Is qiyas (analogical reasoning) considered a source of legislation?

The questioner : Shaykh, among the sources of legislation, is qiyas (analogical reasoning) considered a source of legislation?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : I mean, we need some detail, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Qiyas (analogical reasoning) is a source of legislation, but people, and I mean especially the people, are at two extremes. Some deny qiyas (analogical reasoning) altogether, such as the people of the Zahir school, and some accept qiyas (analogical reasoning), who are the majority of scholars. Those who accept qiyas (analogical reasoning) divided into two groups: a group that argues with qiyas (analogical reasoning) within the limits of dire necessity and pressing need, and another group that expands in qiyas (analogical reasoning) to the extent that it may prioritize it over the text in some cases. Undoubtedly, the middle position in mention is the middle position in construction. That is, the one who denies qiyas (analogical reasoning) is a person who does not consider the sound reasoning to which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) drew attention in more than one hadith. For example, his saying (peace be upon him) when he mentioned . They said: O Messenger of Allah, does one of us who fulfills his desire have a reward for it? He said: . They said: Yes. He said: . We observe here a phrase that came from the Messenger (peace be upon him), which is his saying: , while we find that when those who deny qiyas (analogical reasoning) debate those who accept it, they call the accepters "the people of opinion" because they say, "Do you not see such and such, do you not see such and such?" The truth is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) in this hadith is the one who coined the word "Do you not see" (ar-aa'ayta). But the mistake of those qiyas (analogical reasoning) practitioners is that they expand in the use of qiyas (analogical reasoning) where there is no refuge or necessity for it. Therefore, I was pleased with what the Imams said. I begin with Imam al-Shafi'i, who said: "Qiyas (analogical reasoning) is a necessity. When we are compelled to use qiyas (analogical reasoning), we say it is valid, otherwise it is not." The other side that shares Imam al-Shafi'i's view on qiyas (analogical reasoning) does not stop at the existence of necessity but expands in that, and as I said, sometimes even to the extent of contradicting the text. So the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in the previous hadith: is a refutation of the people of the Zahir school who deny qiyas (analogical reasoning). This Messenger (peace be upon him) compares committing the forbidden with committing the lawful. Then, as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions in his book "I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in 'an Rabb al-'Alamin" (The Guide to the Knowledge of the Lord of the Worlds), Allah (Mighty and Majestic) often mentions some events and stories that occurred in previous nations, then our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) follows up with His saying: . This means an encouragement to take heed, which is qiyas (analogical reasoning): to compare the like with the like and the similar with the similar. So the middle position is the position of Imam al-Shafi'i, not the position of the Zahiris who deny qiyas (analogical reasoning), nor the position of the "people of opinion" who expand in qiyas (analogical reasoning). For example, when we studied our methodology, which we were raised upon during our pursuit of knowledge, which is the Hanafi school, we read in the books of the Hanafis that speech in prayer invalidates the prayer, even if it is by mistake. Why do you not review the text in the detailed books of jurisprudence and the expanded ones, meaning those that do not stop at mere claims but pair the evidence with the claim? They said: "Speech invalidates the prayer, even if by mistake, by analogy to the intentional one." How easy is the practitioner of qiyas (analogical reasoning)! Comparing the opposite with the opposite. This is first, meaning the invalidity of this qiyas (analogical reasoning) appears because it involves comparing the opposite with the opposite. And secondly: It has occurred in more than one story in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that speech by mistake occurred in these stories, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order the one who made a mistake in his prayer and spoke by mistake to repeat the prayer. The most famous of these stories is the story of Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami, who sneered at a man, and both of them were praying behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). When the man next to him sneezed, he said to him: "May Allah have mercy on you." As for those who were on his sides, they were jurists who knew that "May Allah have mercy on you" is answered with "May Allah guide you and rectify your condition," which is speech that is appropriate outside of prayer. Therefore, what the people around him did was silence him, not with speech, because they knew that speech is not permissible, but by striking their thighs to silence him, as if they were saying to him with the language of movement, not the language of the tongue: "Be silent." So what was the man's position? He was fed up with such reproof by striking the thighs, so he raised his voice and said: "Woe to my mother! Why are you looking at me?!" The hadith is long and known to everyone, and only at the end did the man realize that he had made a grave mistake in prayer, and based on that, he imagined that he would receive harsh words from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So one of the images of how the Prophet's position toward him was gentle is where he said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he turned to me; and by Allah, he did not humiliate me, nor overpower me, nor strike me, nor insult me, but he only said to me: . So qiyas (analogical reasoning) is a truth; and therefore the righteous Salaf used to exert their efforts, and it is mentioned regarding Ibn Mas'ud in more than one narration that he used to say: "This is from my opinion. If I am right, it is from Allah, and if I am wrong, it is from myself." But as we said earlier, the expansion in qiyas (analogical reasoning) is what the scholars of the Salaf and the scholars of hadith deny. Wherever there is a necessity to use qiyas (analogical reasoning), a person should use it, otherwise not.