Shari’a (shari’ah) holds the center stage of Islamic religion as it defines the route Muslims have to follow in matters of religious ritual and every aspect of economic, political, social, and personal life. It is derived primarily from the Quran and the Sunna. However, there is a set of secondary sources to which Muslims resort for matters that are not dealt with in the primary sources. Even though some scholars classify ijma’a and qiyas among primary sources, it is widely accepted among shari’a scholars that both belong to secondary sources. This contradictory views reflect somehow the fact that ijma’a and qiyas have been generally accepted and adopted by the majority of jurists and scholars, while other sources are still a subject of dispute.

Below are the main secondary sources:

•  Ijma’a (scholarly consensus) is the anonymous opinion of the whole umma’s Islamic scholars.
• Qiyas (analogy) is the intelligent reasoning by which scholars can issue rules (ahkam, pl. of hukm) on matters and events that the Quran and Sunna didn’t mention or handle. This can be implemented through extending original rules (ones for which there is an explicit legal text in the Quran and Sunna) to similar or equivalent matters or events for which there is no finite legal text in either the Quran or Sunna).
• Istihsan (juristic preference) is the choice of one of several lawful or permissible solutions.
• Fatwa al-sahabi refers to the views of the Prophet’s companions (sahaba)
• Maslaha is public welfare/interests/benefit.
• Pre-Islamic laws and rulings (sharu’o man qablana) represent those of previous divine religions if not contraindicated by the primary sources shari’a
• ‘urf is a set of customary practices and norms adopted by a community.
• Sadd ad-dhara’i is the blocking of means to anything forbidden or unlawful.
• Istishab is the maintenance of a previous ruling (hukm) insofar as there is no evidence from an explicit legal text to weight against it.