PART II

MAXIMS OF ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE

Article 2. A matter is determined according to intention; that is to say, the effect to be given to any particular transaction must conform to the object of such transaction.

Article 3. In contracts effect is given to intention and meaning and not to words and phrases. Consequently, a contract for sale subject to a right of redemption has the force of a pledge.

Article 4. Certainty is not dispelled by doubt.

Article 5. It is a fundamental principle that a thing shall remain as it was originally.

Article 6. Things which have been in existence from time immemorial shall be left as they were.

Article 7. Injury cannot exist from time immemorial.

Article 8. Freedom from liability Is a fundamental principle.
Therefore, if one person destroys the property of another, and a dispute arises as to the amount thereof, the statement of the person causing such destruction shall be heard, and the onus of proof as to any amount in excess thereof is upon the owner of such property.

Article 9. Non-existence is a fundamental principle which applies to all rights which may subsequently accrue.

Example:-
In a case of partnership of capital and labor, a dispute arises as to whether profit has been made or not. The statement of the person supplying the labor is heard, and the owner of the capital must prove that profit has in fact been made, since the fundamental principle is the non-existence of the profit.

Article 10. Judgment shall be given in respect to any matter which has been proved at any particular time, unless the contrary is proved.
Consequently, if it is proved at any particular time that a particular thing is owned by a particular person in absolute ownership, the ownership thereof shall be held to be valid unless circumstances arise which invalidate such ownership.

Article 11. It is a fundamental principle that any new occurrence shall be regarded as happening at the time nearest to the present. That is to say, if a dispute arises regarding the cause of some new event and the time at which it occurred, such event shall be considered with reference to the time nearest to the present, unless it is proved that it relates to some remoter period.

Article 12. It is a fundamental principle that words shall be construed literally.

Article 13. No attention shall be paid to inferences in the face of obvious facts.

Article 14. Where the text is clear, there is no room for interpretation.

Article 15. A matter which has been proved contrary to legal analogy cannot be cited by way of analogy in respect to any other matter.

Article 16. One legal interpretation does not destroy another.

Article 17. Difficulty begets facility; that is to say, difficulty is the cause of facility and in time of hardship consideration must be shown. Very many subjects of Islamic jurisprudence, such as loans, transfer of debts and interdiction are derived from this principle, and the latitude and indulgence shown by Islamic jurists in their rulings are all based upon this rule.

Article 18. Latitude should be afforded in the case of difficulty, that is to say, upon the appearance of hardship in any particular matter, latitude and indulgence must be shown.

Article 19. Injury may not be met by injury.

Article 20. Injury is removed.