Understanding the Nature of the Principles of (Shariah) Laws in Ilm al-Usul

A sound understanding of the terms and phrases existing in every branch of science constitutes one of the secrets of success in learning that science. Mabadi ahkamiyah roughly translated as the principles of Sharia laws is a new phrase that has been used in more recent books. This phrase has not been used in any books authored by early scholars of Ilm al-Usul.
Some scholars of Ilm al-Usul have considered mabadi ahkamiyah as a third phrase on a par with phrases such as mabadi tasawwuriyah and mabadi tasdiqiyah. On the contrary, some others try to merge mabadi ahkamiya with the two abovementioned phrases. The scholars of Usul use the phrase mabadi ahkamiyah to refer to a series of discussions concerning Sharia law itself regardless of whether or not it relates to a specific subject. Therefore, certain issues such as the definition of Sharia law, division of Sharia laws into wadhei (declaratory), taklifi (defining or prescriptive), zaheri (apparent) and real laws, conflict among the Sharia laws, the initiation of wadhei law being independent from taklifi or their being extracted, the concomitance between amr (command) and nahy (prohibition) are among the themes included in this title.