Qiyas (analogical reasoning)
Extending a ruling from a case covered by the texts to a new case that shares the same underlying cause.
Qiyas is reasoning by analogy: a ruling found in the Quran or the Sunnah for one case is applied to a new case because both share the same effective cause. AAOIFI's standard on fatwa names qiyas, together with the texts and ijma, as a basis on which a fatwa should be founded. Much of the law on modern instruments, from currency exchange to card payments, has been worked out by analogy with classical contracts, so the quality of the analogy is often what scholars debate.
Sources
This entry explains a term; it is not a Shariah ruling. Approving a product is for each institution's own Shariah board and regulator.
Related terms
Ijma (consensus of jurists)The consensus of qualified jurists on a ruling, treated as a source of Shariah after the Quran and the Sunnah.Ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning)The effort of a qualified jurist to derive a ruling on a question the texts do not settle directly.Usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence)The discipline that studies the sources of Shariah and the methods for deriving rulings from them.Riba al-fadlRiba of excess: an unequal exchange of the same kind of certain goods, such as gold for a larger quantity of gold.