Usul al-Fiqh

Usul al-Fiqh (Arabic: أصول الفقه, literally 'roots of Islamic jurisprudence') is the science of Islamic legal theory — the methodology and principles used by scholars to derive Shariah rulings from primary sources. It defines the four primary sources of Islamic law in order of authority: (1) Quran (divine revelation), (2) Sunnah (prophetic tradition), (3) Ijma (scholarly consensus), (4) Qiyas (analogical reasoning). Secondary sources accepted by various schools include: Istihsan (juristic preference), Maslaha Mursala (unrestricted public interest), Urf (custom), Sad al-Dhara'i (blocking means to harm), and Istishab (presumption of continuity). Islamic finance is built entirely on Usul al-Fiqh methodology: every product approval requires demonstrating that the contract structure satisfies the conditions derived through this legal framework. AAOIFI employs a multi-school approach to Usul al-Fiqh, drawing on Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools to achieve broader scholarly consensus for global Islamic finance standards.