Öz
The concept of 'urf was often used as a reference for legitimation in both uṣūl and furū' studies and plays an important role in the organization of society by filling in the gaps in law and explicating the declarations of the will. Although 'urf is mentioned often in the classical legal corpus, the lack of a comprehensive theory clarifying its place among legal proofs renders the concept and the issues surrounding 'urf ambiguous and sometimes controversial. One of the issues debated in this regard is the matter of using 'urf 'amalī (practical custom) for takhṣīṣ (specification).
Takhsīs, which is one of the critical issues that determine the position of urf before nass (text), means that the scope of the text is narrowed by some evidence. A consideration of urf as one of these evidences shows the relationship between urf and nass; in other words, it shows to what degree nass touches human life and how people's actions affect the understanding of nass. For this reason, the issue of ‘urf and takhsīs, which is a topic that the ‘ulama (scholars) carefully focus on, has many reflections in texts of usul (principles of fiqh) and furu’ (branches of fiqh). Although ‘urf has been attributed to great importance since the early periods, there is a consensus that a fasid ‘urf (disapproved custom) that contradicts the sharia has no value against nass, and in case of conflict with it, the priority is given to nass. The issue of whether ‘urf that is consistent with nass and does not conflict with it can specify the general (umum) of nass or not is a controversial issue. The issue is extremely sensitive and important, as the people's actions’ ability to limit nass determines ‘urf’s position with regards to nass. For this reason, the question of whether ‘urf fiili (actual custom) can narrow the scope of nass is discussed extensively in this article.
In works of both the late and modern periods, the view of the Ḥanafī and Mālikī scholars was unanimous on the acceptance of the use of 'urf 'amalī for takhṣīṣ. It has been observed that among the Mālikī scholars Qarāfī, and among the Ḥanafī scholars Babertī, they were in an opposite discourse. According to both scholars, Ḥanafīs and Mālikīs do not accept 'urf 'amalī for takhṣīṣ contrary to the famous discourse. For this reason, we come to understand that there is a break between the opinions of the later Ḥanafī scholars and those mentioned in the works of the modern period bear some contradiction, and that they thus require critical examination. The purpose of this article is to examine when and how the break in the understanding of 'urf 'amalī and its use for takhṣīṣ emerged. Thus, this article seeks to first debunk the widely accepted assertion that both the Ḥanafī’s and Mālikī’s have traditionally accepted the use of 'urf 'amalī for takhṣīṣ, and second, analyzes in detail the position of 'urf 'amalī in relation to naṣṣ.
Keywords: Islamic law, nass, takhṣīṣ, 'urf 'amalī.