The highest hope of bringing closer the knowledge of fundamentals

Authorship: Prof. Dr. Ali bin Saad Al-Duwaish (Introduction) Praise be to Allah, who enlightened the hearts of the pious with His knowledge, and blessings and peace be upon the one sent with His religion, and His Shariah, our Prophet Muhammad, who calls to the satisfaction of his Lord and His Paradise, and upon his righteous and noble companions, his family, and those who follow him with goodness and adhere to his Sunnah. To proceed: The science of Usul al-Fiqh is a noble Shariah science, of great stature and profound impact. It holds a prestigious position among the system of Islamic sciences, if not at the top of the list, because through it, the student of Islamic knowledge can understand how to deal with the evidence of the noble Shariah and the rulings it has produced, whether they are definitive or probable. Since this science has been surrounded by many difficulties—particularly in understanding the expressions of the Usul scholars, which are written in a way that is in dire need of facilitation and simplification to be close to understanding and easy to digest—thus, the intended benefit and the desired goal of learning and studying this science can be achieved. I saw—by the strong insistence of one of my beloved friends and noble brothers, who has the honor of acquiring knowledge—that I should compile a foundational Usul book that includes what the books of Usul contain, from the valuable discussions and original issues penned by the giants of the field. I resolved to do so, seeking help from the One whom all creatures cannot do without—Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, who holds the affairs in His hand and manages the ages. I began with effort and determination to accomplish this task, and I named the work: "The Ultimate Goal in Approximating the Science of the Ultimate Goal in Approximating the Science of Usul." I wrote it with my own pen, inked it with my experience, and composed it with the essence of my mind, in a style that is free from complexity and difficulty, aiming to lead the dear reader to a common word in it, uncovering what has been obscured and removing what has been shrouded in ambiguity. I pray to the Most High, Glorified and Exalted be He, that my work in it is sound, my opinion in it is wise, and that I am far from error in speech and mistake in thought. His kingdom is mighty, and His sovereignty is everlasting; He is the best hope and the most generous in asking. I arranged the discussions of this book in a sequential order dictated by reason and logic. I began with the evidences of Shariah, divided into the agreed-upon and the disputed. Since the primary purpose of these evidences is to establish the rulings of worship or to derive them, I followed this with a discussion of "The Legal Ruling," divided into the two categories of Taklifi and Wadh’i. Since the main intention behind these rulings is to command the servants to comply with them and act accordingly, I followed this with a discussion on "Takwīn" (obligation) and related issues of Usul. Considering that the obligation in Shariah is solely dependent on the Legislator (Allah), and that its proof requires a speech addressed to the accountable person, I followed this with a discussion on the words indicating obligation, which are "Amr" (command) and "Nahi" (prohibition), and related terms such as "Nass" (text), "Zahir" (apparent), "Mujmal" (ambiguous), "Mubayyan" (clear), "Amum" (general), "Khusus" (specific), "Itlaq" (absolute), "Taqyid" (restricted), "Manṭūq" (explicit), and "Mafhum" (implicit). Since some texts that imply obligation are definitive, there is no room for ijtihad in them, as obedience and submission are the only ways—this is supported by Allah’s statement: "And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any choice in their affair" [Al-Ahzab: 36]. Others are probable, allowing room for ijtihad. I followed this with a discussion on ijtihad and related issues of Usul. Since the scholars who perform ijtihad are fewer than the majority of the common people who lack the tools for reasoning and ijtihad, and thus must refer to the scholars to receive and follow their verdicts through imitation, I followed this with a discussion on "Taqleed" (imitation) and its related Usul issues. I concluded these discussions with a section on conflicting evidence in the Shariah, methods of resolving and removing such conflicts from the texts, known in Usul as "Masalik Dafa’ al-Taraddud" (ways of avoiding contradiction). The reason for delaying this section is that contradiction does not truly exist in the Shariah nor in its evidences; it is only in the minds and views of the scholars, which requires extra effort to clarify that there is no contradiction or inconsistency—only precise wording and sound judgment. In addressing these topics, I adopted a scientific and practical approach, mainly based on five fundamental pillars: The first pillar is limiting to the essential issues of Usul, which no Usul scholar or jurist can do without knowing and mastering, as they are the core and the greatest foundations of this science. Those who encompass these issues have entered the broadest doors of the science of Usul al-Fiqh. The second pillar is avoiding discussion of preference and not debating conflicting opinions in issues of disagreement—except rarely.