A Research-Based and Analytical Study of the Legal Maxims (Qawāʿid Fiqhiyyah) Mentioned in Imam Alā’ al-Dīn al-Kāsānī’s Book Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ (The Book of Prayer)

Abstract

Islamic jurisprudence developed comprehensive legal principles, known as fiqh maxims, to organize numerous subsidiary rulings within coherent legal frameworks. These maxims play a significant role in understanding juristic reasoning and facilitating the systematic study of Islamic law. Among the most important classical works that reflect this methodological approach is Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ fī Tartīb al-Sharā’iʿ by the eminent Ḥanafī jurist Imām ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Kāsānī (d. 587 AH).

This study examines a set of legal maxims mentioned in the Kitāb al-Ṣalāh of Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ. The research analyzes fourteen selected maxims, exploring their meanings, alternative formulations in classical juristic literature, and their practical applications in the jurisprudence of prayer. It also highlights their scriptural foundations and demonstrates how Imām al-Kāsānī employed these principles to explain and systematize legal rulings.