ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE

1 Table of Contents UṢŪL AL-FIQH ....................................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 3 SCOPE OF FIQH ............................................................................................................................ 3 ISLAMIC TIMELINE ...................................................................................................................... 3 HUKM SHARA‘Ī ..................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4 ELEMENTS OF HUKM SHARA‘Ī .................................................................................................. 4 CLASSIFICATION OF HUKM ....................................................................................................... 4 PRINCIPLE SOURCES .......................................................................................................... 6 QURAN ....................................................................................................................................... 6 HADITH AND SUNNAH ................................................................................................................ 6 SUNNAH ...................................................................................................................................... 6 HADITH ....................................................................................................................................... 6 CLASSIFICATION OF SUNNAH ...................................................................................................... 6 SUPPLEMENTARY AND AUXILIARY SOURCES .......................................................... 8 ‘URF ........................................................................................................................................... 8 SIYĀSA ....................................................................................................................................... 8 QĀNŪN ....................................................................................................................................... 8 JUDICIAL DECISIONS ................................................................................................................. 8 AUXILIARY SOURCES ................................................................................................................ 8 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 9 IJTIHAD ...................................................................................................................................... 9 TAQLID ...................................................................................................................................... 9 TAKHRĪJ..................................................................................................................................... 9 TAKHYYIR.................................................................................................................................. 9 TALFIQ ....................................................................................................................................... 9 METHODOLOGICAL TOOLS .......................................................................................... 10 IJMA ......................................................................................................................................... 10 TYPES OF IJMA .......................................................................................................................... 10 QIYAS ....................................................................................................................................... 10 TYPES OF QIYAS ........................................................................................................................ 10 ELEMENTS OF QIYAS................................................................................................................. 10 Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 2 ISTIHSĀN .................................................................................................................................. 10 TYPES OF ISTIHSĀN ................................................................................................................... 11 ISTIṢHĀB .................................................................................................................................. 11 ISTIDLAL .................................................................................................................................. 11 ISTISLAH .................................................................................................................................. 11 DARŪRA ................................................................................................................................... 11 HIYAL ...................................................................................................................................... 11 MAṢLAHA................................................................................................................................. 11 SADD AL-DHRĀ’A‘ .................................................................................................................... 12 MAQASID ................................................................................................................................. 12 EQUITY .................................................................................................................................... 12 QAWAID AL FIQHIYYAH ......................................................................................................... 12 Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 3 Uṣūl al-Fiqh Introduction The discipline of uṣūl al-fiqh identifies the sources of the law, classifies them in hierarchical order, expounds methodologies by which rules are drawn from the sources through methodological tools, and lays down the conditions for qualified jurists (mujtahidin) who are distinguished from the layman (muqallidin). Fiqh is the knowledge of the detailed rules of Islamic law in its various branches, and usul alfiqh is the methodology that is applied in the deduction of such rules from their sources. Scope of Fiqh • ‘Ibādāt (worship rituals) • Munkiḥat (family law) • Mu‘āmlāt (civil transactions) • Hudūd or Jināyāt (criminal and tort law) Islamic Timeline 1. Period of Prophet Muhammad | 610 – 632 AD 2. Companions of Prophet | 632 – 661 AD 3. Umayyad Caliphate | 661 – 750 AD 4. Abbasid Caliphate | 750 – 1258 AD 5. Ottoman Caliphate | 1300s – 1700s AD 6. Colonization|1700s onwards Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 4 Hukm Shara‘ī Introduction – Communication from Allah. – Related to the acts of the subjects: • through a demand, or • option, or • declaration. Elements of Hukm Shara‘ī 1. Ḥākim (Lawgiver): Allah 2. Maḥkūm fī: acts, rights and obligations - Nature of an act: capacity of performance and authority (hujjiyah) - Nature of a right: Haq Allah and Haq al-‘Abad - Nature of obligation: criminal, civil and tort 3. Maḥkūm ‘alayh (subject): mukallaf/adult/sane human being – Receptive legal capacity (ahliyyat al-wujub) and active legal capacity (ahliyyat al-ada) Classification of Hukm 1. Taklīfī • Duty imposing or obligation creating. • Defining law. • Hukm Taklifi’s Classifications 1. Commission: a. Obligatory (Wajib, Fard) – Binding – Binding demand of the lawgiver in respect of doing something. – Acting upon wajib will lead to a reward but omitting to do it will lead to a punishment. – Command conveyed in a clear and definitive text of the Quran and Sunnah, is obligatory in first second degree and is called wajib. b. Recommended (Mandub) – Non-binding – Demand asking the mukallaf to do something which is however not binding on the latter. – Complying with this demand will lead to a reward but not complying is not punishable. 2. Omission: a. Forbidden (Haram) – Binding – Prohibited act in binding and certain terms. – Haram acts are punishable, and omissions are rewarded. b. Abominable (Makruh) – Non-binding – Disapproved act which should be avoided. – Lowest degree of prohibition. 3. Permissible (Mubah) – Permissible acts entail communication from the law giver giving the mukallaf the option to do or not to do something. 2. Wad‘ī • Declaratory or demonstrative. • Declares the legal relationship between the cause (sabab) and its effect (musabbab) or between the condition(shart) and its object (mashrut). • It also provides the criterion whether an act is valid, voidable or void. Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 5 • Classification of Ḥukm Waḍ‘ī 1. Sabab (cause - basis for ḥukm taklīfī), sharṭ (condition – facts triggering hukm) and mān‘a (obstacle – facts preventing the operation of the ḥukm) 2. Ṣihhah (valid), fasād (voidable) and buṭlān (void/invalid) 3. ‘Azīmah (strict law) and rukhṣah (concessionary law/ exceptions) Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 6 Principle Sources Quran – Literally means 'reading' or 'recitation'. – The Qur’an calls itself huda, or guidance, not a code of law. – Reveled over a period of 23 years with 114 chapters and 6236 verses. – Began with the Surah Al-'Alaq and ending with the ayah in Surah Al-Ma’idah. – Makki versus Madni Surahs have been distinguished via: • The time of the revelation • The place of revelation • The nature of the audience – Division of Quran can be done of the basis of the verses that are Definitive (qat’i) and the Speculative (zanni) • Qat’i: only one interpretation and not open to ijtihad (Fasting; Salah). • Zanni: open to interpretation and ijtihad. Hadith and Sunnah – Hadith differs from Sunnah in the sense that Hadith is a narration of the conduct of the Prophet whereas Sunnah is the example or the law that is deduced from it. – Jurists are unanimous to the effect that Sunnah is a source of Shari'ah and that in its rulings with regard to halal and haram it stands on the same footing as the Qur'an. – Athar (and sometimes 'amal) is used to imply the precedent of the Companions. The majority of ulema have upheld the precedent of the Companions as one of the transmitted (naqli) proofs. – The Muwatta of Imam Malik contains 1,720 Hadiths, out of which 822 are from the Prophet and the remainder from the Companions, Successors and others. Sunnah – Literally, Sunnah means a clear path or a beaten track. But it has also implies normative practice, or an established course of conduct. – In usul al-fiqh, Sunnah refers to a source of the Shari‘a. But in fiqh, Sunnah means mandub (recommended). It was by Shafi as the second authoritative source of law by Shafi. – In the Qur’an the word 'Sunnah' and its plural, sunan, have been used on 16 times. In all these instances, sunnah has been used to imply an established practice or course of conduct. Hadith – Literally, Hadith means a narrative, communication or news consisting of the factual account of an event. – The word Hadith occurs in the Qur'an 23 times and in all cases, it carries the meaning of a narrative or communication. Classification of Sunnah A. Mode 1. Verbal (qawli) • Consists of the sayings of Prophet on any subject. 2. Actual (fi'li) Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 7 • Deeds and the actual instructions of the Prophet. 3. Tacitly approved (taqriri) • Inferred from the silence and lack of disapproval, or from express approval and verbal confirmation of the Prophet. B. Value 1. Non-legal: ritual activities of the Prophet which are not a part of the Shari'ah. 2. Legal: based on the capacities in which they were laid down by the Prophet a. the Messenger of God, b. the Head of State or imam, or c. the judge C. Matter (matn) 1. Relates to the body of the text of the Hadith. D. Transmission (isnad). 1. Continuous (muttasil) a. Mutawwatur, • Reported by a number of narrators in every age. • Equivalent to that of the Qur'an. b. Mashhur, and • Reported by some Companions from the Prophet or from another Companion and later became known and transmitted by an indefinite number of people. c. Ahad • Reported by a single person or by odd individuals from the Prophet. 2. Discontinued (ghayr muttasil). a. Mursal, • Where the link between the link between the Successor and the Prophet is missing. b. Mu'dal and • Where there is an omission of two or more consecutive narrators from the Isnad. c. Munqati' • Where the link anywhere before the successor is broken. E. Reliability 1. Correct (Sahih) • Narrated by persons well known for their integrity of character, memory, and learning. • Continuous chain of reliable narrators • Most reliable form of Aḥādīth 2. Approved (Hasan) • Narrated by persons who are less reputed for their integrity of character, learning or memory. • Also reliable Hadith but not of the highest form. 3. Weak (Dhaief) • Narrated by persons whose character is not well known or a Hadith which has some defects in its Isnad. Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 8 Supplementary and Auxiliary Sources ‘Urf – Known as custom, it was not recognized as one of the formal sources in classical Islamic law. In practice, however, custom was frequently drawn on as a material source of law. Siyāsa – Area of law left at the discretion of the ruler. – This law was to be adapted according to changing times and circumstances, thus, endowing it with the distinctive feature of flexibility in rules of procedure and evidence as compared to fiqh (jurists’ law). Qānūn – State legislation Judicial Decisions – Includes fatāwā of official muftīs Auxiliary Sources – Include scholarly books on the exegesis of the Qur’ān, compilations and commentaries of Aḥādīth, Fiqh texts and Sharā‘ min qablinā (Judaism, Christianity, Natural Law). Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 9 Methodology Ijtihad – Effort made by a qualified Muslim jurist (Mujtahid) to arrive at a ruling based on interpretation of shariah. Taqlid – Adopting the exposition of law as made by the ancient jurists without looking for the authority for such opinion. Takhrīj – Extension of the law from the principles by the use of reason, practiced within the same school. – Takhyyir – Selecting or preferring an opinion from amongst the available rulings of a single school or of different schools. Talfiq – Literally means ‘to patch up or piece together different opinions’. – The ruling of one jurist of a school is patched up with the ruling of another jurist of the same or a different school to arrive at an opinion which is suitable. Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 10 Methodological Tools Ijma – According to Allama Iqbal, Ijmā‘ is a mean to extend or limit a particular rule of the Qur’ān. – Means the consensus of opinion among the jurist of a particular period on a question of law. – Ijma is an accepted principle in Sunnī and Shī‘a jurisprudence. Some Shī‘a jurists question the authority of Ijmā‘ while others regard the consensus of the mujtahids as the representation of invisible Imām. Types of Ijma 1. Explicit Ijma (qawli): An explicit ijma is one in which the jurists state their opinion explicitly by, for instance, issuing fatwas. It is a binding source of Islamic law by majority of the jurists and is deemed obligatory to act upon. An issue that has been decided upon by ijma no longer remains open to ijtihad. 2. Tacit Ijma (sukuti): A tacit ijma takes place when a mujtahid issues a verdict on a legal issue but is neither acknowledged nor refuted expressly by the rest of the mujtahids who remain silent. Its authority is questioned. Some negate it while others regard it as probable. Qiyas – Literally means measuring or estimating one thing in terms of the other. – Technically means analogy: extension of a Shariah value from an original case to a new case, because the latter has the same effective cause as the former. – The legal authority of qiyās is speculative/probable. Types of qiyas 1. Similar to the original meaning [of the disagreement]. 2. Similar to several precedents, it must apply to the precedent nearest in resemblance and most appropriate. Elements of Qiyas 1. The original case on which a ruling is given in the text and which analogy seeks to extend to a new case (asl). 2. The rule governing the original case which is to be extended to the new case (Ḥukm alAṣl) 3. The effective cause of the hukm (`illah) which provides the rationale for the rule. 4. The new case on which a ruling is needed (fara’). 5. The hukm for the new case (Ḥukm al-Fara’) Istihsān – Literally means to consider something good. – Technically entails a comparison of two valid authorities and the preference of the judicially stronger over the apparent analogy. Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 11 Types of Istihsān 1. Analogical istihsan: concerned with a departure from apparent analogy to hidden analogy because hidden analogy is more effective and, thus, preferable to apparent analogy. 2. Exceptional istihsan: when an exception to a general rule is made on the basis of equity and justice. The exception may be authorised on nass, ijma, approved custom, necessity, or considerations of public interest (maṣlaha). Istiṣhāb – Literally means ‘escorting’ or ‘companionship’. – Denotes the principle of the presumption of continuity meaning that the past ‘accompanies’ the present without any interruption or change. – Thus, facts or rules of law and reason, whose existence or non-existence had been proven in the past, are presumed to remain so in case of lack of evidence to establish any change. – The legal authority is probable (zannī). – Types: 1. Presumption of original absence (istishab al-'adam al-asli) 2. Presumption of original presence (istishab al-wujud al-asli) Istidlal – Inferring from a rule another rule. – Three types: 1. Establishing a connection between two propositions without the effective cause (‘illah). 2. Presumption of continuity/status quo (Istishad al-hal) 3. Revealed laws before Islam (Shara‘ min qablina) Istislah – Avoiding valid analogy to avoid general injury (public welfare). Darūra – Necessity whereby an act required by law may be omitted or an act prohibited may be done. Hiyal – Literally means artifice, device, expedient, stratagem, a means of evading a thing, or of effecting an object. – In Islamic jurisprudence are "legal devices" or skills used to achieve a certain objective, even if it is not lawful, through lawful means. – Means to obey the letter of the law to actualize a legitimate objective. Maṣlaha – Literally means utility, well-being, welfare, social weal, public interest, and a cause or source of something good and beneficial. – Technically it entails attainment of manfa‘a (benefit) or repulsion of madarra (harm) in the preservation of purposes of Sharī‘a. – Functions: 1. Retrospective: justifying the existing laws which have non-Islamic origins. Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com 12 2. Prospective: Changing exiting laws or drawing new laws which respond to social change. 3. Rationalist objectivism: human intellect is capable to discern good or bad independent of revelation. 4. Theistic subjectivism: something is good or bad because of God’s commands. Sadd al-dhrā’a‘ – Dharī‘ah (pl. dharā‘a) is a mean or way and sadd means ‘blocking’. Sadd al-dhara'i` thus implies blocking the means. – Technically means blocking permissible acts that lead to evil. Maqasid – God’s general purpose in revealing the divine law. – The purpose serves as values of sharia to regulate and govern discretionary justice in Islamic law. Equity – Western legal concept grounded in the idea of fairness and conscience. Qawaid Al Fiqhiyyah – Legal Maxims based on Fiqh. – Five Universal Maxims 1. Harm is to be removed (al-ḍarar yuzāl), 2. Custom has legal consideration (al-ʿāda muḥakkima), 3. Hardship brings about facilitation (al-mashaqqa tajlib al-taysīr), 4. Certainty is not superseded by doubt (al-yaqīn lā yazūlu biʾl-shakk), and 5. Acts are to be evaluated according to the aims according to which they are executed (al-umūr bi-maqāṣidihā). Global Institute of Law globalinstituteoflaw.com