Qiyas / Analogical Reasoning (قِيَاس)

Definition

Qiyas (قِيَاس) — "measurement, analogy" — is the fourth source of Islamic law after the Qur'an, Sunnah, and consensus (ijma'). It is the process of deriving a legal ruling for a new case (far') by linking it to an established case (asl) through a shared effective cause ('illah). Qaradawi treats qiyas as the primary tool of ijtihad, essential for extending Islamic law to circumstances not explicitly addressed in the primary texts. He quotes Ibn al-Qayyim's definition: "Correct analogy is the Balance that God sent along with His Book." Throughout Fiqh al-Zakah, qiyas is the method by which zakat rulings are extended from classical asset categories (camels, dates, dirhams) to modern ones (salaries, stocks, rental income).

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