Conflicts of Analogical Reasoning in Donation Contracts and Their Impact on Juristic Differences: The Gift as a Model

Abstract

Objectives: This study addresses the issue of conflicting legal reasoning (aqīṣah) in donation contracts, using the gift (hibah) as a model, and its impact on the differences among jurists. The study aims to identify the conflicting reasoning in gift contracts and its effect on juristic disagreement. It also discusses the topic of jointly-owned property (hibah al-mushā‘) and the establishment of ownership in a gift contract.

Method: The researchers employed the inductive method to examine the relevant Sharia texts concerning the study’s topic, the deductive method to derive legal rulings from the scholarly material, and the comparative method to compare the opinions, arguments, and reasoning of jurists regarding conflicting legal reasoning in gift contracts, highlighting the most sound conclusions.

Results: The study found that jurists discussed conflicting reasoning under the term “conflict of causes (ta‘āruḍ al-‘ilal)”, and that legal reasoning in financial donation contracts in general—and in gift contracts in particular—can indeed conflict. Such conflicts lead to a variety of differences among jurists.