Comparative Study of Content of the Verse "Common Usage" ('Orf) in the View of Shia and Sunny Commentators

All Shia Imamiyyah scholars regard "common usage" as a valid and authorized criterion to determine the concepts of legal propositions, and some specialists in the first principles and great jurisprudents even hold that it is a criterion to determine the referents as well, but all explicitly reject its effectiveness as a source of jurisprudence and inference of injunctions. However, Sunni schools have more or less accepted "common usage" as a source of jurisprudence and inference of injunctions along with other sources, despite their own internal differences. The verse 199 in the Chapter "The Elevated Places" (al-Araf) which reads, "Take to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn aside from the ignorant" is one the most important Quranic verses cited and argued by Sunni scholars to prove the independent validity and authority of the "common usage". Using a library method to gather the data, a documentary method to report the views and content analysis method to analyze the data, the present paper seeks to review, analyze and criticize the views of commentators, particularly Sunni commentators, about the content of the verse in terms of using it as proof for the authority of "common usage" as an independent source of jurisprudence. It concludes that the terms "common usage" and "good" in the verse do not have technical connotation; rather, they mean good deed or manner the goodness of which is proved by reason or Sacred Law.