`Uṣūl al-Fiqh` by `Abd al-Wahhāb al-Khallāf

About the author of the book The Science of Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence)

Abd al-Wahhab Khallaf (1888 – 1956 CE) was a hadith scholar, legal theorist, jurist and specialist in inheritance law, and a member of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo. He is distinguished by his many works, especially in the science of the principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh)

Abd al-Wahhab was born in the town of Kafr El-Zayat in March 1888 CE, and joined Al-Azhar in 1900 CE after memorising the Holy Quran at one of the kuttabs (Quran schools) in his town. He studied at the School of Sharia Judiciary, graduating in 1915 CE, and was appointed a teacher there the same year. He took part in the 1919 Revolution, where his talents as an orator and writer came to the fore; he later left the school, or was forced to leave it, and moved to work in the Sharia judiciary

Description of the book The Science of Usul al-Fiqh

This book concerns the science of the principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh). It is a concise work divided into an introduction and four sections. In the introduction, the author offers a general comparison between the science of jurisprudence (fiqh) and the science of its principles, defining each and explaining the matters related to them. The first section deals with the evidence used to derive Sharia rulings, while the second covers the four elements of Sharia rulings (the Lawgiver, the ruling, the subject matter of the ruling, and the person subject to it). In the third section, the author discusses the linguistic principles of jurisprudence, while the fourth section covers the legislative principles used to understand rulings from their texts and to derive rulings where no text exists