By Surkheel (Abu Aaliyah) Sharif The initial era of Islam produced many great jurists and legalists: men who not only possessed exceptional acumen, but who led profoundly spiritual lives too. These jurists have been described as ‘grammarians of the Divine Word’: explaining it, systemizing it and deriving new rulings from it. Out of these many …
By Surkheel Abu Aaliyah The science that evolved in understanding the shari‘ah, or Sacred Law of Islam, is called fiqh: usually translated as “jurisprudence”, and comes from the word faqiha, meaning: “to understand”. Fiqh, therefore, is all about understanding these divine laws and the way they shape the life-pattern of believers. Strictly speaking, shari‘ah refers …
by Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahmân ibn Nâsir as-Sa’dî From Ahya.org Prologue [Risaalah Lateefah Jaami’ah fee Usoolil-Fiqhil-Muhimmah, which is part of Manhajus-Saalikeen wa Tawdeehul-Fiqh bid-Deen (pp.101-112)] All praise belongs to Allaah. So we praise Him for what He possess from His beautiful Names and lofty and perfect Attributes; and for His Judgement and Decree which encompasses everything in existence; …
Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence: Brief Introduction Read More »
Fiqh or legal maxims of Islamic law (Al-Qawaa’id Al-Fiqhiyyah) is a genre of Islamic sciences that focuses on general rules of fiqh which can be applied to a wide variety of particular situations. In fact, in Muslim countries a student cannot obtain a degree in Islamic sciences from an Islamic university without first having completed …
Legal Maxims of Islamic Law: A Brief Introduction Read More »
I had always wondered why certain scholars, especially the highly reputable ones like the four imams, chose to go against clear authentic hadiths which contradict their opinion(s). It always bothered me and made me feel a bit uneasy but I could never really figure out why such was the case. If the Qur’an and Sunnah …
Methodology of the Majority of Scholars of Islam The perspective that guides each step of the process [for them] is maintaining the validity and viability of the evidence as far and as much as possible. Reconciling where possible – the justification is that the Lawgiver only provided the evidence in order to guide humanity to …
How Muslim Scholars Deal With Perceived Contradictions in Islamic Texts Read More »
Islamic law is primarily derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah according to the consensus of the Muslim scholars. However, there is a difference of opinion among the scholars on how to approach issues that are not explicitly and directly mentioned in these two sources. In other words, there is no indication from the Qur’an and …