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:

1. Foundational Stage – This period is characterized by the Prophethood of Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalam which lasted for 23 years (610 – 632 CE)
2. Establishment Stage – This period is characterized by the Righteous Caliphs radhiAllah anhum which lasted for 29 years from the death of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam (632 CE) to the midle of the 7th century (661 CE)
3. Building Stage – This period is characterized by the founding of the Umayyad dynasty until its decline to the middle of the 8th century
4. Flowering Stage – This period is characterized by the rise of the ‘Abbaasid dynasty in the middle of the 8th century to the beginning of its decline around the middle of the 10th century
5. Consolidation Stage – This period is characterized by the decline of the ‘Abbaasid dynasty to the murder of the last ‘Abbaasid Caliph in the middle of the 13th century
6. Stagnation and Decline Stage – This period is characterized by the sacking of Baghdad in 1258 CE to our present times

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.

Bismillah walhamdolilah wasalatu wasalam ‘ala Rasool Allah

When we begin to talk about a field of study in the religion of Islam it is very imperative we begin by defining the terms; making clear the terminology which is used throughout that field of study. With that said, I want to focus on Fiqh.

Linguistically, fiqh is defined as the true understanding of what is intended. For example: The true understanding of Anatomy, the true understanding of Plants, or the true understanding of Religion. All of these exemplify the linguistic understanding of fiqh. When applied to Islam, fiqh means the science of deducing Islamic Laws from evidences found in the sources of Islamic Law.

Bismillah

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in Suratul Anbiya:

Translation: If only those who disbelieved knew when they will not be able to ward off the Fire from their faces, nor from their backs; and they will not be helped. [Surah Suratul Anbiya, verse 39]

The word for ward off is “yakuffoona”, “يَكُفُّونَ” and this is from the root word “ka-fa-fa” or “kaff” which means palm/hand. The disbelievers will not be able to put their hands out, avert or prevent themselves from the punishment. Imagine if something is coming towards your face, what is the first thing you would do? Cover and protect your face with your hands, right? The disbelievers will not be able to do this, they will not be able to avert or obstruct the fire from their faces. may Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protect us from it, ameen. And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) continues, “nor from their backs” وَلَا عَن ظُهُورِهِمْ Now if something came towards your face and you were not able to cover it your hands, what would you do then? Turn around and protect yourself with your back, right? The disbelievers will not even be able to do this when the fire comes to them, “and they will not be helped”. No one will be there for them. No helper or assistant to come and save them from the punishment.