Challenges of Applying Generalities and Absolutes to Resolving New Issues

The fact that the generalities and absolutes of the Quran and Sunnah are the primary sources in inferencing jurisprudential matters is a unanimously agreed-upon principle among jurists. However, resorting to generalities and absolutes in addressing the newly emerged issues faces some challenges, as they have been used in the early days of Islam when today’s topics were either very different or never existed at all. Therefore, as there is no agreement on whether those words that have been articulated in proportionate to the conventions of that time are inclusive of today’s problems or not, and taking into account the fact that their inclusiveness concerning contemporary examples has, in some cases, even been denied, the issue needs to be studied methodicallyaccording to Fiqh and Usul. This article, thus, set out to examine the challenges and obstacles of using generalities and absolutes for resolving new issues. Providing and analyzing fourteen examples of the existing or discussible obstacles in making use of legal generalities and absolutes is the achievement of this study. Keywords: Generalities, Absolutes, New Issues, Absoluteness, Generality, Obstacles of inclusiveness.