5. RULES OF INTERPRETATION II: AL-DALALAT (TEXTUAL IMPLICATIONS)
The law normally requires compliance not only with the obvious meaning of its text but also with its implied meaning, and indirect indications and inferences that could be drawn from it. With reference to the textual rulings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, the ulema of usul have distinguished several shades of meaning that a nass may be capable of imparting. The Hanafi jurists have distinguished four levels of meaning in an order which begins with the explicit or immediate meaning of the text. Next in this order is the ‘alluded’ meaning which is followed by the ‘inferred’ meaning, and lastly by the ‘required’ meaning. There is yet a fifth variety of meaning, namely the ‘divergent’ meaning, which is somewhat controversial but has, in principle, been accepted, as our discussion will show. The explicit meaning (ibarah al-nass), which is based on the words and sentences of the text, is the dominant and most authoritative meaning which takes priority over the other levels of implied meanings that might be detectable in the text. In addition to its obvious meaning, a text may impart a meaning which is indicated by the signs and allusions that it might contain. This secondary meaning is referred to as isharah al-nass, that is the alluded meaning. A legal text may also convey a meaning which may not have been indicated by the words or signs and yet is a complementary meaning which is warranted by the logical and juridical purport of the text. This is known as dalalah al-nass, or the inferred meaning, which is one degree below the alluded meaning by virtue of the fact that it is essentially extraneous to the text. But as will later be discussed, there is a difference of opinion between the Hanafi and the Shafi’i, jurists as to whether the inferred meaning should necessarily be regarded as inferior to the alluded meaning. Next in this order is the iqtida’ al-nass, or the required meaning, which is once again a logical and necessary meaning without which the text would remain incomplete and would fail to achieve its desired purpose. When there are conflicts between the first and the second meanings, priority is given to the first. Similarly, the second will take priority over the third and the third over the fourth, as we shall presently explain.
by M. H. Kamali
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