The Relationship between Defining and Declaratory laws in the Light of Juristic Opinions

Sharia laws are categorized into two groups: defining (taklifi) and declaratory (wadhei). The defining laws are ones that extend to man's actions in a binding or discretionary way, whereas wadhei laws are ones that do not directly extend to man's actions. According to Mohaqiq Isfahani, a defining law is "initiation with the motivation of creating a motive". In his view, declaratory laws are not restricted to a specific number and that they include every non-taklifi (or non-prescriptive) laws. Some scholars such as Shahid Thani, Sheikh Bahai, Fazel Tuni and Wahid Behbahani are of the view that declaratory laws are, like the defining ones, a part of the Lawgiver's initiations and considerations. On the contrary, jurists like Shahid Awwal, Shariful Ulama and Sheikh Ansari maintain that the declaratory laws have been extracted from defining laws and the attribution that the former has been legislated by the Lawgiver is not real. There is a third view also whose proponents including Akhund Khurasani have adopted tafsil, an approach which partially accepts both opinions, albeit with some considerations.