The scholars of Usul al-Fiqh have established a very important principle to ensure that we understand how to approach the wisdom behind the legislation of Islamic rulings. This principle sheds light on the existence of a key distinction between the hikmah (wisdom) and the ‘illah (effective cause) of a ruling. The hikmah relates to some of the wisdom behind a particular ruling. The ‘illah, on the other hand, is the direct cause of the existence of the ruling. Islamic rulings are based on the latter (i.e. – effective cause) and not the former. This is a vital principle, the misunderstanding of which has resulted in grave errors in understanding and explaining the teachings of this perfect religion of Islam.
The principle is as follows: “The presence of the ruling is dependent on the presence of the effective cause.” This principle is agreed upon by all jurists as is well established in the books of Fiqh and Usul.
An example will help clarify this. When a person is travelling, the Shari’ah has given them the concession to shorten some of their prayers. The wisdom behind this is to reduce some of the burdens that usually come with travel. However, this is the wisdom and not the effective cause of the ruling. The effective cause is travel. This means that whenever “travel” is present, then shortening prayers becomes permissible, regardless of whether the journey is a burdensome one or not. On the other hand, the mere existence of hardship, at work or school for instance, does not permit shortening of prayers, because the removal of hardship is only a wisdom behind the ruling, and not what allows the concession to come into play legally.
A second example will hopefully drive the point home. Traffic lights exist to prevent accidents on the road. This is the hikmah (wisdom) behind their existence. If a driver sees red, he must stop. The effective cause is the red light which tells us to stop. Which of these two is the ruling (of having to stop) based on? Is it that a driver must only stop when there is an immediate risk of an accident (since this is the wisdom behind having traffic lights in the first place)? Or must the driver stop each time he sees red, even if he is quite certain that continuing is safe? The answer of course is the latter. Although driving through a red traffic light may at times be safe, it is not allowed, because legal rulings are based on their effective causes (in this case the red light) and not their initial wisdom.
Why is this so important? Understanding the difference between the wisdom and effective cause is essential for ensuring that we practise our religion in a manner that Allah willed, and not based on external pressures or personal desires. A lack of implementation of this principle results in falsely attributing things to Allah and His religion.
Now that this is understood, by the Will of Allah, let us have a look at some examples of how not understanding this distinction causes grave errors in our thinking. There are many clear reasons for the prohibition of drinking alcohol. One is that it causes the mind to be damaged. Since that is the case, it then ought to be acceptable to drink alcohol in small quantities that do not have any health impact. This is something some people have called for. This would work if rulings were purely based on the wisdom behind their legislation. We have seen, however, that this is not the case. Rulings are instead based on their effective cause. In this case, the effective cause is the intoxicant itself. The moment we establish that this drink is an intoxicant, the ruling applies (i.e. – drinking it becomes prohibited), regardless of whether we expect it to cause harm or not in a particular case.
Similarly, there are clear benefits behind requiring a Wali for the validity of a marriage, the obligation of Hijab, the prohibition of fornication, and many other rulings. However, we must remember that it is the effective cause that matters and not what we believe to be the wisdom behind a ruling. This does not belittle the importance of knowing the wisdom of Islamic teachings; it only means that everything should be put in its rightful place. The wisdom of a ruling can be looked at as being the fruit of a ruling; the expected benefits of acting upon a ruling. When it comes to establishing legal rulings however, the general principle is that it is the effective cause that matters, not the wisdom.
The importance of this distinction cannot be emphasised enough, and I hope that I have clarified it clearly. This principle needs to be kept in mind each time you face a discussion on Islamic rulings. This is imperative especially in a time in which some people are calling for the changing of core established Islamic rulings.
No doubt, the discussion on wisdom and effective cause in jurisprudence and fatwa is a lengthy one that has been tackled by our jurists, may Allah reward them. But the aforementioned are hopefully sufficient guidelines for the layperson to cling on to. When you hear someone make a claim that contradicts what the vast majority of mainstream scholars have always accepted, then often you will find that their distinction between the wisdom and effective cause is blurred.
May Allah guide us and all the Muslims to the correct understanding and implementation of the Deen.
Success is from Allah alone.
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