Fiqh of Islam

The Arabic word fiqh means knowledge, understanding and comprehension. It refers to the legal rulings of the Muslim scholars, based on their knowledge of the shari`ah; and as such is the third source of rulings. The science of fiqh started in the second century after Hijrah, when the Islamic state expanded and faced several issues which were not explicitly covered in the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh).

Rulings based on the unanimity of Muslim scholars and direct analogy are binding. The four Sunni schools of thought, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali, are identical in approximately 75% of their legal conclusions. Variances in the remaining questions are traceable to methodological differences in understanding or authentication of the primary textual evidence. Differing viewpoints sometimes exist even within a single school of thought.

Shari'ah in Muslim Life

The Arabic word shari`ah refers to the laws and way of life prescribed by Allah (SWT) for his servants. The shari`ah deals with the ideology and faith; behavior and manners; and practical daily matters. "To each among you, we have prescribed a law and a clear way. (Qur 'an 5:48) Shari`ah includes the Qur'an and the sunnah of the Prophet (saas). The Qur'an is the direct word of Allah (SWT), and is the first most important source of guidance and rulings. The Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) is the second source of guidance and rulings. The sunnah is an inspiration from Allah (SWT), but relayed to us through the words and actions of the Prophet (pbuh), and his concurrence with others' actions. The sunnah confirmed the rulings of the Qur'an; detailed some of the concepts, laws and practical matters which are briefly stated in the Qur'an (e.g. definition of Islam, Iman, and Ihsan, details of pray, types of usury); and gave some rulings regarding matters not explicitly stated in the Qur'an (e.g. wearing silk clothes for men).

1-Qur'an - Ideology and faith, Behavior and manners

Practical manners

• Articles of worship
• Day-to-day activities

Pertaining to family, business,penal code, government,international law,economy and etc.

2-Sunnah of the prophet- Sayings, Actions, Concurrence with others' actions, and the Characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Sources of Islamic Law

The law in Islam is based upon these four main sources:

The Qur'an

All of Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the direct words of Allah, as revealed to and transmitted by the Prophet Muhammad. All sources of Islamic law must be in essential agreement with the Qur'an, the most fundamental source of Islamic knowledge. When the Qur'an itself does not speak directly or in detail about a certain subject, Muslims only then turn to alternative sources of Islamic law.

The Sunnah

Sunnah is the traditions or known practices of the Prophet Muhammad, many of which have been recorded in the volumes of Hadith literature. The resources include many things that he “said, did, or agreed to” and he lived his life according to the Qur'an, putting the Qur'an into practice in his own life.

During his lifetime, the Prophet's family and companions observed him and shared with others exactly what they had seen in his words and behaviors - i.e. how he performed ablutions, how he prayed, and how he performed many other acts of worship. People also asked the Prophet directly for rulings on various matters, and he would pronounce his judgment. All of these details were passed on and recorded, to be referred to in future legal rulings. Many issues concerning personal conduct, community and family relations, political matters, etc. were addressed during the time of the Prophet, decided by him, and recorded. The Sunnah can thus clarify details of what is stated generally in the Qur'an.

Ijma' (consensus)

In some situations when Muslims have not been able to find a specific legal ruling in the Qur'an or Sunnah, the consensus of the community is sought (or at least the consensus of the legal scholars within the community). The Prophet Muhammad once said that his community (i.e. the Muslim community) would never agree on an error.

Qiyas (analogy)

In cases when something new which needs a legal ruling, but has not been clearly addressed in the other sources, judges may use analogy, reasoning, and legal precedent to decide new case law but it still must follow the guide from Quran and Sunnah. This is often the case when a general principle can be applied to new situations.

Prophets of Islam

Why has God sent prophets? What is the prophet’s task. Islam teaches that God has sent prophets to humanity, in different times and places, to communicate His message. Since the beginning of time, God has sent His guidance through these chosen people. They were human beings who taught the people around them about faith in One Almighty God, and how to walk on the path of righteousness. Some prophets also revealed God's Word through the holy books of revelation.

What message have the prophets brought to human beings? Muslims believe that all prophets gave guidance and instruction to their people about how to properly worship God and live their lives. Since God is One, His message has been one and the same throughout time. In essence, all prophets taught the message of Islam, to find peace in our life through submission to the One Almighty Creator, to believe in God and to follow His guidance.

What does the Allah says in Qur'an about these prophets? "The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one of them believes in God, His angels, His books, and His Messengers. They say: “We make no distinction between one and another of His Messengers.' And they say: “We hear, and we obey. We seek Thy forgiveness, Our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys.” (Al-Baqarah, 2:285)

What prophets are named in the Qur'an? There are 25 prophets mentioned by name in the Qur'an, which all the Muslims must know although there were many more in different times and places. Among the 25 prophets that Muslims honor are:

1. Adam
2. Idris (Enoch)
3. Nuh (Noah)
4. Hud
   
5. Saleh
   
6. Ibrahim(Abraham)
   
7. Isma'il (Ismael)
8. Ishaq (Isaac)
9. Lut (Lot)
10. Ya'qub (Jacob)
11. Yusuf (Joseph)
12. Shu'aib
13. Ayyub (Job)
14. Musa (Moses)
15. Harun (Aaron)
16. Dzulkifl (Ezekiel)
17. Dawud (David)
18. Sulaiman (Solomon)
19. Ilias (Elias)
20. IlYasa (Elisha)
21. Yunus (Jonah)
22. Zakariyya (Zechariah)
23. Yahya (John)
24. Isa (Jesus)
25. Muhammad (PBUH)

Daily Life Of a Muslim

While often seen as a radical or extreme religion, all the Muslims consider Islam to be the middle road. Muslims don't live life with complete disregard for God or religious matters, but nor do they neglect the world to devote themselves solely to worship and prayer. Muslims strike a balance by fulfilling the obligations of and enjoying this life, while always mindful of their duties to Allah and to others. These are the things:

• Morals and manners
• Business ethics
• Modesty in dress and behavior
• Dietary rules
• Marriage
• Care of children and elderly
• Racism and prejudice
• Relations with non-Muslims

The knowledge of our God

How to acquire the know-ledge and belief in God, His attributes, His Law, and the Day of Judgment?

As a human being, we have already referred to countless manifestations of God around us and in our own selves, which bear witness to the fact that there is one and only one creator and Governor of this universe and it is He Who controls and directs it. These witnesses reflect the divine attributes of the creator: His great wisdom, His all-embracing knowledge, His omnipotence, His mercy, His all-sustaining power, His force major-in short, His attributes can be traced everywhere in His work. But man’s intellect and his capacity to attain knowledge have erred in observing and understanding them. These are all manifest and clear and our eyes are open to read what is writ large on the creation. But here men have erred.

Some of them have declared that there are two gods others began to profess belief in trinity, and still others succumbed to polytheism. Some began nature-worship and others divided into multifarious deities: gods of rain, air, fair, death, etc. As such, although the manifestations of God were quite clear, human reason has faltered on various counts and failed to see the reality in its true perspective. It met deception after deception and resulted in nothing but confusion of thought. We hardly need dilate here on these errors of human judgment.

Similarly, with regard to life after death men have put forward many erroneous notions; for instance, that man is reduced to dust after death and will not rise to life again; or that man is subject to a process of continuous regeneration in this very world and is punished or rewarded in the oncoming cycles of life.

Even greater difficulty arises when we come to the question of the code of life. To formulate a complete and balanced code of life that should conform to God’s pleasure merely with the help of human reason, is an extremely difficult task. If a man is equipped with the highest faculties of reason and intellect and he possesses matchless wisdom and experience of many years of deliberation, even then the chances of his formulating right views on life and existence are not very promising. And even if, after a lifelong deliberation, he succeeds in that he will still lack in the confidence that he has really discovered the truth and adopted the right path.

Although the fullest and fairest test of man’s wisdom, reason, and knowledge might have been to leave him to his own resources without any external guidance so that he those who, through their own sagacious siftings and strivings, might have reached truth and righteousness would have won success and salvation, while those not reaching them would have failed. God, how- ever, spared His human creatures such a hard test. Through His grace and benevolence He raised for mankind men from among themselves to whom He imparted the true knowledge of His attributes, revealed to them His Law and the Right Code of Living, gave them the knowledge of the meaning and purpose of life and of the life after death and thus showed them the way by pursuing which man can achieve success and eternal bliss.

These chosen man are the Messengers of God-His prophets. God has communicated knowledge and wisdom to them by means of wahy (revelation), and the book containing the Divine communications is called the Book of God, or the word of God. Now the test of man’s Wisdom and intellect lies in this: does he recognize God's Messenger after thoroughly observing his pure and pious life and carefully studying his noble and flawless teachings? The man who possesses right wisdom and sound common sense would verify truth and accept the instructions given by the Messenger of truth. If he denies the Messenger of God and his teachings, his denial would signify that he was devoid of the capacity to find out truth and righteousness. On account of this denial he would fail in his test. Such a man will never be able to discover the truth about God and His Law and the life after death.

The Meaning of Muslim Faith

The Muslim "Faith" is what we have defined in the foregoing discussion as ‘Knowledge and belief’. The Arabic word Iman, which we have rendered in English as faith, literally means ‘to know’, ‘to believe’, and ‘to be convinced beyond the least shadow of doubt’. Faith, thus, is firm belief arising out of knowledge and conviction. And the man who knows and reposes unshakable belief in the unity of God, in His Attributes, in His Law and the Revealed Guidance, and in the Divine code of Reward and punishment is called Mukmin (faithful). This faith invariably leads man to a life of obedience and submission to the will of God. And one who lives this life of submission is known as Muslim.

This should clearly bring home the fact that without faith (Iman) no man can be a true Muslim. It is the indispensable essential; rather, the very starting point, without which no beginning can be made. The relation of Islam to Iman is the same as of a tree to its seed. As a tree cannot sprout forth without its seed, in the same way it is not possible for a man, who has no belief to start with, to become a ‘Muslim’. On the other hand, just as it can happen that, in spite of sowing the seed, the tree may not grow for a multiple of reasons, or if it sprouts, its growth may be impaired or retarded, in the same way, a man may have faith, but due to a number of weaknesses, he may not become a true and staunch Muslim. Thus we find that faith is the starting point and leads man to the life of submission to God, and that a man cannot become a Muslim without faith. On the contrary, it is possible that a man may have faith but, because of the weakness of his will power, poor training, or bad company, he may not be living the life of a true Muslim. As such, from the viewpoint of Islam and Iman, all men may be classified into four categories:

1. Those who have firm faith-a faith that makes them absolutely and whole-heartedly submit to God. They follow the way of God and devote themselves heart and soul to seek His pleasure by doing all that He likes and by avoiding all that He dislikes. In their devotion they are even more fervent that is the common man in pursuit of wealth and glory. Such men are true Muslim.
2. Those who do have faith, who believe in God, His Law and the Day of Judgment, but whose faith is not deep and strong enough to make them totally submit to God. They are far below the rank of true Muslims deserve punishment for their defaults and misdeeds, but they are still a Muslim. They are defaulters and wrongdoers but not rebels. They acknowledge the Sovereign and His Law and, although they are violating the Law, they have not revolted against the Sovereign. They admit its supremacy and their own guilt. Thus they are guilty and deserve punishment, but Muslims they remain.
3. Those who do not possess faith at all. These people refuse to acknowledge the sovereignty of God and are rebels. Even if their conduct is not bad and even if they are not spreading corruption and violence, they remain rebels and their apparent good deeds are of little value. Such men are like the outlaws. And as, even if any action of an outlaws is in consonance with the law of the land, he does not become a loyal and obedient citizen, in the same way the apparent good of those who revolt against God cannot compensate for the gravity of the real wrong, revolt, and disobedience.

Those who neither possess faith nor do good deeds. They spread disorder in the world and perpetrate all kinds of violence and oppression. They are the worst of the people; for they are rebels as well as the wrongdoers and criminals.

The above classification of mankind clearly shows that the real success and salvation of man depends on Iman (faith). The life of obedience (Islam) takes its birth from the seed of Iman. This Islam of a person may be flawless or defective. But without Iman there can be no Islam. Where there is no Imaan there is no Islam.

Where there is no Islam there is Kufr. Its form and nature may be different, but in any way it would be Kufr and nothing but Kufr.