Discover the meaning of the term Al-astḥsan (استحسان) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 3 min readIn language: reckoning a thing good and holding it beautiful. In technical usage: the name of a proof among the four proofs that conflicts with manifest analogy (qiyas) and by which one rules when it is stronger than it; it was so named because it is, in most cases, stronger than manifest qiyas, thus becoming an approved analogy; Allah, the Most High, said: 'Give good tidings to My servants who listen to the word and follow the best of it.'
It is forsaking qiyas and taking what is easier for people.
In language: reckoning a thing good and holding it beautiful. In technical usage: the name of a proof among the four proofs that conflicts with manifest qiyas and by which one acts when it is stronger than it; it was so named because it is, in most cases, stronger than manifest qiyas, thus becoming an approved analogy.
In language: reckoning a thing good and holding it beautiful (al-Ta'rifat, p. 18); in technical usage: a proof that flashes in the mind of the independent jurist (mujtahid) and whose expression falls short of it; it is said: the turning from a qiyas to one stronger than it; and it is said: the name of a proof among the four proofs that conflicts with manifest qiyas.
It is reckoning a thing good and holding it beautiful. In technical usage: the name of a proof among the four proofs (the Book, the Sunna, consensus and qiyas) that conflicts with manifest qiyas and by which one rules when it is stronger than it; it was so named because it is, in most cases, stronger than manifest qiyas, thus becoming an approved analogy (al-Jurjani). Among the Malikis: it is combining conflicting proofs; and: a meaning that flashes in the mind of the independent jurist and whose expression falls short of it; by 'meaning' is meant the argument of the judgment he approved. Al-hasan (the good): everything delightful and desired, whether from the side of intellect, inclination or sense; it is most used in common usage for what is perceived by sight, and most in the Sharia for what is perceived by insight. Among the Hanafis: what is an object of praise in this world and of reward in the hereafter. Among the Shafi'is: it is that in which there is leave: obligatory, recommended and permissible. And: that whose doing is preferable to leaving it.