FIQH

1. FIQH An Introduction

2. References • The Distinguished Jurist’s Primer (Bidayat al-Mujtahid) by IbnRushd • The Concise Presentation of the Fiqh by Dr. Badawi • A Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence by Dr. al-Fawzan • Fiqh Made Easy by Dr. Sadlaan

3. Why Study Fiqh? • We cannot truly be Muslim unless we make our belief devoid of any form of shirk (associating partners with Allah) • Likewise, we cannot truly be successful Muslims unless we make our worship devoid of any form of bid’a (innovation) • Allah tells us: And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56)

4. Why Study Fiqh? • The Prophet (saw) said, “If Allah wants to do good for people, He gives them understanding of the religion (Bukhari, Muslim, IbnMajah) • Allah says, “It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth.” (al-Fath 48:28)

5. Why Study Fiqh? • Allah says: “Guide us to the straight path – the path of those upon whom You have bestowed Your favour – not the path of those who evoke Your anger, nor of those who have gone astray.” (Al-Fatiha 1:6-7) • Three categories of people mentioned: • A.__________________ • B. __________________ • C. __________________

6. What is Shari’ah? • Linguistic: a watering hole, or the straight path • Islamica: the sum total of Islamic laws, as revealed to the Prophet (saw) as recorded in the Qur’an and deduced from his divinely guided lifestyle (Sunnah)

7. What is Fiqh? • Linguistic: jurisprudence, an understanding, to know • Islamic: the science of deducing Islamic Laws from evidence and rulings (Hukm) found in the sources of Islamic Law.

8. What are the Sources? • The Qur’an • The Sunnah, as established by hadith • Ijma’ • Qiyas

9. What is Ijma’ • The consensus of the Sahaba and the Salaf • How is this different from Ijtihad?

10. What is Qiyas? • This is when scholars of Islamic Sharee’yah establish an understanding by looking at something similar to the issue, or to the opposite of it. • Why the opposite? Because “something is known by its opposite.” For example, if there were no darkness how would we know what light is? If a person is standing, what is he/she not doing? Sitting, of course! • .

11. What is Qiyas? • As such, when we enter the mosque the Rasool (saw) taught us to enter with our right foot. So, by analogy or “Qiyas” the scholars have said that if we enter a place of righteousness with the right foot, then a place of filth, such as the washroom, should be entered with the left foot

12. How was Fiqh formed? • The Era of the Prophet (saw) 609-632 • The Era of the KhulafaRashideen 632-661 • The Ummayad Dynasty 661-750 • The Abassid Dynasty 750-950 & 960-1250 • The destruction of Baghdad 1258-2010

13. What is a Madhab? What is Taqleed? • Hanafi • Maliki • Shafi’i • Hanbali

14. How Does Fiqh Work? • Fiqh has been established into two basic elements: • Knowing or learning the Ahkam (rulings & regulations) • Knowing the Daleel (evidence, as to why it is a rule)

15. Hukm ash-Shar’ee • The most important thing to know about this type of Hukm is that it always comes directly from Allah—not even the Rasool (saw) could make a Hukm. We know this because: • Firstly, Allah tells us in the first few ayats of SuraNajm that the Rasool (saw) does not speak of his own desires. • Secondly, in surahTahreem, Allah says to the Rasool (saw) “Why do you deem something not permitted which Allah has made halal?” From these two examples it should be clear to the reader that the Rasool (saw) had absolutely no part in establishing and Hukm, but that it comes from Allah, alone.

16. Hukm ash-Shar’ee • Furthermore, the Hukm ash-Shar’ee have been classified into two major categories: • Hukm at-Taqleefee • Hukmal-wad’ee

17. Hukm at-Taqleefee • This is a ruling for an individual who is obligated to follow—meaning that there is something that you are asked to do or to stay away from. For example, a Muslim must perform the Salat and pay the Zakat. A Muslim is prohibited from consuming alcohol. In this case we say that the hukm is self-sufficient; the action stands by itself and does not rely on anything.

18. Hukm at-Taqleefee • Now these rulings for those who are obligated can be further divided into three categories: • Fard: you are specifically commanded to perform a specific action • Prohibition: you are specifically commanded to stay away from • Al-Taqleel: something which is your choice (example: sports)

19. Hukm al-wad’ee • This is a ruling for the general community and is tied to something. For example, performing wudu—it is for the salat. Or, sighting of the moon—it is for Ramadan. Or, a witness for a marriage. It is something needed for an obligation to be fulfilled or established.

20. Hukm al-wad’ee • Within a community, however, there are certain people who are obligated to perform acts, based on their specific condition and these people are called Muqalaf. For example, a child below the age of ten is not required to pray or fast so he or she is NOT muqalaf for these actions—whereas a person who has reached puberty MUST pray and fast, making them muqalaf for these actions.

21. The Classification System • The Hukm ash-Shar’ee have also been structured into categories to assist in classification based on requirements and proofs.

22. Classification of HukmShar’ee

23. Classification • The 5 classes are based on the Jamhoor or the majority of the scholars. In this case the scholars are Imams Malik, Ahmad and Shafi’i Imam Abu Hanifah differed slightly and this is because he was more technical in his approach, being the master Imam of fiqh studies. • He split Wajib into FardandWajib. Fard is where the proof is more explicit and solidly established (such as salat) whereas Wajib is known as a ruling without an explicit order (such as the Witrsalat). • He also split up Makrooh into Tanzeeh, which is considered immoral acts which are not necessarily haraam (such as yawning without covering the mouth), whereas Tahreemis prohibition of an act and considered haraam (such as smoking).

24. The Wajibat • Wajib ‘ayn(Fard ‘ayn): An act which every individual is obligated to perform on their own. For example Salat and Siam—no one can pray or fast for you, rather you are responsible for this on your own.

25. The Wajibat • WajibKeefiyah (FardKeefiyah): An obligation that is required from the ummah, in general. Once a person or a group has fulfilled this obligation then the ummah is free from performing it—for example praying the JanazahSalat. However, if someone from the ummah does not do this action, then every member in the ummah gets a sin for it.

26. The Wajibat • There are three aspects to the Wajib in daily life: • There are aspects of life where you, as an individual, have the choice as to when you perform a certain act. For example, marriage is an act that is an obligation upon every individual—there is no “monk ship” or “nun ship” or “priesthood” in Islam, which means that marriage is a wajibat. However, as to when it is performed, it is your choice. • There are other wajibat acts in which one does not have the choice as to when he or she performs it. For example, Ramadan, or Hajj or the time periods of salat. These wajib acts are only permissible within a certain time period. • Another category of individual wajibat is a written command. An example would be zakat—each muqallaf is responsible for this.

27. Mustahab(Also known as Masnoon or Mandoob) • In essence Mustahab refers to all of the Sunnah acts in the study of fiqh (only). While the Sunnah acts are one degree less then wajib they are considered actions of ibadah that are requested of an individual. In the case of as-sunnan, the request is from Allah, but is not considered an obligation; meaning that while one can attain great rewards by its performance, there is no punishment for the one who leaves it off; although it should not become a regular habit to leave off the sunnah.

28. Mustahab(Also known as Masnoon or Mandoob) • What are some of the Mustahab actions? It includes all of the secondary acts of worship performed, on a regular basis, by the Prophet (saw). A strong example would be what is termed “Sunnah al-Mooakadah,” or “the established sunnah” of the Prophet (saw).

29. Mustahab(Also known as Masnoon or Mandoob) • One of these established acts are the extra “sunnahsalat” performed by the Prophet (saw) before and after each of the five main salat. These are the sunnah al-mooakadah prayers he (saw) would perform always, as long as he was not traveling. They are outlined in the table shown below:

30. How do you know if something is Sunnah al-Mooakadah? • Firstly, the Prophet (saw) ALWAYS performed these acts. • Secondly, he (saw) ordered others to do it. • Thirdly, he (saw) mentioned the reward of doing these actions for a prolonged period of time. • For example, praying the 12 rakat of salat-al tahajjud is something the Prophet (saw) always did, woke up his family and ordered them to do it and told us in a hadith in SahihBukhari narrated by ibn Omar (ra) that performing it over a long time carries the reward of receiving a palace in the heavens.

31. If the sunnah acts, such as Sunnah al-Mooakadah, are not a requirement, then why perform them? • Firstly, to increase one’s Iman. • Secondly, is to gain more reward. The Prophet (saw) related to us that Allah would build a house in heaven for the one who performs all the sunnah al-mooakadah prayers along with the obligatory prayers. Also, in another hadith it is stated that the hell fire would not touch the person who had performed all the sunnah al-mooakadah prayers.

32. If the sunnah acts, such as Sunnah al-Mooakadah, are not a requirement, then why perform them? • Thirdly, performance of these sunnah prayers makes up for the deficiencies in your obligatory salat. For example, if there was not enough khooshoo’ in your fardsalat then what you gained in your sunnahsalat replaces what you lost in the fardsalat.

33. Levels of Mustahab • So these Mustahab acts serve as protection for the worships themselves. Another example of this would be fasting on Mondays and Thursdays as the Prophet (saw) taught us. Why? To protect the fasting during Ramadan—even a training for a person before the actual month comes. Sadaqa protects what? Zakat! Umra’ is a protection of what? Hajj! • Thus is the first level of Mustahab.

34. Levels of Mustahab • The second level of Mustahab are actions that fall into what is deemed “SunnahGhairee-Mooakadah,” actions that are not requested or even established. For example praying four rakat before Asr or Isha, or even the nafal acts of worship, as is in the case that between the azan and the iqama there is room for nafalsalat. These are not regularly established salat by the Prophet (saw), but one could perform even ten or twenty rakat if one wanted to. These are actions that one does of his or her own will, outside of requirements or requests in deen-al-Islam.

35. Levels of Mustahab • The third level of Mustahab includes following the actions of the Prophet (saw) that were of his (saw) own choice. Some examples might be to keep one's hair longer to the shoulders, or eating green olives or pumpkin, or even wearing certain types of clothing. Therefore, if one performs these actions with the intention of following a Mustahab action then one will receive a reward for this.

36. Moobah • These are the acts that Allah gives us total choice on doing or not doing and they are termed “permissible.” If we do these things with the intention of pleasing Allah then there is actually reward in it. For example, eating some food to give strength for performing salat, or sleeping early to wake up for fajr, or even have relations with ones wife to stay away from zina—all of these acts are permissible and the person performing them gains the appropriate reward, Insh’Allah.

37. Makrooh • By definition of the jamhoor (Imams Malik, Shafi’i and Hanbal) these are the aspects that Allah does not want you to do, but He does not command you to stay away from it. For example, Allah forbids us from eating with the left hand—this is an explicit command from the sunnah of the Prophet (saw). On the other hand, it is preferred for us to be sitting down while putting on our clothes, but it is not a command.

38. Makrooh • As far as consequences, there is no punishment for doing these actions, but if left off with the intention of pleasing Allah, then there is a reward. Thus, a person is allowed to stand while drinking water, but if he or she sits for the sake of pleasing Allah and following the sunnah of the Prophet (saw) then there is a reward. As such, just like Mustahab protects the Wajibat, the Makrooh serves to protect us from the Haraam.

39. Haraam • We are all born with certain inherent characteristics that guide us to know if something is right or wrong. If you are not embarrassed to do something then: • If you are a good person then it is most likely halal. • If you were corrupt then it wouldn’t matter either way. • In an authentic hadith in Sahih al Bukhari the Prophet (saw) said: “What is halal has been clear and what is haraam has been made clear. What is in between are the gray matters. Whoever fears Allah and stays away from these matters has protected his deen, honour and self. Whoever pursues these doubtful matters will end up in the haraam.

40. How do we know if something is haraam? • If Allah has pronounced a promise of a punishment and was explicit about it. For example, nowhere in the Quran does Allah say explicitly that Zina is haraam—but Allah makes to order: “do not to come near it.” And then He outlines the punishment for it. And also, there is a reward from staying away from zina; that one of the seven people to be shaded from Allah’s throne on the Day of Judgment are to ones who left off zina for the sake of Allah.

41. How do we know if something is haraam? • It was mentioned earlier that Imam Abu Hanifah had made a distinction between haraam as being an explicit command while an implicit command is deemed MakhrooTahreemee. However, the jamhoor have declared that anything that is known as haraamisharaam.

42. The Two Categories of Haraam • The first level of haraam is termed “HaraamLeezhati,” and is known to always be haraam on its own. Meaning it cannot be made halal in any way. For example, drinking alcohol or eating swine, murder, fornication—any of the major and minor sins. Can a haraamleezhati ever be made halal? Yes, when it becomes a necessity. If, for example, someone is stranded on an island where pig is the only food available (no berries or fruits, etc.) and if it is a matter of life or death, then it becomes permissible for a person to consume the swine flesh. Another, more practical, example is car insurance as it is a necessity to drive in Ontario.

43. The Two Categories of Haraam • The second level of haraam is termed as “HaraamLeeghairi” and this is when an action that is normally halal becomes haraam because of certain conditions. For example, performing salat without wudu’ is considered haraam. Or, slaughtering an animal without saying “Bismillah,” makes the meat haraam for a person to consume. Or, even marriage for a sister without a Wali is also deemed HaraamLeeghairi. So, in these examples there was a halal action that was made haraam by something else. As such, how one leads up to an action will decide whether or not it is accepted.

44. The Two Categories of Haraam • It was stated that all haraam actions have a promise of punishment, but will everyone receive a punishment? No. In Islam there is a general rule and then each case is handled individually as there are always exceptions. For example, there is no punishment: • For a non-muqalaf: a child below the age of puberty is not required to pray or fast or pay zakat • If someone misses a prayer while in a state of sleep • When one is out of his or her mental capacity • When a person does not know (being ignorant of the deen)

45. What is the purpose of the Sharee’yah and its derived Fiqh? • What are its goals and what are its reasons for existence. In one word the answer is Protection. Protection of what?