Hukm

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In Islamic context, a Hukm (Arabic: حُكْمُ pl. Ahkam) is a ruling in the Qur'an or Sunnah. A law, value, ordinance or ruling of Shari'ah (Islamic law). In order to arrive at any new legal doctrine, or hukm, one must employ a systematic methodology by which to extract meaning from the sources. Traditionally, this methodology has been categorized under the rules of ijtihad (independent reasoning, authentic scholarly endeavor).^[1]

In the Quran, hukm denotes arbitration, judgement, authority, and Allah's will. Following the passing of Muhammad, with no central legal power in the post-Medina Muslim society, the noun acquired new meanings over time, with hukm coming to refer to temporal executive rule or to a court decision and the plural, ahkam, referring to specific Quranic rules, positive fiqh laws derived from Islamic legal methodology, and rules or edicts. Early in Muslim history, the Kharijites' declaration to accept only the hukm of Allah (Arabic: حُكْمُ اللّهِ ) gave the word a political connotation.