the essence (الأَصْل)
الحديث أصول الفقه
التعريف :
The evidence, whether it is a religious text or derived through reasoning.
المعنى الاصطلاحي :
In analogy, it refers to the basic rule, as opposed to the subsidiary rule.
الشرح المختصر :
"Asl" (basic rule/original ruling) is one of the four basic elements of "qiyās" (analogy), which are : "asl", "far‘" (parallel case), "‘illah" (effective cause) and "hukm" (ruling). For example, if someone draws an analogy between corn and wheat - as both are measurable - in terms of the involvement of interest in the latter, then in this case wheat is the "asl", corn is the "far‘", being measurable is the "‘illah", and the prohibition of interest is the "hukm".
التعريف اللغوي المختصر :
"Asl": it is derived from "asl", which means the foundation of something upon which its existence depends.