Principality of Conventional Nature in Matters of Legal Rulings: A Method of Inferring the Newly Emerged Issues

Nowadays, there is, sometimes, an example of the title of the matter of the religious ruling (ḥukm al-sharʻī), which lacks its customary nature, such as the old dirham and dinar in the current era. Other times, it is the other way around, such as coins that have the customary nature of dirhams and dinars but are not examples of their titles. For jurisprudential inferences in such cases, according to the principle of following rulings from the titles, is the validity (ṣidq) of the matter’s titles the criterion of the ruling or their customary nature? The answer to this question can open a new way of inferring jurisprudential rulings on newly-emerged issues. By explaining the need to pay attention to the customary nature before the literal meaning, this study states that in inferring religious rulings from verbal evidence, the basic principle is to pay attention to the customary nature of the matters, which should be examined in order to find it by using conventional evidence and after despairing of knowing the conventional nature, attention should be paid to the literal meaning of the words. The principle of customary nature, which is the main innovation of the study, firstly, prevents holding on fast to the literal meaning before examining the customary nature. Secondly, it determines the will of customary nature in cases of doubt about the will of the literal meaning and customary nature. Thirdly, it is a rule in applying the principle of ‘following the rulings to the titles.’ The important result of the principle of customary nature is revealed in inferring the verdict of newly emerged issues. In cases where their subject matter lacks title validity (ṣidq al-ʻunwānī) but has the customary nature of rulings’ matters. For example, if the customary nature of dirhams and dinars can be determined in religious rulings, today’s money, which has the nature of dirhams and dinars from a customary point of view, will be subject to the rulings of dirhams and dinars.  On the other hand, matters that today have the title validity but do not have the former customary nature, such as the old dirham and dinar in the current era, cannot have the former ruling.