Islamic Theology (Aqidah) and Jurisprudence (Fiqh)
This domain tests creed and legal reasoning together: tawḥīd, names and attributes, qadar, prophethood, and the sources and maxims of fiqh. You must keep theological claims distinct from legal rulings and justify both from evidence.
Core rules
- Tawḥīd is commonly analyzed as rubūbiyya, ulūhiyya, and al-asmāʾ wa-l-ṣifāt. Debates over attributes turn on affirmation without tashbīh or taʿṭīl.
- The five legal values: wājib, mandūb, mubāḥ, makrūh, ḥarām.
- Primary sources: Qur'an, Sunnah, ijmāʿ, qiyās; secondary tools include maṣlaḥa, ʿurf, and istiṣḥāb.
- Legal maxims: certainty is not removed by doubt; harm is removed; necessity permits the prohibited within limits.
Worked example
A worshipper is unsure whether he prayed three or four rakʿahs. The maxim al-yaqīn lā yazūlu bi-l-shakk applies: certainty is three, doubt is the fourth. He builds on three, completes a fourth, and performs sujūd al-sahw. The reasoning preserves the certain minimum and repairs the doubt, rather than guessing or repeating the whole prayer.
Traps
Do not issue takfīr over secondary disputes. Do not confuse uṣūl al-fiqh with furūʿ. Do not treat one madhhab's ruling as the only valid position without evidence. Do not confuse sunnah with farḍ. Do not apply a maxim without checking its conditions.