An Inquiry into the Rule of AL-'Ibrah Bi 'Umum AL-Lafzi La Bi Khusus Al-Sababi

The rule of "AL-'Ibrah Bi 'Umum AL-Lafzi La Bi Khusus Al-Sababi" is one of the rules of principles of jurisprudence (Usul) that is accepted by the majority of jurists. According to this rule, if a Shari'a ruling is issued generally or particularly on a specific reason, the ruling is generalized to other cases relying on the generality or particularity of the word. However, there are some other opinions in this regard. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the authors of this study aim at examining the existing statements in this regard and explaining the various aspects of this subject. The results of the study indicate that if the ruling issued on a specific case bears a positive generality its generality is valid, but if the ruling issued bears an absolute generality, the absoluteness of the reason as a specific indication prevents from its overall generality and the ruling is assigned to the specific reason.