Hikma (purpose of a ruling in usul)

الحكمة (في أصول الفقه)

In lexical use hikma is the knowledge of things as they are and acting on it; in the Quran it is applied to prophethood. ¹ For the usulis hikma is the benefit that follows from tying a ruling to its cause or occasion (securing a good or removing or reducing a harm), and it also names the fitting quality that suits the ruling. ¹ A cause (sabab) is an apparent, regular attribute that defines a ruling; an impediment (mani') is what, when present, excludes the cause or ruling. ¹ The illa is the attribute the lawgiver made the criterion of a ruling; the hikma is the benefit itself, which may be hard to measure or hidden, so the usulis dispute whether a ruling may be tied to the hikma. ²