QIYAS (ANALOGICAL DEDUCTION)

1. INTRODUCTION:

2. MEANING:
 The knowledge which is deduced “determine by reasoning” from the principles laid down in
the Quran and Hadis by use of analogical deduction is known as “Qiyas” which is the fourth
source of Islamic Law.
 Literally, Qiyas means “to measure or measuring one thing in terms of another” or making
two things equal.
 “Measuring or Equality” is the root meaning of Qiyas means measure one thing by
comparing with another thing that is similar to it.
 Technically, qiyas is the extension of a Shari'ah ruling from an original case, or asl, to a new
case, because of the equivalent of the cause underlying them.
3. PROOF OF QIYAS:

No clear authorities of Qiyas in the Quran. However, the Scholars quoted several proofs from
the Quran and Sunnah as well as the practice of the Companions as an indirect evidence to
support the utilization of Qiyas:

IN THE LIGHT OF QURAN:

 “So take warning, O people of vision.” (Quran 59:2)

 “Thus Allah makes clear to you His verses that you might use reason.” (Quran 2:242)
 “Do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon their hearts?” (Quran 47:24)

These verses encourage the use of reason and intellect, which is an essential aspect of Qiyas.
They imply that Muslims should engage with Islamic teachings thoughtfully and seek to
understand and apply these teachings in ways that align with the Quran's principles, even in
new situations.

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 Surah Al-Nisa’ 4:59, is cited by scholars as a verse that supports the concept of Qiyas within
Islamic jurisprudence. This verse says;
“Should you dispute over something, refer it to God and to the Messenger, if you do believe in
God”
This verse instructs believers to refer matters to Allah and His Messenger if they encounter
disputes or issues for which no clear ruling exists. One way of achieving this is to identify the
rationale of the rulings and apply them to disputed matters, in case both issues in question
share the same rationale Qiyas.
 Surah Al-Nisa’ 4:105, is another verse often interpreted to support the concept of Qiyas and
the broader scope of ijtihad (independent reasoning) in Islamic law. The verse states:
“We have sent to you the Book with the Truth so that you may judge among people by means of
what God has shown you”
This verse highlights the role of the Quran as a source of truth and guidance for judging and
resolving issues among people, implying that the Quran contains foundational principles upon
which judgments can be made. Based on the above verse, a judgment may be based on the
guidance that Allah has clearly given or on that which bears close similarity to it.
IN THE LIGHT OF SUNNAH:
i. Qiyas is a form of personal reasoning (ijtihad) which the Prophet SAW expressly validates in
the famous Hadith of Muaz bin Jabal when he was sent to Yemen. Holy Prophet Peace be
upon him asked “Mu’az bin Jabal” “how are you going to decide cases? Mu’az answered “By
what is in the book of Allah.” Holy prophet peace be upon him then asked. “If you do not
find anything therein to guide you” I will decide in the way the Holy Prophet Peace be upon
him has been doing, he answered. Holy Prophet Peace be upon him enquired, “But if you do
not find any precedent from me, what then?” “I will do my best by exercising my
judgment.” Mu’az replied. The Holy Prophet peace be upon him exclaimed “Praise be to
Allah, who has so disposed the delegate to His Prophet as to be able to satisfy him” Abu
Daud, Tirmizi
ii. According to another tradition the Holy Prophet peace be upon him is reported to have told
Abu Musa Ashari “Judge upon the book of Allah, If you do not find in it what you need, upon

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 the Sunnah of the Prophet and if you do not find in that also, then use your personal
opinion” Abu Daud, Tirmizi
iii. A woman came to the Prophet SAW and said that her father had died without performing
the hajj. Will it benefit him if she performs the hajj on the father’s behalf? The Prophet told
her: “Supposing your father had a debt to pay and you pay it on his behalf, would this
benefit him?” To this her reply was affirmative and the Prophet said, “The debt owed to
Allah merits even greater consideration”

PRACTICE OF THE COMPANIONS:

The companions of the Holy Prophet peace be upon him also employed analogy for purpose of
legal deduction “determine by reasoning” and no one doubted its legality.
i. The Companions of the Prophet SAW also utilized qiyas in deducing the rulings of Fiqh For
example; Abu Bakr drew an analogy between the father and the grandfather in respect to
their entitlement in inheritance.
ii. When the Companions held a council to determine the punishment of wine drinking, Ali bin
Abi Talib suggested that the penalty of false accusation should be applied to the wine
drinker, and he reasoned, by way of analogy, “When a person gets drunk, he raves and
when he raves, he accuses falsely”.
4. EXAMPLES:
i. The Qur'an (al-Jumu'ah, 62:9) forbids selling or buying goods after the last call for Friday
prayer until the end of the prayer. By analogy this prohibition is extended to all kinds of
transactions, since the effective cause, that is, because like Sales, they also distract Muslims
from Friday Prayers.
ii. One of which was specially provided for in the Quran or Hadis. If the Quran prohibited the
Use of Wine, the prohibition might be understood to include other intoxication. As drugs
like Cocaine and Opium were not known during the time of Holy Prophet Peace be upon
him mention no mention has been made about them. However the Holy Prophet peace be
upon him said; “Every Intoxication is “Khamr” so every Intoxicant is “Haram”

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 iii. The Prophet is reported to have said, 'the killer shall not inherit [from his victim] By analogy
this ruling is extended to bequests, which would mean that the killer cannot benefit from
the will of his victim either.
iv. According to a Hadith, it is forbidden for a man to make an offer of betrothal to a woman
who is already engaged to another man unless the latter discontinues the relationship or
has totally abandoned his offer. The illah is to avoid conflict and hostility among people. By
analogy, the same rule is extended to all other transactions in which the same illah is found
to be operative.
5. ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS OF QIYAS:

Followings are the essential conditions of Qiyas;

i. The original case, or asl from which analogy is drawn.
ii. The new or parallel case (far`), A contemporary issue that requires a ruling.
iii. The effective cause ( `illah), The reason or cause behind the original ruling, which must be
found in both the original and new cases.
iv. The Rule (Hukm) this law applies to the parallel text. Or the judgment applied to the
original case, which is then extended to the new case if they share the same cause.
I. THE ORIGINAL CASE (ASL):
An issue already addressed in the Quran, Sunnah, or through consensus (Ijma), which has a
clear ruling.
Asl has two meanings;
Firstly, it refers to the source, such as the Qur'an or the Sunnah, which reveals a particular
ruling.
The second meaning of ASL is the subject-matter of that ruling.

II. The New Case (Far'):

The far' is an incident or a case whose ruling is sought by recourse to analogy. Or A
contemporary issue that requires a ruling.
Conditions for New Case
The far` must fulfill the following three conditions.

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 i. Must not be covered by the text or ijma
ii. Analogy must be applicable to the new case in the same way as to the original case
iii. New case must not result in altering the law of the text
III. The Effective Cause ('Illah):
It is an attribute of the asl which is constant and evident and bears a proper (munasib)
relationship to the law of the text (hukm). It may be a fact, a circumstance, or a consideration
which the Lawgiver has contemplated in issuing a hukm.

Conditions for Illah

i. Must be a constant attribute
ii. It must be evident (zahir)
iii. It must be a proper attribute
iv. `illah must be 'transient'
v. Must not be an attribute which runs counter to, or seeks to alter, the law of the text.

IV. THE HUKM:

A hukm is a ruling, such as a command or a prohibition, which is dispensed by the Qur'an, the
Sunnah or ijma', and analogy seeks its extension to a new case.

Conditions for Hukam

In order to constitute the valid basis of an analogy, the hukm must fulfill the following
conditions.
i. It Must Be a Practical Shar`i Ruling
ii. Hukm must be operative
iii. Hukm must be rational
iv. It must not be confined to an exceptional situation or to a particular state of affairs.
v. The law of the text must not represent a departure from the general rules of Qiyas in the
first place

ILLUSTRATION:
Prohibition of wine drinking based on Qur’anic verse in Surah Al-Maidah:90

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ASL – wine drinking

FAR’ – taking drug

‘ILLAH – intoxicating effect

HUKM – prohibition

ILLUSTRATION:

Prophet PBUH said, “The murderer will not inherit”. But what about bequest, if one murders
the testator?
ASL - Murdering the predecessor in the case of inheritance
FAR - murdering the testator
ILLAT - Crime
HUKM - deprivation from bequest

6. CONDITIONS FOR VALIDITY OF QIYAS

Jurists have provided many conditions for the validity of Qiyas,

i. The textual injunctions about original case should not be extended to exceptional cases.
ii. The original case must not be specific for some particular person or facts.
iii. Law of original case should not contradict human reason. Law must be extended on legal
grounds.
iv. The analogy must not result against Quran and Sunnah.
v. The Hukm should not have been abrogated. A repealed text cannot be base or subject of
analogy.
vi. The Illat of Asl should be found in Far’.
vii. The effective cause must be such to promote man’s welfare and must be definite.
viii. The deduction merely based on general policy of law is not allowed.
ix. Qiyas must be on practical Shar’i ruling, as Qiyas cannot operate in the area of belief.
x. New case must not be covered by Texts.
xi. Effective cause should be transferable to other cases.
7. TYPES OF QIYAS

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Hanafi divided Qiyas into two kinds.
I. QIYAS JAILI (Clear or Explicit Analogy):
Definition: This is the strongest form of Qiyas, where the analogy between the original case
(asl) and the new case (far') is very clear, and the reason or cause (‘illah) for the ruling is
explicitly shared between them.
Example: The prohibition of wine (khamr) due to its intoxicating effects is extended to other
intoxicants, such as drugs. The ‘illah (intoxication) is the same and very obvious, so this analogy
is clear and strong.
II. QIYAS KHAFI (Subtle or Hidden Analogy):
Definition: This form of Qiyas is more subtle, as the shared reason (‘illah) between the original
and new cases is not as obvious, but is inferred through deeper reasoning. It requires more
interpretative effort and reasoning. So, when the ‘illah is less apparent and the jurist has to
expend considerable effort to discover it.
Example: Shawkani illustrates this with a reference to the two varieties of wine, namely nabidh,
and khamr. The former is obtained from dates and the latter from grapes. The rule of
prohibition is analogically extended to nabidh despite some discrepancy that might exist
between the two.
8. QIYAS HAS BEEN FURTHER DIVIDED INTO THREE TYPES
From the viewpoint of the strength or weakness of the 'illah, the Shafi'i jurists have divided
qiyas into three types:

i. Analogy of the superior (Qiyas al- awla)

ii. Analogy of equals (Qiyas al-musawi)
iii. Analogy of the nferior (Qiyas al- adna)
I. QIYAS AL-AWLA
Definition: This is a stronger form of analogy, where the reason (‘illah) for the ruling in the
original case applies even more strongly to the new case. This type of Qiyas assumes that if
something is prohibited or obligatory in one case, it is even more so in the analogous case. Or
Where the ‘illah is more evident in the new case than the original case, that is why it is called
qiyas al-awla.

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 Example: The Quran prohibits saying "uff" (a minor expression of disrespect) to parents (Quran
17:23). By Qiyas Aulawi, anything worse than "uff"—such as verbal abuse or physical harm to
parents—is even more strongly prohibited.

II. QIYAS AL-MUSAWI

Definition: In this type, the harm or benefit in the original case and the new case are equal,
meaning the ‘illah (reason) is the same in degree and effect in both cases. It’s often treated as
having almost the same weight as the original ruling.

Example: The Qur'an (al-Nisa', 4:2) which forbids 'devouring the property of orphans'. By
analogy, it is concluded that all other forms of destruction and mismanagement which lead to
the loss of such property are equally forbidden.

III. QIYAS AL-ADNA

Definition: This is the weakest form of Qiyas, where the similarity between the original case
and the new case is less direct. The ‘illah (reason) is shared but in a less clear or weaker way.

Example: Extending rulings about physical theft to cases of wasting resources might be
considered Qiyas Adna if the ‘illah of "unlawful loss" applies but not as directly or strongly as in
cases of theft.
Riba prohibits the exchange of wheat and other specified commodities unless they are equal
and delivery is immediate. By analogy the rule of riba is applied to apples since both are edible
(Shafi’is) and measurable (Hanafis). Though the apples unlike wheat are not a staple food
(‘illah)

9. SUBJECT MATTER OF QIYAS:

The subject matter of Qiyas refers to the types of issues or rulings that can be addressed using
analogical reasoning in Islamic jurisprudence. For Qiyas to be applied, there must be an original
case (asl) with a clear ruling in the Quran, Sunnah, or Ijma (consensus), which can then be
extended to a new case (far') based on a shared cause or reason ('illah).

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However, not all matters in Islamic law are suitable for Qiyas. The subject matter of Qiyas is
generally limited to areas where the reasoning or cause (‘illah) can be identified and extended
from an established ruling to a new scenario. Here are the main areas that can be subject to
Qiyas:

 Rational questions relating to rights of men

 Punishments for newer crimes
 Things relating to human nature
 Rules of Shari'a in new circumstances
10. CONCLUSION:

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