Al-Waadih Fee Usool ul-Fiqh by Muhammad Hussein Abdullah

The Wahy, manifested in the Qur’aan and the Hadeeth, descended upon the Messenger of Allah (saw) to explain the Ahkaam of specific incidents. For example, the Aayah of Saraqah (theft) was revealed in respect to the theft of the shield or cloak of Safwaan, the Aayah of Zhihaar (Al-Mujaadalah) was revealed in respect to Salamah Bin Sakhr or Khawlah Bint Tha’labah the wife of Aws Bin As-Saamit and the Aayah of Al-Li’aan (swearing a curse) was revealed in respect to Hilaal Bin Umayyah.

All of these Aayaat and those which we mentioned in the first part of the book, in relation to the deduction of this Qaa’idah (principle), were all revealed in relation to specific causes or circumstances (Asbaab). However, the Messenger (saw) and the Sahabah (rah) applied them in their generality and so they applied them to every similar incident or reality, and this application became established by the Sunnah and the Ijmaa’ As-Sahaabah. These Aayaat came with general wordings (Alfaazh ‘Aammah) and consequently indicating to Al-‘Umoom (generality). So the Lafzh ‘As-Saariq’ (the male thief) and ‘As-Saariqah’ (female thief) represent a Lafzh ‘Aamm because they are defined (Mu’arraf) with ‘ال) ‘Alif Laam) Al-Jinsiyah (of kind/type). Its meaning therefore encompasses or absorbs within it every Saariq (thief) and every Saariqah. However, these Aayaat were revealed in relation to certain causes (Asbaab). The ‘Ibrah (importance or that which is given consideration) does not lie in their specific Asbaab but rather the ‘Ibrah (significance) lies in their Alfaazh (wordings) that indicate to Al-Umoom (generality).

For that reason, the Mujtahidoon deduced from these Aayaat and those which are similar to them, in addition to the application of the Messenger (saw) and his companions of these rules upon all similar incidents, the following Qaa’idah:

Example:

The Nabi (saw) passed by a dead sheep and then said: “You could have taken its hide (skin), tanned it and then utilised (or benefit from) it”. In another narration the Messenger (saw) said: “Whatever (ماُّأي (hide (animal skin) is tanned then it has become purified”. In this example the statement of the Nabi (saw) was connected to a specific Sabab (cause) which was that dead sheep that he passed by which was said to have been the sheep of Maymoona. However the Alfaazh (wordings) of the Hadeeth came in a general manner i.e. with a Lafzh that is indicative of Al-‘Umoom (generality). The Lafzh in this Hadeeth was ‘Ayy’ (whatever or whichever) and so this Lafzh encompasses every hide or animal skin in respect to it becoming purified by way of the process of tanning. That is based upon the principle: ‘The importance (or consideration) is found with the generality of the wording and not in the specificity of the cause’.

In the same way every Lafzh ‘Aamm (general wording) that has been mentioned related to a specific Sabab (cause) in relation to a question (that was asked or arose) or an incident (that happened), works in accordance to its generality whilst there is no ‘Ibrah (significance) in respect to the specificity of the Sabab (cause). That is because as Al- Imaam Ash-Shaafi’iy said: “The Sabab does not produce anything, rather it is the wordings (Alfaazh) that produce (i.e. benefited from). And it was in accordance to this that the Fuqahaa’ of the Muslims in the era of the Nabi (saw) and the era of the Sahaabah (rah) proceeded.