ABSTRACT
After defining Sharieah and fiqh, this chapter provides a concise statement on the sources and principles of Sharieah. The original sources of Sharieah are two: the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Based on these (and subordinate to them) are two more: the Consensus (ijmae) of jurists and Analogy (qiyas). Supplementary venues, within the spirit of Sharieah, are used by different legal schools and include juristic preference (istihsan), the example of the residents of Medina, the public welfare (al-masalih al-mursala), and rule of concomitance (istishab). In addition, there are broad principles such as ‘no harm-no harrassment’ and the rule that the basic nature of things is permissibility unless forbidden by explicit Text (nuss) from the Qur'an or Prophet's Sunnah.
