قاعدة الاستحالة: دراسة تأصيلية

Abstract

This study examines one of the significant fiqh maxims in Islamic jurisprudence, namely the Maxim of Transformation (Istiḥālah). The importance of this maxim lies in the multiplicity of its applications in earlier times and the renewed and pressing need for it in the present era. The study addresses the juristic grounding of this maxim as a preliminary step toward applying its rulings to contemporary reality.

The researcher establishes the juristic grounding of the maxim by clarifying its concept in linguistic usage, as well as in juristic and chemical terminology.

The study further documents its formulations in the literature of fiqh maxims, establishes its evidentiary basis through both transmitted evidence (naql) and sound rational reasoning (naẓar ṣaḥīḥ), and outlines the juristic criteria governing its application in matters of ritual purity and permissibility.

The study concludes that this maxim is valid and recognized across all four major Schools of Islamic jurisprudence - Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī - as well as the Ẓāhirī school. This position has also been endorsed by contemporary Islamic Fiqh Academies (al-majāmiʿ al-fiqhiyyah) and collective fatwa bodies. The study further finds that the primary issue concerning the Maxim of Transformation does not lie in its juristic foundations, but rather in its practical applications, as it pertains more to the domain of expert assessment than to that of juristic reasoning.