Usool At-tafseer by Shu‘bah ibn al-Hajjaaj, Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah and it was translated by Dr. M. Abdul Haq Ansari

There are two types of mafhoom (implied) meanings in relationship to the rule contained in the mantooq meaning of a statement: the mafhoom almuwaafaqah, in which the rule in the implied meaning agrees with that of the mantooq; and mafhoom al-mukhaalafah, in which the rule in the implied meaning is the contrapositive of the mantooq.123 That is, if a law is connected to a particular condition, trait, number, etc., one can assume the law doesn’t apply when the condition, trait, number, etc. is missing. Both of these types of mafhoom meanings have been further subdivided by some scholars; however, the differences are so linguistically fine that it will suffice to mention a few examples from each of the two main types here.

An example of mafhoom al-muwaafaqah can be found in the verse prohibiting harsh words with parents,

The mantooq here forbids the saying of “Uff” to parents, and the mafhoom is that cursing them or hitting them is also forbidden. Another example may be found in the verse on the property of orphans:

The mantooq prohibits misappropriating the property of an orphan for one’s personal benefit. By implication, it would also be prohibited to burn an orphan’s money, as both acts deprive the orphan of benefit from his wealth. In the example of mistreatment of parents, the rule in the mafhoom is stronger than that of the mantooq; while in the second example, they are on the same level.

The validity of rules derived from the mafhoom al-muwaafaqah is unquestionably logical and, as such, it is among the fundamental principles used by all of the scholars of Islaamic law.126

Scholars are divided, however, on the validity of arguments based on mafhoom al-mukhaalafah. An example of it is contained in the verse,

This verse implies that information brought by a righteous person should be accepted without the necessity of confirmation. Another example is contained in the verse on the punishment for one who slanders a woman by falsely accusing her of fornication or adultery:

The mafhoom here is that they should be given no more nor less than eighty lashes. Also, in the verse concerning hunting during hajj,

the mafhoom meaning here is that the accidental killing of an animal does not necessitate a sacrifice. In each of the preceding cases, the mafhoom almukhaalafah yields a valid ruling. However, where the mantooq is a description of a common circumstance which is not true in all cases, the mafhoom almukhaalafah will be false. For example, in the verse prohibiting marriage to stepdaughters,

the mafhoom al-mukhaalafah is that stepdaughters not under your care may be taken in marriage. However, this is not the case. The phrase “under your care” only addresses the usual situation and not a condition of prohibition. This interpretation, agreed upon between the four math-habs, is strengthened by the fact that the verse mentions two qualifications for the step-daughters:

It then goes on to explicitly state that if the second condition does not hold, the prohibition doesn’t apply. It makes no mention of this exception when the first condition is missing.

The other case of an incorrect mafhoom al-mukhaalafah is when the mantooq is an explanation of a certain reality. For example, the verse,

The mafhoom of the verse is that if someone has proof of another god’s reality, he may worship it along with Allaah. This is incorrect, because there is no valid proof of any other god’s reality, since no other god exists besides Allaah. The phrase “with no proof of it being real” was added for emphasis and to ridicule those who worship other gods (idols) besides Allaah. Hence, the majority of scholars accept the rules derived from the mafhoom al-mukhaalafah as long as the conditions of the mantooq are not descriptions of a common circumstance or an explanation of reality.134