Application of Five Fundamental Islamic Legal Maxims (al-qawa’id al-fiqhiyyah al-khams al-kubra) to Islamic Criminal Law

Abstract

The legal maxims of Islamic law or jurisprudential maxims or Shari’ah maxims (al-qawa’id al-fiqhiyyah) are the general rules of Islamic law that can be applied in various issues which come under the common rulings. This research work explores the potential of the Islamic legal maxims in contemporary Islamic legal issues and examines their role within the field of Islamic criminal law. Among the hundreds of Islamic legal maxims, the jurists have culminated the top-most five maxims entitled, al-qawa’id al-fiqhiyyah al-khams al-kubra (the 5 major legal maxims). They are the universal formulas of Islamic legislature and the most comprehensive juridical principles, constituted by the jurists in accordance with the textual evidences of Shari’ah to explain specific cases and thus to participate in forming Islamic legal theories. These legal maxims have been elaborated here in this research paper along with their derivation sources and utilization in the field of criminal law of Islam. The role and application of each qaidah is supported with the help of evidences from Quran and Sunnah. The case examples are also given for a precise understanding and exploration of legal maxims in Islamic Law.