al-Usul min Ilm al-Usul - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (42)

al-Usul min Ilm al-UsulIbn al-'Uthaymin

and then divorce them before you have touched them, there is no waiting period that you must impose upon them” (al-Aḥzāb 33:49).

An example of the Qur’an being delimited by the Sunnah is the set of inheritance verses, such as His words, “Allah instructs you concerning your children: the male shall have a share equal to that of two females” (al-Nisāʾ 4:11) and the like, which are restricted by the Prophet’s statement: “A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor does a disbeliever inherit from a Muslim.”(1)

An example of the Qur’an being delimited by consensus is the Almighty’s words: “Those who accuse chaste women and then fail to produce four witnesses—flog them with eighty lashes” (al-Nūr 24:4). This, many legal theorists say, is limited by the consensus that a slave who makes such an accusation is to be flogged forty lashes. Yet this illustration is questionable, for disagreement on the point does exist, and I have not found a flawless example.

An example of the Qur’an being delimited by analogy is His words: “The adulteress and the adulterer—flog each of them with a hundred lashes” (al-Nūr 24:2). These are restricted, according to the well-known view, by drawing an analogy from the bond-woman to the male slave, thereby halving the punishment to fifty lashes.

An example of the Sunnah being delimited by the Qur’an is the Prophet’s statement: “I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah …”(2) which is restricted by the Almighty’s words, “Fight those who do not believe in Allah—”

(1) Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 4283, Book of Military Campaigns, chapter 48: “Where the Prophet ﷺ planted the banner on the day of the Conquest”; and by Muslim, no. 1614, Book of Inheritance, without chapter heading, first hadith in the section. (2) Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 1399, Book of Zakah, chapter 1: “The obligation of zakah”; and by Muslim, no. 20, Book of Faith, chapter 8: “The command to fight people until they profess There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and establish the prayer.”

ثمَّ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ فَمَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ عِدَّةٍ تَعْتَدُّونَهَا﴾ [الأحزاب: من الآية ٤٩]. ومثال تخصيص الكتاب بالسنة: آيات المواريث؛ كقوله تعالى: ﴿يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلادِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْن﴾ [النساء: من الآية ١١] ونحوها خص بقوله ﷺ: «لا يرث المسلم الكافر ولا الكافر المسلم» (١) ومثال تخصيص الكتاب بالإجماع: قوله تعالى: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً﴾ [النور: من الآية ٤] خص بالإجماع على أن الرقيق القاذف يجلد أربعين، هكذا مثل كثير من الأصوليين، وفيه نظر لثبوت الخلاف في ذلك، ولم أجد له مثالاً سليماً. ومثال تخصيص الكتاب بالقياس: قوله تعالى: ﴿الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا مِائَةَ جَلْدَة﴾ [النور: من الآية ٢] خص بقياس العبد الزاني على الأمة في تنصيف العذاب؛ والاقتصار على خمسين جلدة، على المشهور. ومثال تخصيص السنة بالكتاب: قوله ﷺ: «أمرت أن أقاتل الناس حتى يشهدوا أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمداً رسول الله ...»، الحديث (٢). خص بقوله تعالى: ﴿قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

(١) رواه البخاري «٤٢٨٣» كتاب المغاري، ٤٨ - باب أين ركز النبي ﷺ الراية يوم الفتح. ومسلم «١٦١٤» كتاب الفرائض، بلا باب، أول حديث فيه. (٢) رواه البخاري «١٣٩٩» كتاب الزكاة، ١ - باب وجوب الزكاة. ومسلم «٢٠» كتاب الإيمان، ٨ - باب الأمر بقتال الناس حتى يقولوا: لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله ويقيموا الصلاة.