Extracting Islamic Law Methodology From The Qur’an: The 59th Verse of Chapter (4) an-Nisa

Year 2017, Issue: 37, 35 - 57, 15.12.2017

Mehmet Boynukalın

Abstract

The Holy Qur’an, which is the main source
of Islamic sciences, points to a number of basic principles of these sciences. Through
their areas of expertise, Islamic scholars have tried to understand these principles
of the Qur’an, and construct a sense of knowledge appropriate to the Qur’an in
the light of these. The scholars of usul al-fiqh (Islamic law methodology) also
interpreted many verses of the Qur’an in the course of establishing their sense
of the methodology from the Qur’an. In this article, we have considered the 59th
verse of the chapter an-Nisa (4) as an example, and have attempted to identify
and analyze some of the methodical conclusions extracted by scholars of usul
al-fiqh and tafsir (commentary of the Qur’an).

Usul al-fiqh (Islamic law methodology) is
the science that deals with the sources of the shar’i provisions and the methods
of extracting the provisions from these sources. Since the time of Shafi’i
(204/820), the author of the first independent work on usul al- fiqh, this
science has been established on four basic sources: al-Kitab (the Holy Qur’an),
as-Sunnah (tradition of the Prophet), al-ijma (consensus of scholars), and
al-qiyas (analogical reasoning). The basis of these sources is extremely
important for establishing the main structure of usul al-fiqh.

Scholars of usul al-fiqh and tafsir (commentary
of the Qur’an) made many deductions about Islamic law methodology from the 59th
verse of chapter an-Nisa (4). For example, Ibn Hazm (456/1064) stated that his
voluminous work of al-Ihkam fi usuli’l-ahkam on methodology is merely a
broad explanation of this verse. Fakhraddin ar-Razi (606/1210) said that this
verse includes the majority of the science of usul al-fiqh. These deductions
can be separated into two main groups: finding the basis for the four main
sources, namely the Book, the sunnah, the ijma, the qiyas; and the details of
these sources. Here, we find and analyze deductions about the foundations of
the basis for the four main sources, as extracting the details of these sources
from this verse are beyond the scope of this article.

The translation of this verse is as follows:
“O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in
authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and
the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the
best [way] and best in result” (an-Nisa 4/59).

This verse begins with commanding Allah to
obey. Many commentators have noted that obedience to Allah is to, “follow His
Book.” In the continuation of the verse, “Obey the Messenger” is mentioned, and
commentators have noted that obeying the Messenger is in keeping with his sunnah
(tradition).

“Ulu’l-amr” has been determined as the
third authority ordered to obey in this verse. There are two common views on
the meaning of “ulu’l-amr”: the rulers and the scholars. Many scholars of tafsir,
fiqh and usul al-fiqh have determined “ulu’l-amr” as scholars, and from there
they have reached the conclusion that the ijma (consensus) of scholars is a
source in Islamic law. The reason for this is that if these qualities coexist; in
other words, the rulers have the qualification of scholarship, obeying them
will be obligatory by consensus. If the rulers do not have this qualification,
they are obliged to ask the scholars about the things they do not know about
the order, “Ask the people of the message if you do not know” (an-Nahl 16/43).
If these scholars are in a consensus in the answers they give, it is obligatory
that the rulers comply with them and apply this judgment; and consequently,
compliance with the consensus of scholars becomes obligatory for both the rulers
and the ummah. Today, the opinions of rulers and others with knowledge and
experience in various fields can be seen as an auxiliary source of Islamic law,
and these opinions are important for being aware of social conditions. The
scholars should act based on their views in mind when undertaking ijtihad
(legal reasoning) or giving fatwa (legal opinion), and should explain the
judgment Muslims should comply with after evaluating whether they contradict
Islamic law. Consequently, empowering those who do not have a certain license
to work in this area is contrary to the established understanding in Islamic
law methodology; it is necessary to take into account the views, knowledge,
experiences and evaluations of the rulers as well as other members of the
Muslim community, provided that the scholars consulted in the determination of
the shar’i judgment.

It is ordered in this verse that controversial
subjects are to be referred to Allah and His Messenger. After the death of the
Prophet, the disagreements that had arisen in the Islamic community were explained
by many commentators by referring to the text of the Qur’an and sunnah if there
was a clear ruling related to the issue. If there was no clear ruling, this was
dealt with by establishing a similarity between the new issues and the issues
mentioned in the Qur’an and sunnah: in other words, qiyas was done. From a
wider perspective, it can be said that “referring the disagreements to Allah
and His Messenger” means making ijtihad based on the aims and objectives of the
rules of the Qur’an and sunnah. This ijtihad is done by the scholars in two
ways: one of these is to make qiyas (analogical reasoning) on a matter similar
to that found in the Qur’’an and sunnah, and the other is to ensure the general
purpose of the rules as long as they are not contradictory to the Qur’an and sunnah.
Today, some scholars have discussed the necessity of establishing a jurists
committee to make this type of ijtihad and check whether the laws and decrees
are in accordance with the Qur’an and sunnah.

As a result, we can say that Islamic
scholars established their methodology by referring to the Qur’an first. The
Qur’an contains the foundations of usul al-fiqh, which is the subject of the
method to be followed in the understanding and application of religion. Islamic
scholars have extracted these bases from many verses. From the 59th
verse of the chapter an-Nisa (4), which is only one of these verses, they were
able to determine that Qur’an, sunnah, ijma and qiyas are the main sources of
Islamic law. It is possible to reveal the relationship between the Qur’an and usul
al-fiqh; in other words, the efforts of the Islamic scholars to build Islamic
law methodology on the Qur’an by scanning the tafsir and usul al-fiqh works. In
this article, only a small part of the interpretations, which Islamic scholars
put forward to extract the methodology from the Qur’an, has been identified and
analyzed through a selected verse as a model. It is seen that such extractions
and interpretations are open to debate; in other words, the meaning of these
verses can be controversial sometimes. However, as a result of referring to the
Qur’an as a source, it is possible to detect many rules about Islamic law
methodology. The gathering and reassessment of the effort, put forth by Islamic
scholars in this direction from tafsir and usul al-fiqh literature, will lead
to the establishment of a number of important rules. The rich accumulation of
knowledge on this field is a valuable treasure that must be utilized by
researchers.

Keywords

Kitab, Sunnah, İjma (Consensus), Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning), Ulu’l-Amr

Nisa Suresi'nin 59. Ayeti Örneğinde Fıkıh Usulü'nün Kur'an'dan İstinbatı

Abstract

İslami ilimlerin ana kaynağı olan Kur’an-ı Kerim bu ilimlerin temelleri ve
önkabullerine dair birçok hususa işaret etmektedir. İslam âlimleri kendi
uzmanlık alanlarıyla ilgili Kur’an’ın manalarını anlamaya ve buralardan
hareketle Kur’an’a uygun bir ilim anlayışını inşa etmeye çalışmışlardır. Fıkıh
usulcüleri de aynı tarzda hareket etmiş ve birçok ayeti usul anlayışlarını
oluşturma yönünde yorumlamışlardır. Biz bu makalemizde Nisa (4) suresinin 59.
ayetini bir örnek olarak ele alıp usul âlimlerinin ve müfessirlerin bu ayetten
usule dair bazı çıkarımlarını tespit ve tahlil etmeye çalışacağız.

Keywords

Kitab, Sünnet, İcma, Kıyas, Ulu’l-emr

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