ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Short History of Ilm ul Usul Sources of inspiration for thinking on ‘Ilm’ul Usul We cannot, as we are still in the first stage of this study, go into elaborate detail, during the study of the sources of inspiration for thinking on ‘ Ilm’ul Usul and to reveal all the factors which inspired such thinking and supplied it with new theories immediately following one another.

Therefore we shall just briefly summarize the sources of inspiration as follows: Studies on application in the sphere of Fiqh : During research on the application of the laws of Fiqh , some common difficulties are revealed to the jurist. ‘ Ilm’ul Usul then presents with formulations of suitable solutions for those difficulties. These solutions and theories become the common elements in the process of deduction.

While applying those theories in their various fields, the jurist notices new circumstances influencing the modification or alternatively the strengthening of those theories. An example of the above is that ‘ Ilm’ul Usul affirms that when a thing is obligatory its pre-requisites also become obligatory. Thus ablution ( wuzu ) is obligatory, for instance, because of the obligation of prayers ( salat ) as it is one of the pre-requisites of prayers.

Similarly ‘ Ilm’ul Usul affirms also that the pre-requisites become obligatory only in the circumstances in which the thing itself is obligatory and cannot precede it in being obligatory. Thus ablution is obligatory only when prayers is obligatory and is not obligatory before noon, for example, since prayers are not obligatory before noon. Thus it is not possible for ablution to become obligatory before the time for prayers and it becomes obligatory (at the time for prayers).

The jurist, being aware of these affirmations, when he carries out his tasks in Fiqh , notices certain exceptions in some legal problems that need to be studied. For example, in connection with fasting, it is an accepted fact of Fiqh that the period of fasting begins with the break of the dawn and that fasting is not obligatory before that.

It is also established that if a Mukallaf (a legally responsible person) becomes in a state of Janabah (major impurity requiring a bath) during the night before the time of fast, then it is obligatory for him to take a bath before dawn in order that his fast be valid.