One of the fundamental concepts in Usul Al-Fiqh (Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence) is understanding the meaning of a particular Arabic word or expression (لَفْظ lafzh), because the Islamic texts i.e. Qur’an and Sunnah are in Arabic. Muhammad Hussein Abdullah says, “Deducing the sharia rules from the Qur’an Al-Kareem and the Sunnah An-Nabawiyah rests upon knowledge of the Arabic language, knowledge of its categories (disciplines) and its Dalalat (implications and indications). That is because the Qur’an and the Hadith have come in the Arabic language.”[1] Iyad Hilal says, “Unless the text of the Qur’an and Sunnah is correctly understood, no ruling can be deduced from it. The linguistic structure of the text in Qur’an and Sunnah varies from one style to another. Some examples of these linguistic styles are: Dhanni (speculative text), Qata’i (definitive text), ‘Aam (general text), Khass (specific text), Haqiqi (literal text), and Majaazi (metaphorical text). The rules to distinguish and differentiate between these styles are an important subject in Usul al-Fiqh.”[2] Arabic word meanings in sharia are those known at the time of …

This is an excerpt from ‘The Comprehensive Book of the Rulings on Prayer’ by Abu Iyas Uwaydah The opinion presented here is predominately the Hanafi opinion but other scholars also adhere to it. If someone follows a different mazhab (school of thought) such as the Shafi’i school then they need to follow the opinion of their respective mazhab, and not mix opinions without consulting with a scholar first. Introduction Imams and jurists differed on whether touching a woman invalidates wuḍūʼ or not. There are several opinions: Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, Abdullah ibn Umar, al-Zuhri, Rabi’ah, and al-Shafi’i held that touching a woman invalidates wuḍūʼ. Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, al-Hasan, Mujahid, Qatadah, Sa’id ibn Jubayr, al-Sha’bi, Ata’, Tawus, Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf, and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari held that it does not invalidate wuḍūʼ. Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf said: “Unless the private parts are touched and the penis is ejaculated, even if no semen is emitted.” Malik, Ahmad, and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh held that touching with lust invalidates wuḍūʼ. To clarify …

This is an excerpt from the book ‘Fatwa and the Making and Renewal of Islamic Law: From the Classical Period to the Present’ by Omer Awass.[1] The famous Ḥanafı̄ jurist Ibn ʿĀbidı̄n (d. 1252H/1836CE) in his treatise ʿUqūd rasm al-mufti outlines a hierarchy for mujtahideen (jurists) who occupy different authoritative levels within the Ḥanafı̄ madhhab. This structure that Ibn ʿĀbidı̄n lays out consists of seven levels (ṭabaqāt). al-mujtahidı̄n fı̄ al-sharʿ (Independent Jurists) The first, which stands at the very top of this classification, is the level of the absolute independent jurists of Islamic law (what he calls al-mujtahidı̄n fı̄ al-sharʿ, [also known as a mujtahid mutlaq], which consists of the madhhab predecessors of the four Sunnı̄ legal schools (Abū Ḥanı̄fa, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿı̄, and Ibn Ḥanbal). These were the second-/eighth- and third-/ninth-century jurists some of whose legal opinions were examined in previous chapters. His claim is that this class of jurists established original legal principles and extracted doctrine from the sources of the law without imitating other jurists in their legal principles or their doctrines. mujtahidūn …

BY ABU NAJAR ASH-SHAMI. It is reported in Sahih Muslim that Muawiya alias Ibn Salam narrated from Zaid bin Salam from Abu Salam (Mamthur Al-Habashi) who said that Hudaifa bin Yaman said, “I said “O Messenger of Allah!, no doubt, we had an evil time (i.e. the days of Jahiliyya or ignorance) and Allah brought us a good time (i.e. Islamic period) through which we are now living. Will there be a bad time after this good time?’ He ﷺ said: Yes. I said: ‘Will there be a good time after this bad time?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Will there be a bad time after good time?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘How?’ Whereupon he ﷺ said, «يَكُونُ بَعْدِي أَئِمَّةٌ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ بِهُدَاىَ وَلاَ يَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَّتِي وَسَيَقُومُ فِيهِمْ رِجَالٌ قُلُوبُهُمْ قُلُوبُ الشَّيَاطِينِ فِي جُثْمَانِ إِنْسٍ» “There will be leaders who will not be led by my guidance and who will not adopt my Sunnah. There will be among them men who will have the hearts of devils in the bodies of human beings.” I said: …

Dr Jonathan Brown, an associate professor of Islamic Civilization discusses in this video the controversy surrounding the Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ marriage to the mother of believers Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her). This honourable marriage is being used nowadays by the enemies of Islam to attack the character of the greatest human being and master of the prophets Muhammad ﷺ. Dr Brown also discusses the idea of universal moral codes and the ever-changing western value system of ‘human rights’.

This hadith is an informative hadith and does not carry any command. However, it is good news to the believers that our current situation of tyranny and oppression will come to an end and a Rightly Guided Khilafah will return.

This is an extract from the book Al-Waadih Fee Usool ul-Fiqh by Muhammad Hussein Abdullah available to purchase from Amazon. There are three categories of hadith in respect to their As-Sihhah (soundness) and Ad-Da’f (weakness). These are Saheeh, Hasan and Da’eef. In respect to the Sanad (chain) there are also three categories. These are Al-Mutawaatir, Al-Mash’hoor and Khabar Al-Aahaad.

The source of this mawdu (fabricated) narration is the book, ‘The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam’ by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, p.336 which states: The Prophet ﷺ said, “He who hurts a dhimmi hurts me, and he who hurts me annoys Allah.” Narrated by At-Tabarani in Al-Awsat on good authority. However, if we refer to Tabarani’s Al-Mu’jam Al-Awsat we find a similar narration numbered 3607, but instead of ‘dhimmi’ it says ‘Muslim’.