Fiqh


Fiqh is the term for Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is often described as the style of human understanding, research and practices of the sharia; that is, human understanding of the divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the sunnah. Fiqh expands and develops Shariah through interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists and is implemented by the rulings of jurists on questions presented to them. Thus, whereas sharia is considered immutable and infallible by Muslims, fiqh is considered fallible and changeable. Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation in Islam as well as economic and political system. In the modern era, there are four prominent schools of fiqh within Sunni practice, plus two within Shi'a practice. A person trained in fiqh is known as a faqīh.
Figuratively, fiqh means knowledge about Islamic legal rulings from their sources. Deriving religious rulings from their sources requires the mujtahid to have a deep understanding in the different discussions of jurisprudence.
The studies of fiqh are traditionally divided into Uṣūl al-fiqh, the methods of legal interpretation and analysis; and Furūʿ al-fiqh, the elaboration of rulings on the basis of these principles. Furūʿ al-fiqh is the product of the application of Uṣūl al-fiqh and the total product of human efforts at understanding the divine will. A hukm is a particular ruling in a given case.

Etymology

The word fiqh is an Arabic term meaning "deep understanding" or "full comprehension". Technically it refers to the body of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources and the process of gaining knowledge of Islam through jurisprudence. The historian Ibn Khaldun describes fiqh as "knowledge of the rules of God which concern the actions of persons who own themselves connected to obey the law respecting what is required, sinful, recommended, disapproved, or neutral ". This definition is consistent amongst the jurists.
In Modern Standard Arabic, fiqh has also come to mean Islamic jurisprudence. It is not thus possible to speak of Chief Justice John Roberts as an expert in the common law fiqh of the United States, or of Egyptian legal scholar Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri as an expert in the civil law fiqh of Egypt.

History

According to Sunni Islamic history, Sunni law followed a chronological path of:
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah.
The first Muslims heard and obeyed, and passed this essence of Islam to succeeding generations, as Muslims and Islam spread from West Arabia to the conquered lands north, east, and west, where it was systematized and elaborated.
The history of Islamic jurisprudence is "customarily divided into eight periods":
  • the first period ending with the death of Muhammad in 11 AH.
  • second period "characterized by personal interpretations" of the canon by the Sahabah or companions of Muhammad, lasting until 50 AH.
  • from 50 AH until the early second century AH there was competition between "a traditionalist approach to jurisprudence" in western Arabia where Islam was revealed and a "rationalist approach in Iraq".
  • the "golden age of classical Islamic jurisprudence" from the "early second to the mid-fourth century when the eight "most significant" schools of Sunni and Shi'i jurisprudence emerged."
  • from the mid-fourth century to mid-seventh AH Islamic jurisprudence was "limited to elaborations within the main juristic schools".
  • the "dark age" of Islamic jurisprudence stretched from the fall of Baghdad in the mid-seventh AH to 1293 AH/1876 CE.
  • In 1293 AH the Ottomans codified Hanafi jurisprudence in the Majallah el-Ahkam-i-Adliya. Several "juristic revival movements" influenced by "exposure to Western legal and technological progress" followed until the mid-20th century CE. Muhammad Abduh and Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri were products of this era. However, Abduh and El-Sanhuri were modernists. 19th century Ottoman Shariah Code was built on the views of the Hanafi school.
  • The most recent era has been that of the "Islamic revival", which has been "predicated on rejection of Western social and legal advances" and the development of specifically Islamic states, social sciences, economics, and finance.
The formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. During this period, jurists were more concerned with issues of authority and teaching than with theory and methodology.
Progress in theory and methodology happened with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i, who codified the basic principles of Islamic jurisprudence in his book ar-Risālah. The book details the four roots of law while specifying that the primary Islamic texts be understood according to objective rules of interpretation derived from scientific study of the Arabic language.
Secondary sources of law were developed and refined over the subsequent centuries, consisting primarily of juristic preference, laws of the previous prophets, continuity, extended analogy, blocking the means, local customs, and sayings of a companion of the Prophet.

Diagram of early scholars

The Quran set the rights, responsibilities, and rules for people and societies to adhere to, such as dealing in interest. Muhammad then provided an example, which is recorded in the hadith books, showing people how he practically implemented these rules in a society. After the passing of Muhammad, there was a need for jurists, to decide on new legal matters where there is no such ruling in the Quran or the hadith, example of Muhammad regarding a similar case.
In the years proceeding Muhammad, the community in Madina continued to use the same rules. People were familiar with the practice of Muhammad and therefore continued to use the same rules.
The scholars appearing in the diagram below were taught by Muhammad's companions, many of whom settled in Madina. Muwatta by Malik ibn Anas was written as a consensus of the opinion, of these scholars. Muwatta by Malik ibn Anas quotes 13 hadiths from Imam Jafar al-Sadiq.
Aisha also taught her nephew Urwah ibn Zubayr. He then taught his son Hisham ibn Urwah, who was the main teacher of Malik ibn Anas whose views many Sunni follow and also taught by Jafar al-Sadiq. Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, Hisham ibn Urwah and Muhammad al-Baqir taught Zayd ibn Ali, Jafar al-Sadiq, Abu Hanifa, and Malik ibn Anas.
Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, Imam Abu Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas worked together in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, along with Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, Muhammad al-Baqir, Zayd ibn Ali and over 70 other leading jurists and scholars.
Al-Shafi‘i was taught by Malik ibn Anas. Ahmad ibn Hanbal was taught by Al-Shafi‘i. Muhammad al-Bukhari travelled everywhere collecting hadith and his father Ismail ibn Ibrahim was a student of Malik ibn Anas.
In the books actually written by these original jurists and scholars, there are very few theological and judicial differences between them. Imam Ahmad rejected the writing down and codifying of the religious rulings he gave. They knew that they might have fallen into error in some of their judgements and stated this clearly. They never introduced their rulings by saying, "Here, this judgement is the judgement of God and His prophet." There is also very little text actually written down by Jafar al-Sadiq himself. They all give priority to the Qur'an and the hadith. They felt that the Quran and the Hadith, the example of Muhammad provided people with almost everything they needed. "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion".
These scholars did not distinguish between each other. They were not Sunni or Shia. They felt that they were following the religion of Abraham as described in the Quran "Say: Allah speaks the truth; so follow the religion of Abraham, the upright one. And he was not one of the polytheists".
Most of the differences are regarding Sharia laws devised through Ijtihad where there is no such ruling in the Quran or the hadiths of Islamic prophet Muhammad regarding a similar case. As these jurists went to new areas, they were pragmatic and continued to use the same ruling as was given in that area during pre-Islamic times, if the population felt comfortable with it, it was just and they used Ijtihad to deduce that it did not conflict with the Quran or the Hadith. As explained in the Muwatta by Malik ibn Anas. This made it easier for the different communities to integrate into the Islamic State and assisted in the quick expansion of the Islamic State.
To reduce the divergence, ash-Shafi'i proposed giving priority to the Qur'an and the Hadith and only then look at the consensus of the Muslim jurists and analogical reasoning. This then resulted in jurists like Muhammad al-Bukhari dedicating their lives to the collection of the correct hadith, in books like Sahih al-Bukhari. They also felt that Muhammad's judgement was more impartial and better than their own.
These original jurists and scholars also acted as a counterbalance to the rulers. When they saw injustice, all these scholars spoke out against it. As the state expanded outside Madina, the rights of the different communities, as they were constituted in the Constitution of Medina still applied. The Quran also gave additional rights to the citizens of the state and these rights were also applied. Ali, Hassan and Husayn ibn Ali gave their allegiance to the first three caliphs because they abided by these conditions. Later Ali the fourth caliph wrote in a letter "I did not approach the people to get their oath of allegiance but they came to me with their desire to make me their Amir. I did not extend my hands towards them so that they might swear the oath of allegiance to me but they themselves extended their hands towards me." But later as fate would have it when Yazid I, an Umayyad ruler took power, Husayn ibn Ali the grandson of Muhammad felt that it was a test from God for him and his duty to confront him. Then Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr's cousin confronted the Umayyad rulers after Husayn ibn Ali was betrayed by the people of Kufa and killed by Syrian Roman Army now under the control of the Yazid I. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr then took on the Umayyads and expelled their forces from Hijaz and Iraq. But then his forces were depleted in Iraq, trying to stop the Khawarij. The Umayyads then moved in. After a lengthy campaign, in his last hour Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr asked his mother Asma' bint Abu Bakr the daughter of Abu Bakr the first caliph for advice. Asma' bint Abu Bakr replied to her son, she said: "You know better in your own self, that if you are upon the truth and you are calling towards the truth go forth, for people more honourable than you have been killed and if you are not upon the truth, then what an evil son you are and you have destroyed yourself and those who are with you. If you say, that if you are upon the truth and you will be killed at the hands of others, then you will not truly be free." Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr left and was later also killed and crucified by the Syrian Roman Army now under the control of the Umayyads and led by Hajjaj. Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr the son of Abu Bakr the first caliph and raised by Ali the fourth caliph was also killed by the Umayyads. Aisha then raised and taught her son Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr who later taught his grandson Jafar al-Sadiq.
During the early Umayyad period, there was more community involvement. The Quran and Muhammad's example was the main source of law after which the community decided. If it worked for the community, was just and did not conflict with the Quran and the example of Muhammad, it was accepted. This made it easier for the different communities, with Roman, Persian, Central Asia and North African backgrounds to integrate into the Islamic State and that assisted in the quick expansion of the Islamic State. The scholars in Madina were consulted on the more complex judicial issues. The Sharia and the official more centralized schools of fiqh developed later, during the time of the Abbasids.