['Aalim Network QR] Ilm-e-Usool

[Mustafa Rawji <mrawji@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>]

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|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salamun alaykum,

	The following question on Ilm-e-Usool was kindly answered by Br. 
Mohammed Soleiman-Peneh.  

Wasalaam,

Mustafa Rawji
Moderator, ABDG-A


QUESTION:
 
In the Name of The one Worshipped,  The Gracious (to all life), The
Mecriful (to believers). All Praise belongs to Him, The Most High; He who 
is greater than the describers descriptions.
 
	Please could someone explain what in essence Ilm-e-usool is and
how the Akbari claim that Ijtehad included Qiyas was invalid. I understand
the general view but am unclear about the specific points, in this matter. 


ANSWER:

	Ilm-e-Usool can be considered an intellectual technique applied to
the Sources of Islamic Figh (mainly the Qur'an and Ahadith-e-Massumin-AS)
for the purpose of deriving rulings related to matter of Ibadat (religious
practices). By means of analogy, it is compared to the Logic (Mantegh) and
its application in philosophy. Ussooliun in Shi'ism believe that human
society is in need of many more laws than those explicitly stated in the
Holy Qur'an, which has about 500 verses.  By applying Ilm-e-Usool, they
believe that we can derive all the laws needed from the Holy Qur'an and
Sirrah of the Massumin (AS) (their conduct and Ahadith). Of course
Akhbarioun and Sunnis have declared the end of Ijtihad, and do not agree
with this position partly because they do not have the same approach to
Ilm-e-Usool. 

	Since you mention that you know the general view of Akhbariun, I
do not know if I can add anything more. By way of briefing Ikhbariun can
be viewed as extreme opposite of the Sunni schools of Figh which takes the
Qur'an as the only source of Ahkam [a jurisdical ruling of an Islamic
jurist (faghih)] and in the face of new challenges for new Ahkam appeal to
Qiyas (analogy). 
	
	Akhbariun believe that the Qur'an is not a source of deriving
Ahkam but rather the Sunnah of Massumin is the only source we have for
deriving Ahkam because we cannot understand the true meaning of Qur'an.
Akhbariun, unlike Sunni schools and Ussooliun, believe any new rule is
impossible if it is not found in the Sunnah. Thus, all new phenomena are
ruled as Harram because their Ahkam is not found in the Sunnah on the one 
hand, and Qiyas (analogy) is also haram on the other hand. They do not 
believe Qiyas can be used as a basis for Ahkam. Of course Ussooliun in 
Shi'ism do not have the same conception of Qiyas as Sunnis do, and they do 
not believe that Ijtehad is Haram, as Akhbariun do. 

	 As for the source I believe there is a work of Ayt. Sayyed
Mohammad Bagher Sadr called "history of the development of Ilm-e-usool" 
available in English. 

With Regards

Mohammad