Alloh mukallaf shaxslarga Islom shariatining butun tarkibi bilan — uning asoslari va tarmoqlari, ya’ni e’tiqod masalalari hamda amallarga oid hukmlar bilan — murojaat qiladi. Biroq Usul al-fiqh ilmi asoslar (e’tiqodlar) bilan shug‘ullanmaydi. U tarmoqlar (amallarga oid shar’iy hukmlar) bilan shug‘ullanadi. Bundan tashqari, u amallarga oid shar’iy hukmlarni ularning qurilgan asoslari nuqtai nazaridan o‘rganadi, hukm o‘z ichiga olgan turli qoidalar va masalalar nuqtai nazaridan emas. Shuning uchun dalillar ilmini o‘rganishda shar’iy hukmning haqiqatini anglab olish zarur.

Allah addresses the legally responsible persons [mukallafīn] with the entirety of the Islamic Shari’ah, comprising both its foundations and branches, that is, the beliefs and the rules related to actions. However the science of Usūl al-Fiqh is not concerned with the foundations (beliefs). Rather it is concerned with the branches (legal rulings related to actions). Further it is concerned with the legal rulings related to actions from the perspective of the bases upon which the rulings are built, not from the perspective of the various rules and issues a rulings contains. Hence it is necessary to appreciate the reality of the legal ruling [hukm shar’i] when studying the knowledge of the legal evidences.

Usul olimlari huquqiy hukmni shunday ta’riflaganlar: bu qulların harakatlariga oid, iqtido [majburlash], takhyir [ixtiyor berish] yoki vad’ [belgilash] yo‘li bilan bog‘langan Shore’ (qonun chiqaruvchi)ning hitobidir. Qonun chiqaruvchi Allohdir, u ulug‘ va oliydir, shuning uchun “qonun chiqaruvchining hitobi” degani Allohning hitobi demakdir. Bundan tashqari, Allohning hitobi tinglovchini ma’lum hukmlar va qoidalarga yo‘naltirsa ham, hitobning o‘zi aynan ana shu ma’no hisoblanadi, u yo‘naltirgan narsa emas. Shunday ekan, so‘zlar va birikmalar anglatgan ma’noning o‘zi hitobdir. “Allohning hitobi” o‘rniga “qonun chiqaruvchining hitobi” deyilishining sababi shuki, bu ibora Sunnatni va Sahoba ijmoini ham o‘z ichiga oladi, ularning ikkalasi ham Allohning hitobini bildiradi. “Allohning hitobi” deyilsa, faqat Qur’on nazarda tutilgandek noto‘g‘ri taassurot paydo bo‘lishi mumkin. Holbuki, Sunnat ham vahiydir va shu sababli qonun chiqaruvchining hitobidir; Sahoba ijmoi esa Sunnatdan dalil ko‘rsatgani uchun u ham qonun chiqaruvchining hitobidir. “Mukallaflar” o‘rniga “qullarning harakatlari” deyilishining sababi esa bolа va aqli noqis kishiga oid hukmlarni, masalan, ularning mollaridagi zakotni ham qamrab olishdir.

The scholars of usūl have defined the legal ruling as ‘the address of the legislator related to the actions of the servants in terms of compulsion [iqtidā’], choice [takhyīr], or declaration [wad’]. The legislator is Allah, the Exalted, and hence the ‘address of the legislator’ means the address of Allah. Further, although the address of Allah directs the listener towards certain rules and principles, the address is the original meaning itself not what it directs towards. Thus the very meaning which the words and compounds denote is the address. The reason for using ‘the address of the legislator’ instead of ‘the address of Allah’ is to include the Sunnah and the Ijma’ al-Sahabah, both of which also signify the address of Allah. The use of ‘the address of Allah’ may give the wrong impression that the Qur’an alone is intended; yet the Sunnah too is revelation and as such is the address of the legislator, and the Ijma’ al-Sahabah reveals an evidence from the Sunnah so it too is the address of the legislator. The reason for using actions of the ‘servants’, instead of ‘mukallifīn’ is so as to include the rulings related to the child and the insane like the zakat due on their wealth.

Hukmning iqtidā’ (talab) bilan bog‘liq bo‘lishining ma’nosi shuki, iqtidā’ so‘zining ma’nosi talabdir. Talab ikki turlidir: amalga undash talabi va amaldan qaytarish talabi. Agar amalga undash talabi qat’iy (jāzim) bo‘lsa, u vojiblik (ījāb, farz) ma’nosini bildiradi; agar qat’iy bo‘lmasa, u mandublik (mandūb, sunnat, nofila) ma’nosini bildiradi. Agar amaldan qaytarish talabi qat’iy bo‘lsa, u harom qilish (tahrīm, hazr) ma’nosini bildiradi; agar qat’iy bo‘lmasa, u makruhlik (karohat) ma’nosini bildiradi. Ixtiyor (takhyīr) esa ruxsat (ibohat) ma’nosini bildiradi. Vaz’ (ya’ni hukmni bayon qilish) yo‘lidagi xitob yoki bandalarning amallariga bayon jihatidan taalluq qiluvchi xitobga kelsak, u biror narsani sabab yoki mone’ qilish va hokazodir. Masalan, quyosh botishi namoz vaqtining kirishini talab qiluvchi omil bo‘lgani uchun namozning sababi bo‘lishi, najosat esa namoz uchun mone’ bo‘lishi kabi. Shu sababli, bular hukmlar uchun alomatlar bo‘lsa-da, o‘z-o‘zidan ham hukmlardir. Alloh quyoshning zavaldan (zenitdan) og‘ishini zuhr vaqtining kirishi alomati, najosatning mavjudligini esa namozning botil bo‘lishi alomati qilib qo‘ygan. Zavalning sabab bo‘lishi ma’nosi faqat namozni ado etishga talab bo‘lishidan iboratdir; najosatning botil qilishi ma’nosi esa faqat najosatdan saqlanishga talab bo‘lishidan iboratdir. Demak, bular o‘z haqiqatida Shoriʼdan kelgan xitobdir.

The meaning of the legal ruling being related to compulsion [iqtidā’] is its being related to a request [talab], because the meaning of the word iqtidā’ is talab. The request is of two types: the request to act, and the request to abstain. If the request to act is decisive [jāzim] then it denotes the obligation [ījāb, fard], and if it is non-decisive then it denotes the recommendation [mandūb, sunnah, nāfilah]. If the request to abstain is decisive then it denotes the prohibition [tahrīm, hadhr], and if it is non-decisive then it denotes the reprehensibility [karahah]. As for choice [takhyīr] it denotes the permissibility. As for the address of declaration [wad’], or the address related to the action of the servants in terms of declaration, then it is the making of a thing a cause [sabab] or preventative factor [mani’] etc. like the sunset being the necessitating factor for the presence of the prayer, and thereby being the cause [sabab] of prayer, and like the impurity being a preventative factor for prayer. Hence these things, whilst they are signs [‘alamah] for the rulings, they are also rulings in their own right. Allah has made the moving of the Sun from its zenith [zawāl] the sign for the presence of Dhuhr, and the presence of impurity a sign for the invalidity of prayer. There is no meaning to the zawāl being necessitating except its being a request to perform the prayer, nor is there a meaning to the impurity invalidating except its being a request to abstain from impurity. As such these things in their reality are an address from the Legislator.

Shunga ko'ra, hukm shar'iy ta'rifi — "bandalarning harakatlariga taalluqli Shoriʼning xitobi" — ham jāmi', ham māniʼ bo'lib, ya'ni u ham barcha tegishli narsalarni o'z ichiga oladi, ham boshqalarni chetlatadi. Majburiylik yoki ixtiyoriylikka taalluq bo'lgan jihati bilan u besh hukmni qamrab oladi: vojib, mandub, haram, makruh va mubah. Bayon qilish (e'lon qilish) jihati bilan esa sabab, shart, māniʼ, sahih, botil, fosid, rukhsat va azīmatni qamrab oladi. Ushbu ta'rifga asoslanib, Shoriʼning xitobi ikki turga bo'linadi: taklif xitobi (khitāb al-taklīf) va vad' xitobi (khitāb al-vadʼ).

Hence the definition of the hukm shar’i as ‘the address of the legislator related to the actions of the servants’ is both comprehensive and exclusive [jāmi mani’]. With its reference to the relation to compulsion or choice it covers the five rulings: wājib, mandub, harām, makruh, mubah, and by its reference to the declaration it covers the sabab, shart, mani’, sahih, batil, fāsid, rukhsah and azimah. On the basis of this definition the address of the Legislator is of two types: the address of responsibility [khitab al taklīf] and the address of declaration [khitab al-wad’].