The Principle: “The General Remains General Unless a Specifier Is Established” and Its Impact on Serving Maqasid-Based Ijtihad: Electronic Commerce Cases as a Model

Abstract

Reflecting on the general framework of legal theory and examining its subsidiary details reveals the interactive relationship between the fruits of Islamic legal theory and one of its manifestations: legal-theoretical maxims. These maxims are universal propositions used to derive subsidiary Islamic rulings from detailed evidence. Their practical fruit is finding solutions and answers to new issues in people’s lives.
Among the most important and widely used legal-theoretical maxims is: “The general remains general unless a specifier is established.” This is a highly beneficial and significant principle in maqasid-based ijtihad, especially when used to derive Islamic rulings for contemporary developments such as electronic commerce and its transactions, which require careful legal scrutiny.