"wonderful words" of the Prophet, or what
lasting good the "age of active principles" has produced.

4. QIAS is the fourth foundation of Islam. The word literally means
reasoning, comparing. It is in common use in Hindustani and Persian in the
sense of guessing, considering, &c. Technically, it means the analogical
reasoning of the learned with regard to the teaching of the Quran, the
Sunnat and the Ijma'. For example, the Quran says:--"Honour thy father and
thy mother and be not a cause of displeasure to them." It is evident from
this that disobedience to parents is prohibited, and prohibition implies
punishment if the order is disobeyed. Again, if the Quran and the Sunnat
hold children responsible, according to their means, for the debts of their
father, does it not follow that the elder ones ought to fulfil for their
parents all those obligations which for some reason or other the parents
may not be able to perform, such as the pilgrimage to Mecca, &c. A
Tradition said to come from the Companions runs thus:--"One day, a woman
came to the Prophet and said, 'my father died without making the
Pilgrimage.' The Prophet said, 'If thy father had left a debt what wouldest
thou do,' 'I would pay the debt.' 'Good, then pay this debt also.'" The
Quran forbids the use of Khamar, an intoxicating substance, and so it is
argued that wine and opium are unlawful, though not forbidden by name. The
Wahhabis would extend the prohibition to the use of tobacco.

From cases such as these, many jurisconsults hold that the Mujtahidin of
the earliest age established this fourth foundation of the faith which they
call Qias. It is also called I'tibar-ul-Amsal, or "imitation of an
example." The idea is taken from the verse: "Profit by this example, ye who
are men of insight" (Sura lix. 2). There are strict rules laid down which
regulate Qias, of which the most important is, that in all cases it must be
based on the Quran, the Sunnat, and the Ijma'. In fact, the fundamental
idea of Islam {28} is that a perfect law has been given, even unto details,
of social and political life. The teaching of Muhammad contains the
solution of every difficulty that can arise. Every law not provided by the
Prophet must be deduced analogically. This produces uniformity after a
fashion, but only because intellectual activity in higher pursuits ceases
and moral stagnation follows. Thus all who come within the range of this
system are bound down to political servitude