The five major legal maxims that are accepted by all the legal schools, along with their corollaries, are presented in Section 2 stretching from Maxim 6 to Maxim 26. Although Maxim 8 (Giving effect to words is preferable to giving them no effect) is not a corollary of the first of the major maxims (Matters are determined by intention), it is included after the discussion of its corollary (In contracts, greater weight is given to intention and meaning than words and forms) because of Maxim Eight’s relevance to the interpretation of words. Section 3 of the book consists of miscellaneous maxims dealing with topics such as profit and liability, the exercise of religious and political judgment, the responsibilities that accompany acting as an agent, the limits of private property rights, the implication and effects of prohibition, the relationship between the primary and the auxiliary, and the legal effect of promises, among others. The discussion of each maxim is structured in the same way. A short introduction contextualizes the maxim, identifying its place in the overall scheme of the Sharīʿah and the most important topics to which it applies. Next comes an explanation of the maxim, starting with linguistic and technical definitions of its keywords and followed by elucidation of the maxim’s overall meaning and the parameters of its application. Scrutiny then turns to the Sharīʿah evidence that provides authority for the maxim. Particular attention is paid to the way in which each item of evidence supports the maxim. Occasional mention is made of exceptions to a maxim, but this book is intended as an introduction to the topic so such discussions have been minimized in the interest of keeping things simple. The explanation of each maxim is capped with the mention of three general fiqh applications of it, followed by three or more applications in Islamic finance. The reader will notice that in a very few cases we were unable to identify three Islamic finance applications, but such instances are exceedingly rare. A glossary of Arabic terms has been placed at the end of the book to facilitate comprehension for lay readers.