Al-Hukm Al-Shar`I: Definition And Discussions

Although usul al-fiqh (the methodology of Islamic jurisprudence) is described only as evidence (dalil) especially by the mutakallim scholars of usul al-fiqh, at this point, the evidence is important in pointing to judgments (ahkam, sg. hukm). Therefore, although there are different approaches about the essentialness and priority, hukm is the basic subject of usul al-fiqh. For this reason, Molla Khusrev (d. 885 / 1480) described usul al-fiqh as a science which is used to know the situations of adilla (evidences) and ahkam (judgments) by explicitly mentioning both. Gazzal？ (d. 505 / 1111) also began his book of usul al-fiqh with the subject of hukm he explained with the semere (fruits of the tree) metaphor. Al-hukm al-shar’i (legal) is the judgment about people’s individual acts or their relations with others. From the individual point, hukm is related to the fact that an act has been fard (obligatory), wajib (necessary), sunnah (recommended), mubah (permissible), makruh (disapproved), haram (forbidden); from the legal point of view, it is related to the fact that a legal transaction has been sahih (valid), fasit (voidable), or bat？l (void). The question of the definition and nature of the hukm was a discussion area about especially God's attributes and whether Quran was created or not between Mu’tazila and Ahl al-Sunnah. While defining al-hukm al-shar’i, usul al-fiqh scholars placed naturally the hitab (a speech or communication from the Shari) to the center. However, as a consequence of some Kalamic assumptions, some differences have emerged between them in the definition of the hukm. One of the arguments reflected in the definition and nature of the hukm is whether the word (kalam) of God is ancient, and the other is the function of the reason (al-akl) in judgement. There are generally two main approaches to the definition of the hukm between the scholars of usul al-fikh. The first one belongs to the mutakallimun, which is composed of the scholars of Mu’tazila and Ash’ari and is the approach that defines the hukm as the h？tab itself. The second approach to the definition of the hukm belongs to the Hanafi scholars. According to this approach, the hukm is the effect/result of the h？tab, not the h？tab itself. According to the first one, al-hukm is the h？tab of Shari about to the acts of men, which consists a demand to do something or not, or an option about both. The definition ot Mu’tazila is approximately the same. However, they differ from Ash’ari in terms of accepting the reason as the judge and seeing the ahkam reached by the reason as al-hukm