Meaning:
The Quran is the primary source of Islamic legislation. Scholars of usul al-fiqh derived near-universally agreed-upon principles from it across the four legal schools.
Key principles:
- Commands indicate obligation unless a contextual indicator directs otherwise: "Establish prayer" — obligation. "Eat and drink" — permission by context.
- Prohibitions indicate unlawfulness unless redirected by context: "Do not approach fornication" — categorical prohibition.
- A general statement covers all cases until a specifier arrives: "Allah has permitted trade" — general until restricted by a text.
- An unrestricted expression is interpreted by the restricted when the ruling and cause are the same.
- Contrary implication (mafhum al-mukhalafah) is a valid proof: "If they are pregnant, spend on them" — implies no obligation without pregnancy, per the majority.
- Abrogation is valid by proof: "Whatever verse We abrogate" (2:106).
Value: These rules are the key to understanding how scholars derive legal rulings from Quranic texts.
Question: Name three jurisprudential principles derived from the Quran that are agreed upon across the legal schools.
Answer: Commands indicate obligation — prohibitions indicate unlawfulness — a general expression covers all until a specifier arrives. Also: unrestricted is governed by restricted; abrogation is valid.