It’s important to distinguish between sharia and fiqh. Sharia is the divine law, but fiqh (jurisprudence) which linguistically means understanding, is the derived rules of scholars. Deriving legal rulings through ijtihad, means striving with the utmost care to derive the correct opinion from the sharia. Inevitably scholars will differ, and new rules will be derived as the circumstances and realities change. This is what keeps the sharia relevant, practical and vibrant for all times and places. THE FOLLOWING IS BY YASIR QADHI WHICH HAS BEEN REPRODUCED FROM HIS FACEBOOK PAGE. Of the blessings of Allah’s Sharī`ah on us is that the Divine Laws of Islam are suitable for all times and places. And because of this dynamism, the Sharī`ah has within it tools to modify or change or reform specific fiqh rulings, in accordance with guidelines and procedures known to all students of knowledge. Given the radical socio-cultural changes that have taken place in the last century, it is imperative that trained scholars, following the principles laid out in our own tradition, always keep the …

A question which many including myself can relate to was asked to Sheikh Abu Iyas (d.2023) concerning the practice of some of those praying in congregational prayer insisting on physically touching the feet of the person next to them in the salah. This practice leads to harming and distracting the musalli from his salah, creating division and hatred among the worshippers and even forcing someone to leave the saff (row) because they didn’t have enough space to stand! I have personally witnessed and experienced all of this. Such a practice is fanaticism and not from the sunnah and contrary to the concept of Al-Wasatiyyah (balance and moderation) which can be seen throughout the sharia. Question: You notice with me that some worshippers stick their feet to the feet of other worshippers. If the worshippers are bothered by their feet touching the feet of these people and they move their feet away a little, then these people return to placing their feet on their feet, even if this is repeated several times. Is this action permissible, …

Islam is not a religion like Christianity which, “Renders unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”.[1] There is no separation between religion and politics in Islam. All spheres of life, state and society are governed by Allah’s guidance in the form of the sharia (شَرِيعَة). Sharia comprises of all the rules (ahkam) derived from the legislative sources of Islam. These rules are not just limited to areas covering beliefs and morals, but rather the Islamic rules cover every action performed by an individual or state. Allah (Most High) says: فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ “Nothing have We omitted from the book”[2] Iyad Hilal says, “The linguistic meaning of the word Sharia is a non-exhaustive source of water with which people satisfy their thirst. Thus, the linguistic significance of Sharia is that the Islamic laws are effectively a source of guidance. As water is the fundamental basis of life, the Islamic laws are an essential source for guiding human life. Sharia is composed of all the laws derived from the legislative sources of …

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: …

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. فقد روى الإمام أحمد عن النعمان بن بشير رضي الله عنه الله، قال: كنا جلوساً في المسجد فجاء أبو ثعلبة الخشني فقال: يا بشير بن سعد أتحفظ حديث رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في الأمراء، فقال حذيفة: أنا أحفظ خطبته. فجلس أبو ثعلبة.  فقال حذيفة: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: تكون النبوة فيكم ما شاء الله أن تكون، ثم يرفعها الله إذا شاء أن يرفعها، ثم تكون خلافة على منهاج النبوة فتكون ما شاء الله أن تكون، ثم يرفعها الله إذا شاء أن يرفعها، ثم تكون ملكًا عاضًا فيكون ما شاء الله أن يكون، ثم يرفعها إذا شاء الله أن يرفعها، ثم تكون ملكًا جبرية فتكون ما شاء الله أن تكون، ثم يرفعها الله إذا شاء أن يرفعها، ثم تكون خلافة على منهاج النبوة، ثم سكت. قال حبيب: فلما قام عمر بن عبد العزيز، وكان يزيد بن النعمان بن بشير في صحابته، فكتبت إليه بهذا الحديث أذكره إياه. فقلت له: إني أرجو …