Sources of Islamic Law — KSLU Family Law 2 Notes

Sources of Islamic Law

When Prophet Muhammad died in 632 CE he left no written code. Within two decades the Quran was compiled into a single book — and a 14-century tradition of jurisprudence began. Islamic law rests on four primary sources and several secondary ones, arranged as a pyramid: each layer fills the gaps the one above leaves silent.

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    ROOT["Sources of Islamic Law"]:::root
    ROOT --> A["Primary Sources"]:::branch
    ROOT --> B["Secondary Sources"]:::branch
    A --> A1["Quran<br/>(Divine Revelation)"]:::primary
    A --> A2["Sunnah / Hadis<br/>(Prophet's Practice)"]:::primary
    A --> A3["Ijma<br/>(Consensus of Jurists)"]:::primary
    A --> A4["Qiyas<br/>(Analogical Deduction)"]:::primary
    B --> B1["Urf / Custom"]:::secondary
    B --> B2["Istihsan<br/>(Juristic Preference)"]:::secondary
    B --> B3["Maslaha<br/>(Public Interest)"]:::secondary
    B --> B4["Judicial Decisions<br/>& Indian Legislation"]:::secondary

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    classDef branch fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
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Al-Shafi’i (750–820 CE): “The first source is the Book of Allah; the second is the Sunnah of the Prophet; the third is the consensus of the community; and the fourth is analogical deduction.”

In Simple Terms: Allah’s revealed text (Quran) comes first; if it is silent, the Prophet’s practice (Sunnah) applies; if both are silent, the consensus of jurists (Ijma) governs; and a genuinely new situation is decided by analogy (Qiyas) to a known rule. Custom (Urf) is recognised only where it does not contradict the Quran — Collector of Madura v. Mootoo Ramalinga (1868) and Shamim Ara v. State of UP (2002) both reinforce that the divine text overrides bare custom.