qiyas

Qiyas is the fourth source of Sunni Islamic law, after the Quran, the Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet) and ijma (consensus). Where a new situation is not covered by a text, a jurist extends the rule of an original case to it because both share the same illa (effective cause). The classic example: the Quranic prohibition of wine is extended to other intoxicants, since the cause is intoxication.

The Hanafi school used qiyas widely, together with istihsan (juristic preference). Shia jurists generally reject qiyas and rely instead on reason (aql). It is a method of deducing law, not a source that can override the Quran or Sunnah.

Example

Because both share the same effective cause of intoxication, the jurists applied qiyas to extend the prohibition of wine to all intoxicating drinks.

See also

ijma · ijtihad · istihsan · sharia

Read more in the study notes

• Development of Muslim law and its schools (Family Law II - Mohammedan Law)
• Sources of Muslim law (Family Law II - Mohammedan Law)
• Dharma and Indian legal thought, ancient and modern (Legal Theory)
• Islam: teaching, political thought and the Shariat (Political Science - Theory and Thoughts)