Fiqh

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'''''Fiqh''''' (فقه‎‎) means [[Islam|Islamic]] legal theory or Islamic jurisprudence, which covers various aspects of the crafting process of Islamic law ([[sharia]]).

From the orthodox [[Sunni]] Islamic perspective, contrary to the lay understanding, "sharia" is not so much a "legal ruling", but it is a universal and omnipresent law created by [[God]], exists upon the confinement of time and space, and condensed into the [[Qur'an]] as a divine revelation.<ref group=note>Scholarly views on Sunni Islam do not consider sharia as a [[natural law]]. Sunni Islamic orthodoxy considers sharia to be condensed into the scripture and needs to be interpreted from there, and Islamic legal rulings cannot be created from extra-scriptural sources like [[morality|secular ethics]] and so on. This used to be one of major contentions between different Islamic schools of jurisprudence and philosophical traditions about 1,000 years ago. In the end the scripturalists won the philosophical debate.</ref> ''Fiqh'' is a scholarly attempt and process to "interpret" this omnipresent law from the Qur'an as well as the practices of [[Muhammad]], and apply it to the transient world. 

''Fiqh'' is predominantly divided into two categories: ''Usul al-Fiqh'' and ''Furu al-Fiqh''. 

*''Usul al-Fiqh'' (principle of Islamic jurisprudence) deals with the rules of how this interpretation should be conducted. The process can be broadly divided into four steps:
*#interpret based on the Qur'an
*#if there's no instruction in the Qur'an, interpret based on ''[[hadith]]'' (records of [[prophet]]ic traditions)
*#if both Qur'an and ''hadith'' do not provide instructions, rely on scholarly consensus (''ijma'')
*#if '''this''' cannot even be achieved, try making an analogy (''qiyas'') from the existing rulings.<ref group=note>Modern Muslim scholars often  provide additional rules to the process to mitigate issues that arise out of inflexibility and possible incompatibility of the strict procedure of ''usul al-fiqh'' in modern society. The most famous among them is ''maqasid al-sharia'' or "striving for common greater goods". This rule allows jurists to make a ruling based on extra-scriptural reasonings when they consider such rules are imperative to the survival of Muslims within [[secular]] or modern society. However, ''maqasid al-sharia'' is often criticized by more hard-line Muslims for allowing things that have been previously prohibited. Some examples of things permitted by ''maqasid al-sharia'' include the use of the conventional banking system which involves charging interest (''riba'', prohibited in the Qur'an).</ref> 
*''Furu al-Fiqh'' deals with an actual product of the process of interpretation. Each one of the rulings itself is called "''hukm''". When we normally refer to sharia, like criminal codes that prescribe stoning or dress code etc., we are essentially talking about ''hukm''.<ref group=note>This means that when the [[Republicans]] are fearful of "sharia law coming to the town", they are essentially talking about "''hukm'' coming to the town", which is much less scary sounding and possibly more awkward to pronounce.</ref> ''Hukm'' can be divided into five categories depending on permissibility: mandatory (''fard''),<ref group=note>Example of ''fard'': five daily [[prayers]]</ref> recommended (''mustahabb''),<ref group=note>Example of ''mustahabb'': shaving armpit hair</ref> neutral (''mubah''),<ref group=note>Example of ''mubah'': driving [[car]]s (outside of Saudi Arabia, previously)</ref> reprehensible (''makruh'')<ref group=note>Example of ''makruh'': [[divorce]]</ref> and forbidden (''haram'').<ref group=note>Example of ''haram'': eating [[pork]]</ref>

So ''fiqh'' is essentially an umbrella term that covers ''usul al-fiqh'', ''furu al-fiqh'' and ''hukm''. A person who is scholarly-trained in fiqh is called ''faqih'', and they comprise the majority of Muslim scholars or ''ulama''.

==Related concepts==
*''[[Fatwa]]'' — This is a decree or recommendation issued by ''ulama'' as an answer to particular questions on religious issues. As a principle, ''fatwa'' is based on the existing ''hukm'', but which ''hukm'' they want to pick and choose are all up to the individual ''ulama'' themselves. So this creates an interesting situation where one ''ulama'' in country A thinks it is permissible to play ''Pokemon'' games, while another ulama in [[fundamentalist]] country B thinks ''Pokemon'' is a creation of [[Jewish]] [[conspiracy]] to [[brainwash]] [[children]] with the idea of [[evolution]].
*''Madhhab'' — Islamic school of jurisprudence. There are four madhhabs in Sunni Islam (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) and three major and several minor ''madhhabs'' in Shia Islam (Ismaili, Ja'fari, Zaidi etc). Depending on ''madhhab'', the rules/process of the interpretation of Islamic law can be slightly different. Some madhhabs can be stricter while some can be more tolerant or lax. Hanbali ''madhhab'' of Sunni Islam is known as the strictest school of jurisprudence, and this is widely popular in [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Qatar]] and some other Gulf Arab states. Hanbali ''madhhab'' is known to be symbiotic with [[Salafism]] or [[Wahhabism]].
*''Ijtihad'' — An act of interpretation. Some progressive Muslim thinkers appropriated the term and advocated for ''ijtihad'' by individual Muslim themselves (in [[Protestant]] style), bypassing the hand of Muslim scholars who tend to be rigid and conservative. However, ''ijtihad'' in the hand of individual Muslims without any scholarly training can be a double-edged sword: there are many cases of Islamic extremists, such as [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]], reaching their own conclusion of radical ideas by making religious interpretations without relying on ''ulama''.
*''[[Ayatollah]]'' — In [[Shia]] Islamic tradition, Ayatollahs are high-ranking ''ulamas'' with strong expertise in ''fiqh'' and authority of ''ijtihad''. Grand Ayatollah is the boss of all bosses (e.g., [[Ayatollah Khomeini]]).

==External links==
*[http://fiqhcouncil.org/ Fiqh Council of North America]
*[http://www.fiqhcouncilbirmingham.com/ Fiqh Council Birmingham]

==Notes==
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[[Category: Law]]

Categories:  Law