A Critical Review of the Origins, Evolution, and Codification Stages of Legal Maxims in Islamic Jurisprudence

Abstract

This research paper titled "A Critical Review of the Origins, Evolution, and Codification Stages of Legal Maxims in Islamic Jurisprudence" encompasses a comprehensive study of legal maxims as a distinct discipline with its own foundational texts and historical context. Legal maxims did not emerge through a few stages or discussions among individuals, akin to secular laws; rather, their formulation and codification are evolutionary. Since the early Islamic period, scholars and jurists have continuously engaged in interpreting the Qur'an and Sunnah to derive principles, rulings, and their underlying wisdom, articulating these insights in appropriate terms and phrases. Scholars of every era have contributed not only by compiling the general principles established by their predecessors but also by discovering new rules and regulations. Thus, over various periods, scholars have dedicated themselves to this field, resulting in an extensive repository of legal maxims that has evolved over more than a thousand years, ultimately achieving recognition as a distinct science. Accordingly, this article delves into the linguistic and terminological definitions of legal maxims, the distinction between a rule and a regulation, the benefits and classifications of legal maxims, their methodologies and approaches, the scope of their application, the stages of their inception and evolution, and a detailed discussion of the writings of the four Sunni schools of thought regarding these legal principles.