What is the difference between a legal principle (ḍābiṭ sharʿī) and a condition (sharṭ), and how do we distinguish between an Usuli (legal theory) and a Fiqhi (jurisprudential) rule?
The legal criterion (ḍābiṭ sharʿī): What is meant in Islamic law by a word or a command.
The condition (sharṭ): That which negates a ruling by its absence, but does not necessarily establish it by its presence. It has types: legal (sharʿī), intellectual (ʿaqlī), linguistic (lughawī), and customary (ʿādī).
The maxim (qāʿidah): Linguistically, that upon which something is based. Technically, a universal proposition applicable to its particulars, or a predominant ruling from which the ruling of specific juristic issues can be directly derived.
Usuli (foundational) maxims (al-qawāʿid al-uṣūliyyah): Definitive maxims derived from the inductive study of a body of evidence that converges on a single meaning, thereby establishing certainty in it.
Differences between Usuli and Fiqhi (juristic) maxims:
1. Usuli maxims are universal, encompassing all their particulars, whereas Fiqhi maxims are predominant.
2. Usuli maxims serve as evidence for legal rulings, whereas Fiqhi maxims are a collection of similar rulings for the purpose of simplifying issues.
3. Usuli maxims existed before the subsidiary issues (furūʿ), whereas Fiqhi maxims came into existence after the subsidiary issues.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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