Fiqh

Sharia, literally “the way,” is the legal code of Islam. Sharia essentially comes from Mohammed’s teachings. Therefore, the development of Sharia began in 610 CE, when Mohammed began prophesizing about Allah. Over the next thousand or so years, as Islam spread throughout the world, Mohammed’s words were written down and interpreted. Over time the teachings and interpretations became official legal documents called the Quran and Sunna, which act similarly to the Torah and Gemara in Jewish tradition. In addition, different legal schools of thought were established, each with its own takes on Islamic jurisprudence. From 600-1400 CE, Sharia law splintered because each interpretive sect, also called a fiqh, of Islam used different methods to solve the problems created by the expansions of Islam: specifically, the leadership vacuum after the first expansion and the convert separation and socio-economic division from the second expansion. Beginning after Muhammad’s death in 632 BCE, Islam gained popularity, and the empire grew across Europe, Asia, and Africa, leaving the Muslim people with a major leadership vacuum to…

preservation of order, achievement of benefits and prevention from harm or corruption, establishment of equality among people, causing the law to be revered, obeyed and effective, and enabling the Ummah to be powerful, respected and confident”. There are three distinctive terms associated with Islamic law that are often used interchangeably. Muslims refer to Islamic law as Sharī’ah, Fiqh, and Fatwa. Sharī’ah is the revelation that the Prophet received and practiced and includes the Quran and…

looks so overflowed with happiness before. They were so ready for another phase of their marriage life. The only obstacle between her and the dream-come-true first child is the heart-wrenching news at her fourteen weeks pregnancy: her baby is diagnosed with pre-heart failure syndrome, in which the heart of the fetus is extremely enlarged, thus the lungs are severely under-developed and any form of operation post birth bares a little chance to save her life. The doctors came to the agreement, at…

Ijtihaad is an integral component of Fiqh and provides for its flexibility. It is done by careful research and understanding of the sources of Fiqh to find the solution to the given problem. One tries ones best to find the solution using the primary sources and also secondary sources (depending on their validity) to arrive at the decision. An example of a fiqh ruling: Nowadays, it is common for smartphone users to have a Quranic ringtone. But, the issue is that when you answer the phone, you…

ritual purification through the tradition of the Haji ending with the Feast of Sacrifice (Id al-Adha)), and struggle (the unofficial sixth pillar of Islam or jihad recognizes the struggle to understand God’s Will on Earth that is normally interpreted as acting as an example by living a righteous life or right to obligation to defend Islam and the Muslim community from outright aggression). 2. What are the four schools of law? Define "Islamic law." What are its connections to Sharia and Fiqh?…

same authority as the Qur 'an. Allah’s guide for a happy life is Shariah, meaning "the way". In Islam there is no differentiation between ethics and law and therefore Shariah Law contains both legal and ethical principles under the four categories of Creed (Aqidah), Religious worship and practices (Ibadah), Morality and ethics (Ahklaq) and Social relations (Muanalah). Islamic jurisprudence, which is the human knowledge and understanding of Shariah, is known to Muslims as “Fiqh”. Fiqh is also…

In religious context, the word fatwa carries more meaning, because when a Muslim has a question that has to be answered from an Islamic point of view they ask an Islamic scholar known as a Mufti. These Muftis have a deep understanding or fiqh of Islamic Law sources, and the observance of morals, rituals and social legislation which plays a major role in them issuing a fatwa. The Mufti also uses usul al-fiqh, a body of principles and investigative methodologies that are developed from the…

University. From an early age, his profound intellectual gifts and ability allowed him to memorize massive texts. In his youth, he was appointed to study legal judgements in Tunis. On returning to Mauritania, he became Minister of Education and later Minister of Justice. He was also appointed a Vice President of the first president of Mauritania. However, in part because of the military coup in Mauritania, he began to teach and traveled to Saudi Arabia where he became a distinguished professor…

of Islam and other matters of the religion. If we go by the definition of fatwa, mufti is a person who has the capacity in explaining and clarifying the Islamic laws. The first ever mufti in the history of Islamic laws was the Prophet Muhammad. The concept of fatwa in early Islam developed in the framework of a question-and-answer process to better communicate on religious matters. Its subject was ilm (knowledge) without further specification. Later, when ilm was identified with hadith (sayings…

Jews had captured the West Bank and Abdullah Azzam moved to Jordan, not wanting to live under Jewish occupation of Palestine. The capture of the West Bank was also humiliating to Azzam due to the lack of resistance from the Muslim Arabs as tanks moved in. His migration was purposeful, he wanted to learn how to fight back. Azzam moving to Jordon, joined the Jihad against Israeli occupation of Palestine, he also received a Master’s degree in Sharia law at the University of Al Azhar in Cairo,…