Al-mustasfa min 'ilm al-usul () or On Legal theory of Muslim Jurisprudence is a 12th-century treatise written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali (Q.S). While Ghazali was deeply involved in

tasawwuf Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

and

kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

and

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

formed the core of his concerns.

Structure

Most of Ghazali's activity was in the field of

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He completed this book towards the end of his life. The book described:

The Sharia rules

The Sharia rules were further categorized into following: * The Essence of the Rules * The Categories of the Rules * The Constituents of the Rules

The Sources of the rules

The Sources of the rules included: * The First Principal Sources (

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

and The Book of Abrogation) * The Second Principal Sources ( Sunnah) * The Third Principal Sources (

Ijma ''Ijmāʿ'' ( ar, إجماع , " consensus") is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law. Sunni Muslims regard ''ijmā as one of the secondary sources of Sharia law, after the Qur' ...

) * The Fourth Principal Sources ( Rational Proof and

Istishab Istishab ( ar, استصحاب ) is an Islamic term used in the jurisprudence to denote the principle of the presumption of continuity. It is derived from an Arabic word ''suhbah'' meaning accompany. It is one of the fundamental principles of the ...

)

References

{{Reflist Books by Al-Ghazali Books about Islamic jurisprudence 12th-century books Persian literature