Thus sometimes these researches were mixed with the...

Thus sometimes these researches were mixed with the researches of Usul’ud Din and Kalam (scholastic theology) as Sayyid Murtaza has indicated in his book on ‘Ilm’ul Usul called al-Zari'ah in which he says, “I have tome across one who has devoted a book to Usul’ul Fiqh and its Styles and overstepped and exceeded its bounds extensively, and even though he was right in the detailed presentation of its meaning, principles and forms, yet he strayed away from Usul’ul Fiqh and its methods and overstepped and exceeded its bounds extensively.

Thus, he discussed the limits of knowledge and speculation; how the theory of knowledge was formulated; the necessity of effect from cause, etc. which are exclusively the method of discussions belonging solely to Usul’ud Din and not Usul’ul Fiqh ”.

Now we find that the independence of ‘Ilm’ul Usul as the distinct science of the common elements in the process of deduction to derive the laws of the Shari’ah , and its separation from all other religious sciences from Fiqh to Kalam was not accomplished until after the concept of the common elements in the process of deduction and the necessity of formulating a general system for them had become clearer.

This was the reason which helped in distinguishing between the nature of the studies of ‘Ilm’ul Usul and the studies of ‘Ilm’ul Fiqh and Kalam , and led consequently to the setting up of a separate science called ‘Ilm’ul Usul’ul Fiqh or ‘Ilm’ul Usul .

In spite of the fact that ‘Ilm’ul Usul was able to gain complete independence from ‘Ilm’ul Kalam (the science of theology, there remained in it some conceptual residue, the history of which goes back to the time when the two sciences ( ‘Ilm’ul Usul and ‘Ilm’ul Kalam ) were mixed. This residue continued to be a source of anguish.

In that residue was the concept that the narrations termed Akhbar Ahad (single reports) cannot be used as proofs in ‘Ilm’ul Usul , as every proof about it has to be definite and decisive. The source of this concept is ‘Ilm’ul Kalam , because in this science the scholars had laid down that Usul’ud Din (the basic principles of Islam) require definite and decisive proofs. Thus we cannot prove the Attributes of Allah or the life Hereafter with Akhbar Ahad.

The mixture of ‘Ilm’ul Usul’ud Din and ‘Ilm’ul Usul Fiqh and their sharing the word Usul led to the generalization of that concept to apply to ‘Ilm’ul Usul al- Fiqh also. Thus we see that the books on ‘Ilm’ul Usul (i.e.