The Sources of Evidence in Islam

THE ISLAMIC SOURCES FOR EVIDENCE RELATING TO ISLAMIC
MATTERS
Al-Jannah Da’wah Centre. Sh. Bilal Dannoun
The causes of the differences of opinion relating to Fiqh (jurisprudence):

1. The evidence (from the sunnah) was not known to the scholar as there are so many
Hadiths from the Prophet S.A.W
2. The Hadith is known to the scholar but is regarded as a contradiction to a more
stronger Hadith
3. The Hadith is known to the scholar but was not used in the judgement/ruling due to
forgetfulness of the Hadiths’ existence
4. The Hadith is interpreted in a different way
5. The scholar is unaware that the Hadith is abrogated
6. The scholar gives a ruling on a weak (da’ruf) Hadith
How the Muslim Scholars reach a verdict:

Hanafi, As-shafi’, Maliki and Hanbali are the main four schools of thought (Madhabs) that
dominated the world.
The primary sources of Islam is from the Qur’an or Sunnah of the Prophet S.A.W
1. Qur’an i.e. Words of the All-Mighty Most-High Allah
2. Hadith i.e. sunnah -- words, ways, actions and approvals of the Prophet S.A.W
3. The consensus (ijma) of the Companions of the Prophet S.A.W
4. The individual and personal opinions of the Companions of the Prophet S.A.W
5. Analogical reasoning (Qiyaas); that is, for example, a issue that did not exist during
the time of the Prophet S.A.W so there is no concrete verdict from the above
mentioned sources thus, the scholars look for a similar situation that the Prophet
S.A.W or his Companions may have mentioned to produce their verdict i.e. today
there are many illicit intoxicants which Muslims agree are haraam though it was not
found during the time of the Prophet S.A.W but it is agreed that all forms of drugs are
categorised as an intoxicant and therefore are haraam as the Hadith recorded by
Muslims states the Prophet S.A.W saying: “every intoxicant is khamar (can be
translated as alcohol) and every form of khamar is haraam”
6. The customs of Medina as long as they do not contradict known authentic Hadiths.
7. Legal preference (ikhstihsaan) i.e. the preference of one proof over another because it
appears more suitable to the situation even though the preferred proof is technically
weaker than the other. For example in Islam it is known that an object cannot be sold
if it is not in the seller’s actual physical possession.
8. Choosing the more suitable to the well-being of people but is not considered in the
Shari’ah (Islamic Law); this is known as Istikhslaah. For example the Muslim leader
has right to collect taxes from the wealthy (other than zakat) in the interest of the State
but in the Shari’ah zakat is the only specified tax.
Note that Imam As-shafi’ considered Ikhstihsaan and Istikhslaah as innovation
because it is based more on human reasoning where revealed laws already existed.
9. Precedence is the linking of a latter set of circumstances with a former circumstance
which is known as Istikhaab in order to reach a verdict. For example a missing person
cannot be presumed dead if he/she was last known to be living.
10. Local customs and social habits of Muslims throughout the Muslim world will be
taken into consideration as long as it does not contradict the primary Shari’ah sources
of Qur’an and Sunnah. An example of a custom is the language of a people i.e. the
word “deB” means four legged animal in the Arabic language but in Syria it can only
mean horse; therefore if a contract with the word “deB” is made in Syria we must
consider the fact that the Syrians have a specific translation and they mean horse and
not just any four legged animal.
11. Weak Hadith
Types of verdicts (Khilaaf):

The first type of verdict is based on the scholar’s understanding or interpretation of all the
evidence and sources. The second type of verdict comes from the various forms of doing
things. For example there are seven different dialects in which it is acceptable to read the
verses of the Holy Qur’an. The third type of verdict is an unacceptable and incorrect verdict
as it contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet S.A.W.
Different types of Scholars that exist in the Muslim world:

A truthful and sincere scholar who follows the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet S.A.W and
this scholar is successful by Allah due to his/her sincerity in the Deen (Religion of Islam) and
their faith.
A scholar who seeks the pleasure of his/her people besides Allah Alone and so you will see
them present dodgy and weak reports, at times they may not even include any Hadiths or
provide a weak Hadith so long as the numbers of his/her followers are maintained or
increased
A scholar seeking a reward from the King/Ruler of a State or from any authority figures, thus
he/she would present reports that are not necessarily true and are only in the interest of those
that the scholar is attempting to please.
The Prophet S.A.W said that there are three types of judges and two out of the three will enter
the Hell-Fire and only one will enter Paradise. For the one to enter Paradise he/she judges
based on facts and truth and the one who will enter the Hell-Fire is he/she who knew the facts
and the truth but does not judge by it. Then there is a judge who gives a ruling out of
ignorance and is also sent to the Hell-Fire. Imam Bukhari reports the Prophet S.A.W said that
if a Mufti (judge) makes a ruling based on Ishtikhaad as he/she has exerted all his/her
knowledge and effort and his/her ruling is based on the facts and is correct then he/she will
receive two rewards, one for the judgement and one for the correctness of the judgement but
if the Mufti based their judgement on Ishtikhaad but his/her ruling was incorrect they will
still be rewarded because of their sincerity and faith.
13th November 2010

The Sources of Evidence in Islam

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THE ISLAMIC SOURCES FOR EVIDENCE RELATING TO ISLAMIC

The causes of the differences of opinion relating to Fiqh (jurisprudence):

How the Muslim Scholars reach a verdict:

Types of verdicts (Khilaaf):

Different types of Scholars that exist in the Muslim world:

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