Qiyas:

In cases when something needs a legal ruling, but has not been clearly addressed in the other sources, judges may use analogy, reasoning and legal precedent to decide new case law. This is often the case when a general principle can be applied to new situations.

Qiyas means ‘measuring’, ‘accord’ or ‘equality’. In Muslim jurisprudence it means an extension of law from the original text by means of common sense. According to Jung, ‘it is a process of deduction applying the law of the text to the cases which, though not covered by the language of the text, are nevertheless covered by the reason of the text.’

As Islam spread in various parts of the world, they rendezvous with several other communities, and with the passage of time new difficulties arose. The Holy Quran was not capable of dealing with new emerging difficulties arising from contact with the outside world. To resolve this problem, the Muslim jurists commenced referring to Quran and Sunna to compare the situations and deduce an answer to the problem on the basis of some analogy. When the answer is found and all the jurists together agree to it, it was called the Qiyas. Thus Qiya basically means an analogical deduction from the existing sources that do not explain something. It involves both the knowledge of the rules of Islamic law and the exercise of one’s judgement, even Qiyas would be impossible if jurists were not allowed to apply their own reasoning.

An example of this procedure can be found in the prohibition of alcohol. The drinking of wine is one of the Quranic crimes against religion. With the appearances of other alcoholic drinks unknown to early Islam, the jurists extended the prohibition of wine to include such drinks by analogical deduction from the Quranic ruling.

Qiya helps in deducting interpretations that seem to be the most obvious. It can only explain or interpret the law, but it cannot change the law for its essence. This source of Muslim law ranks below other ancient sources because of its deductive nature. Qiya is essentially a tool of interpretation and is not a mean to alter the existing law but can only be used to find a legal principle in conformity with Quran and Sunna for a new factual situation. The Qiya has its own limitations as it derives its authority from the Quran. Human reason was not to be exercised independently but rather in accordance with the Divine Will as manifested in Quran.

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