Understanding Usul al-Fiqh: the principles behind Islamic rulings
Usul al-Fiqh (the roots or principles of Islamic jurisprudence) is the methodology by which jurists derive legal rulings from the sacred sources.
Without Usul al-Fiqh, Islamic law risks either rigid literalism on one hand or unguided subjectivity on the other.
1. The Four Primary Sources
Classical Sunni jurisprudence recognizes four primary sources of law agreed upon by the majority of scholars: The Qur'an, the Sunnah, Ijmaʿ, and Qiyas.