The Role of Custom in Clarifying the Legal Rulings An Applied Study of Imam Al San 'ani Through his Book SUBUL AL SALAM

Abstract

This research paper aims at briefly introducing Imam Al San'ani and his scientific life, clarifying the status of the concept of custom, highlighting the sayings of scholars in custom authoritativeness, and manifesting the position of Imam Al San'ani on custom in terms of the practical issues under this research through his book: SUBUL AL SALAM. The descriptive, analytical and comparative approach has been used by the researcher in the present research. The research consists of an introduction, two sections, and a conclusion. In the introduction, the most common terms used in the research have been defined, whereas the authoritativeness of custom evidence in Islam is explained in the first section, along with its types and the conditions needed for carrying it out. The second section presents Imam Al San'ani's use of custom in clarifying the Islamic legitimate rules in matters of dealings, moral values, and other aspects of Islamic Jurisprudence, presented in fourteen issues in the research.

At the conclusion, the researcher has reached a set of findings, the most important of which are: 

Imam Al San'ani did not declare the authoritativeness of custom as it is independent evidence of rulings, but he has explained and directed some jurisprudential rulings with the help of custom. This appears in several places through his book Subul Al Salaam, targeted by the present study; and the same go with the sects that did not declare authoritativeness of the custom, but they use it to reveal and clarify the rulings.

It has been revealed that custom is divided into true and corrupt; and in terms of its nature, it is divided into practical and verbal that the scholars have set specific conditions for its acceptance. It has been also shown that the Malikis and the Hanafis have expanded on inference with the evidence of the custom; however, the Zaydis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis have not considered it in the well known matters of their doctrine, as independent evidence of rulings, and each of the two groups has its evidence, as mentioned in the body of the research that it shows those who believe in the authoritativeness of the custom are Happy with the guiding evidence.