Principles of 'umum and takhsis in Islamic jurisprudence

Abstract

This thesis studies one particular aspect of UsOl al-Figh (the principles of Jurisprudence), the principles of 'umOm and takhsis. An attempt is made to present the views of early Muslim jurists in their effort to understand and interpret sources of legal injunctions by means of these principles.

The thesis is divided into two parts with an introduction. The introduction presents a brief account of the history, meaning, functions, contents and the works on Usul al-Figh.

Part one concentrates on the principles of 'umom and is divided into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the concept of 'umOm followed by a discussion on the signification of 'umOm in chapter two. Chapter three deals with the types of 'umOm and chapter four with 'umOm words. Chapter five discusses the types of discourses which are addressed to particular addressees. In all these, the views of the jurists from different schools of law are presented.

Part two deals with the principle of takhsis. It is divided into three chapters. Chapter six discusses the concept of takhsis and chapter seven and eight deal with the evidences of takhsis. In chapter seven, internal evidences which are istithna', shart, sifat and ghayah are dealt with.

Chapter eight covers the takhsis by external evidences. They are the takhsis by the Qur' an, the Tradition, ijma', qiyas, mafhOm, reason and perception and 'adat or custom. Various views are presented.

The conclusion summarizes the major issues and conclusions in both part one and two of the thesis.