used to derive rulings for issues that do not have explicit texts in the Quran and Sunna. It relies on the Quran, Sunna, and consensus to derive rulings for new matters, ensuring that the derived rulings are consistent with the foundational principles of Islamic law.
You can find the above in detail in the following books:
- “Al-Risala” by Imam Shafi‘i;
- “Al-Wajiz fi Usul al-Fiqh al-Islami” by Zuhayli;
- “Tarikh al-Tashri‘ al-Islami” by Qattan;
- “Tarikh al-Tashri‘ al-Islami” by Khallaf.
Summary
The religion of Islam is distinguished by its strength and comprehensiveness. It is a religion of knowledge and light, understanding and evidence, contemplation and study, proof and reflection, reason and dialogue, explanation and communication. All praise is due to Allah for honoring us with it.
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa
Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.
He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.
He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.
Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.
