Scriptural Texts

The Book of Allah, Exalted is He
This needs no introduction. It is the very foundation of the sharia, upon which all its rulings are built. Everything between its two covers is established with absolute certainty, without the slightest doubt, by way of conclusive, mass transmission since the Trustworthy Spirit brought it down upon the heart of the Messenger ﷺ from the Lord of all worlds. The Qur’an in our hands today is therefore the very same Qur’an that was revealed. Allah, the Exalted, says: “Indeed, it is We who have sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will surely preserve it” (9) [al-Ḥijr: 9].

The Prophetic Sunnah
The purified Sunnah is the twin of the Book. It comprises whatever has reached us from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—word, deed, or tacit approval—other than the Qur’an, transmitted by sound chains. Part of the Sunnah he conveyed by revelation, and part he conveyed through his own ijtihād, while Allah protected him from error.

The Sunnah’s Rank in Relation to the Book
The Sunnah stands in three positions vis-à-vis the Qur’an:

1. A Sunnah whose texts agree with the Qur’anic texts, thus confirming them.
2. A Sunnah that explains the Qur’an’s concise passages, restricts what the Qur’an leaves unrestricted, or qualifies its general statements.
3. A Sunnah that brings additional rulings beyond those found in the Qur’an—either through revelation or through the infallible Messenger’s independent judgment, for Allah does not leave him upon error.

When the indication (dalālah) of the Qur’an or the Sunnah covers the entire meaning, it is called dalālat al-muṭābaqa (implication by exact correspondence). If it covers only part of the meaning, it is dalālat al-taḍammun (implication by inclusion). If it points to the ancillary aspects of the ruling—its conditions and complements—it is dalālat al-iltizām (implication by necessary consequence).

Abrogation
It is the annulment of the ruling of a legal proof—or of its wording—by another proof from the Qur’an or the Sunnah; for it