1. The Concept and Nature of Syariah and Fiqh.

DEFINITION OF SHARIAH

Literal Meaning
Originated from [ ] which means: to legislate, to make law, to enact.
Syariah literally means: a. the road to the watering place b. the straight path to be followed )18: [( ] Then We have put you (O Muhammad SAW) on a straight way of (Our) commandment. So follow you that and follow not the desires of those who know not. [Al-Jathiah: 18]
hujjah To test nature

Technical Meaning

1. Al-Qurtubi (Muhammad ibn Ahmad, 671H/1273 C.E): [The divine law of Islam, all the different commandments of Allah to mankind]. 2. Other definition: [The injunctions revealed to the Prophets of Allah related to legal or believe].

Modern Islamic Jurist: [The total sum of Islamic teaching and system,
which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. recorded in the Quran as well as deducible from the Prophets divinely- guided lifestyle called the Sunnah]

Major Fields/Components of Shariah

1. Al-ahkam al-itiqadiyyah (the sanctions relating to beliefs) such as the belief in Allah and the Day of Judgement. 2. al-ahkam al-akhlaqiyyah (the sanctions relating to moral and ethics) such as the injunction to tell the truth, be sincere, be honest etc. 3. al-ahkam al-amaliyyah (sanctions relating to the sayings and doings of the individuals and his relations with others) which is also called Fiqh.

Belief Systems

Tawhid, Qiamat, Heaven, Hell

Doings Sayings Relationships

SHARIAH

Legal Doctrines

Ethical Doctrines

Telling Truth Sincere Honest Respect The Elders

DEFINITION OF FIQH Literal Meaning

Derived from the root word of []: - Comprehension or True understanding Allah says: ] [ "And make loose the knot (the defect) from my tongue, that they understand my speech [Taha: 27]
The Prophet s.a.w. makes dua for Ibn Abbs by saying, "" O, Allah, teach him al-Dn (religion) and make him understand the interpretation of al-Qurn.

Early meaning of Fiqh:

- During the early days of Islam, the word Fiqh was meant to the knowledge of Islam which included ilm kalam. Only during the time of Al-Mamun )218H(, the term fiqh was restricted to the knowledge of Islamic Law alone. - In general usage, some scholars used the word fiqh associated with various sciences of Islam. Such as the word [Fiqh al-Hadith] is being used to express about the science of Hadith, which discuss the different subjects and topics related to Hadith, its categories and degree, ect. - Similarly, the word [Fiqh al-Quran] is used to state the branches of knowledge related to al-Quran. - At present, the word [Fiqh al- Sirah] is also commonly used to describe the branch of knowledge related to the life of the Prophet s.a.w.

Technical Meaning
1. Imam Abu Hanifah al-Numan ibn Thabit (d.767CE/150 AH): [The knowledge of what is for a man's self and what is against a man's self' (marifat al-nafs ma laha wa ma alayha)] 2. The Syafiis define fiqh as:

[ The knowledge of the Syariah ahkam (legal rules, pertaining to conduct, that have been derived from their specific evidences]

3. Al-Ghazali - Muhammad ibn Muhammad (d.505 AH/) has confined the word Fiqh to the science of the rules of law
4. Al-Amidi Ali ibn Abi Ali )d.631AH): Fiqh is the science of understanding the legal obligations derived from its sources (i.e. al-Quran, Sunnah and other sources of Islamic law) In other words : [Fiqh or the science of Islamic law is the knowledge of one's rights and obligations pertaining to conduct, that have been derived from the Quran or Sunnah of the Prophet, or the consensus of opinions among the learned (ijma), or analogical reasoning (qiyas), or other legal sources] In simple words : [Fiqh is a knowledge or understanding of Islamic Law]

The Differences
SHARIAH (GENERAL MEANING) The Divine laws or group of rules and ordinances of both prescriptions and prohibitions revealed in the Scripture: alQuran and as amplified by the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w

FIQH (GENERAL MEANING)

Human intellectual effort of comprehending the Divine Law, the ordinance of Allah as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah.

The effort of human beings to interpret Allahs word in search for the truth. The interpretations are influenced by the dynamics of time and place.

BELIEF & ETHIC

SHARIAH FIQH

The Differences
a)

SHARIAH Shariah is the wider circle, it includes all human actions.

a)

b)

Shariah is the body of revealed injunctions found both in the Quran and Sunnah b) and it includes the three main component: Aqidah, Akhlaq and Fiqh.
c)

FIQH Fiqh is confined to what are commonly understood as human acts as far as their legality and illegality are concerned. It is obvious that Fiqh is one component of the Shari`ah. The Practical rules of Syariah. Certain ruling of Fiqh changes according to the changes of the circumstances under which it is applied. In Fiqh, the power of reasoning is stressed, and deductions based upon knowledge are continuously referred to with approval.

c)

Shari`ah is fix and unchangeable.

d)

The Shariah is based on revelations in which the knowledge is only obtained from the Quran or Sunnah.
New surah

d)

5- No mazhab is discussed here 6- All muslims are bound to accept all ahkams of shariah

5- discussion based up on mazahib

7- Shariah occurred only during prophet time

6- Muslims are not bound and therefore they have right to choose based the evidences 7- Fiqh continues until the end of the day
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7 Dec 2005

Components of Fiqh
Fiqh covers various aspect of human life, it can generally be divided into two main categories: 1. Fiqh al-`Ibadah: this category covers the rulings that govern the relationship between man and Allah or in other word it is called as `ibadah (rituals) 2. Fiqh al-Mu`amalah or al-Adah: this category covers the rulings that govern the relationship between man and man and man and other creatures of Allah.

FIQH

FIQH AL-IBADAT Rulings related to prayer Rulings related to fasting Rulings related to almsgiving Rulings related to hajj

FIQH AL-MUAMALAT Family Law

Commercial transactions Administration of justice

Political System Criminal Law Ahkam al-Siyar Economic Systems Others

Categories of Fiqh Rulings

Fiqh rulings or hukm or legal rule:
[The rulings that is deduced from the different sources of Fiqh concerning the action by a morally responsible person]

Fiqh rulings are of five categories:

a. Fard or wajib ( b. Sunnah ()

/)

c. Haram ()
d. Makruh () e. Mubah ()

AL-FARD / AL-WAJIB [compulsory, obligatory]

Al-Fard : An absolute command which is supported by decisive proof, disobedience to it without any legal excuse is a sin and its denial amounts to disbelief.

It is of two kinds:
a. Ayn [The individual obligations, which need to be undertaken by every individual, and disobeying it will result in committing a sin] b. Kifayah [The collective responsibilities in the sense that if a group of people undertake to do the obligation, the rest will not be held responsible for it but if no one carry out this duty, the whole community or nation will bear the sin for omitting it]

AL-SUNNAH [Recommended Acts]

Refers to deeds that is recommended to be undertaken by the Muslims. It is of two kind: a. Sunnah Muakkadah [The act that the prophet s.a.w performed regularly & is highly recommended for the Muslims to enjoined them constantly. Omitting such action is very much disliked but not a sin] b. Sunnah ghayr Muakkadah [The act that the Prophet s.a.w. often performed and sometime omit without excuse. Omission of such action is not a sin]

AL-HARAM [Prohibited, Unlawful]

An act that is prohibited by a decisive evidence from al-Quran or al-Sunnah. Committing such an act is punished and omission is rewarded. Its denial amounts to disbelief. Example: Taking liquor.

Al-Makruh [Abominable, Undesirable]

The act whose omission is preferable and highly recommended. Example: Consumption of certain kind of food like those which give bad odor

Mubah [Permissible]
Jaiz or Halal An act whose both commission and omission neither merits any reward nor entail any punishment.

THE FLEXIBILITY OF FIQH

There are two kinds of Fiqh rulings:

a. The fixed rulings.

b. The changeable rulings.

Fixed Rulings
The rulings that was deduced from the decisive evidence [Decisive evidences or al-adillah al-qatiyyah are the rulings that is stated clearly in the text and is not subject to the different interpretations of the jurists]
This kind of rulings cannot be changed according to the change of time and place or circumstances. E.g.: al-Ibadat (rituals), Inheritance. Some jurists view that this division of fiqh is also understood as shariah. Hanafi called this type as fiqh al-akbar (bigger fiqh)

The Changeable
The rulings that is deduced by the scholars from their understanding and interpretations of the text of al-Quran or Sunnah and from other various sources of Islamic law such as juristic preference (al-istihsan), consideration of public interest (masalih al-mursalah), presumption of continuity (al-istishab), custom )urf) and others.

This kind of ruling depends largely on the ability of the jurists to utilize the power of reasoning in deciding a certain Fiqh issues. In fact, most of the rulings of Fiqh particularly the rulings related to muamalah falls under this category and they are flexible and subject to be changed according to the changes of time, place and circumstances. Hanafi called this kind of fiqh as fiqh al-ashraq (smaller fiqh)

Usul al-Fiqh:
- Usul means roots, foundations or origins. - Fiqh means the knowledge of Islamic rules related to human actions that deduced from their legal sources. - Usul al-Fiqh is the science or knowledge that explains the indications and methods by which the Islamic rules are deduced from their legal sources. Details of usul al-fiqh shall be discussed during our discussion in introduction to usul al-fiqh.