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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Short History of Ilm ul Usul Laws of the Shari’ah and their categories We have come to know that ‘ Ilm’ul Usul studies the common elements in the process of deduction to derive laws of the Shari’ah , hence, it is necessary at the very outset to formulate a general concept of a law of the Shari’ah .

‘ Ilm’ul Usul pursues its derivation by defining the common elements in the process of deduction ( Istinbat )"A law of the Shari’ah is the legislation originating from Allah Almighty to regulate the life of man. The commands ( al-Khitabat ) of the Shari’ah contained in the Qur'an and the Sunnah bring out and reveal the laws but are not themselves the laws of the Shari’ah .

In the light of this explanation it is a mistake to define a law of the Shari’ah in the popular manner used by the earlier specialists on ‘ Ilm’ul Usul . They used to define it as the command ( al-Khitab ) of the Shari’ah concerned with the actions of the Mukallafin (i.e. the legally responsible individuals) for the command reveals the laws and the laws are derived from the command.

In addition to that, the fact that a law of the Shari 'ah is not always concerned with the acts of Mukallafin it may concern their own selves or other things connected with them, as the objective of the laws of the Shari’ah is to regulate the life of man.

Just as this objective is achieved by a command concerned with the acts of Mukallafin like "Pray" or "Fast" or "Do not drink wine", similarly it is achieved by the commands concerned with their own selves or with other things that are part of their life.

They are of the nature of the laws and commands which regulate the matrimonial relationship, on the basis of which a woman is deemed to be the wife of a man under certain specific conditions, or which regulate the relationship of ownership, on the basis of which an individual is deemed to be the owner of property under certain specific conditions. Now these laws are not concerned with the actions of legally responsible individuals.

On the contrary, matrimony is a law of the Shari’ah concerned with their own lives, while ownership is a law connected with property.