One of the fundamental concepts in Usul Al-Fiqh (Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence) is understanding the meaning of a particular Arabic word or expression (لَفْظ lafzh), because the Islamic texts i.e. Qur’an and Sunnah are in Arabic. Muhammad Hussein Abdullah says, “Deducing the sharia rules from the Qur’an Al-Kareem and the Sunnah An-Nabawiyah rests upon knowledge of the Arabic language, knowledge of its categories (disciplines) and its Dalalat (implications and indications). That is because the Qur’an and the Hadith have come in the Arabic language.”[1] Iyad Hilal says, “Unless the text of the Qur’an and Sunnah is correctly understood, no ruling can be deduced from it. The linguistic structure of the text in Qur’an and Sunnah varies from one style to another. Some examples of these linguistic styles are: Dhanni (speculative text), Qata’i (definitive text), ‘Aam (general text), Khass (specific text), Haqiqi (literal text), and Majaazi (metaphorical text). The rules to distinguish and differentiate between these styles are an important subject in Usul al-Fiqh.”[2] Arabic word meanings in sharia are those known at the time of … Continue reading Arabic word meanings in Usul al-Fiqh