Who Was the First to Use Qiyās (Analogical Reasoning)?
Authored by: Sayyid Tanveer-ul-Haq Hazaarvi
Imam Muhammad ibn Sīrīn (رحمه الله) — d. 110 AH — said:
"The first to perform Qiyās (analogy) was Iblīs.
And the sun and moon were worshipped only because of analogical reasoning."
(Sunan al-Dārimī 1/65, Hadīth 195 — Chain: Hasan)
❖ Meaning and Context:
According to this narration, Iblīs (Satan) was the first being who applied Qiyās in defiance of a clear divine command. When ordered to prostrate to Ādam (عليه السلام), Iblīs reasoned analogically:
"I am better than him; You created me from fire and him from clay."
(Surah al-A‘rāf: 12)
This analogy was used in opposition to an explicit command from Allah, thereby making it reprehensible and misguided.
Imam Ibn Sīrīn further asserts that even the worship of the sun and moon originated through similar invalid analogical reasoning, where creations were given divine status due to perceived glory or light.
