Bismillah walhamdolilah wasalatu wasalam ‘ala Rasool Allah
Asalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu,
I start by asking a very simple question: Where does patience stand within our lives today?
SubhanAllah, what a beautiful trait it is yet we rarely see the implementation of it. Such a beautiful tree by which the sweetest of fruits cultivate and bless our lives, yet we just let it slip away as a “thing of the past”.
Bismillah walhamdolilah wasalatu wasalam ‘ala Rasool Allah
Asalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu,
To continue, last post we discussed the details of the sunnah. We explained how the sunnah is comprised of the saying and actions of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam along with his tacit approvals and that which he left given the need. We also summarized how the sunnah came to explain the Qur’an by detailing rulings which were very general in the Qur’an, by limited what seemed absolute, by affirming what Allah said in the Qur’an, and by bringing rulings which are not directly found in the Qur’an.
Bismillah walhamdolilah wasalatu wasalam ‘ala Rasool Allah
Asalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu,
Continuing in our talks about the science of fiqh, today we will look at the sources of Islamic Law.
As we know the sources of Islamic Law depend on two core sources: al-Qur’an and as-Sunnah. These two sources are the basis of which our religion is based upon. One without the under is not Islam, for verily they both go hand in hand. To understand the Qur’an as a source of Islamic Law is not difficult, thus we will not spend time on analyzing that aspect. However, understanding the Sunnah as a source of Islamic Law is one which requires a bit of analysis.
Bismillah
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:
When it sees them from a far place, they will hear its raging and its roaring. Suratul Furqan, verse 12
What is the “it” and “them” in this verse referring too? When the hell fire sees the disbelievers. Hell fire will see them from a far place, and they will hear it تَغَيُّظًا وَزَفِيرًا , raging with fury and roaring. Imagine: the disbelievers will not even see the fire yet, but they will hear it even though they are far (ba’eed). Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in another surah:
Asalamu ‘alaikum,
Time comes and goes; some people grow, some people remain exactly same throughout time.
وَالْعَصْرِ
By the Time!
إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ**_
_** Indeed! Mankind is in loss__
Thus, Allah makes clear that by the passing time man is in complete loss. Why? Because they don’t take heed, they don’t learn, they don’t listen, they go on doing what their hearts desire without thinking twice. They (in general) don’t ponder about the real purpose of their life; they (in general) cover reality with their false notions and desires.
So far, we have come to realize that Allah azza wa jal revealed the Qur’an to reform human conditions; to take people out of ignorance and darkness and into light. To carry out this purpose laws had to be enacted to make sure the system of Islaam was established perfectly and correctly. Last article we talked about two of the four basic principles relating to Qur’anic revelation. We will continue with the last two now.
Bismillah
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an,
“(This is) a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, so that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may remember.” Surah Saad: verse 29.
(linguistic explanation of the word yaddabaroo is in the comments)
It is the science of tafseer which is the fruit of ‘pondering over its verses’. Tafseer comes from the root letters fa seen ra, or fassara and means to explain, to discover, elucidate, to disclose (a hidden thing), and to interpret. In Uloom al-Qur’an (the sciences of the Qur’an), tafseer is defined to be, “the science by which the Qur’an is understood, its meanings explained, and its rulings derived.” It is the crux of Uloom al-Qur’an, even though Uloom al-Qur’an comprises many other branches.
As we discussed in the last post, the method of legislation was primarily through the questioning of the Companions radhiAllah anhum to which Allah revealed verses to answer their inquiries or the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam answered them.
Its important to make clear here that the Prophet sallalalahu alayhi wasalam did not speak from his own desires; meaning, that which he answered was a type of revelation and not just from his whims and desires. This is proven in the statement of Allah:
As per the last discussion, the Foundational stages of Fiqh are characterized by the Prophethood of our beloved Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam. It is in the life time of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam that rules, which would govern fiqh for generations to come, were established. These rules were established via the statements of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala found in the Qur’an and also the Sunnah of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam.
Bismillah walhamdolilah wasalatu wasalam ‘ala Rasool Allah
It is imperative to realize that fiqh has gone through many developments/stages, which traditionally fall into six categories:
This gives us a brief overview of the developments of fiqh. Inshallah we will go through each of these in some detail as we progress.