What Is 'Fiqh'? 
Understanding of Deen
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FIQH - Understanding of Deen (Islam)
Sheikh Salman al-Oadah - IslamToday.com
The ability to
reason and to understand is one of the greatest blessings that Allah has
bestowed upon the human being. When a person has proper understanding and
couples it with a correct and noble purpose, that person is sure to find
guidance and to walk upon the straight path. This is why we beseech Allah
in all of our prayers with: “Guide us to the straight path.”
Understanding is by the grace of Allah. It is a light by which we
discern what is correct from what is corrupt and what is true from what is
false. People are not all equal in their ability to understand. Everyone
is unique. If all were equal in understanding, then we would find all
scholars and experts in perpetual agreement. No one would ever be praised
or admired for his or her insights or erudition.
We can consider
the story of David and Solomon (peace be upon them). The Prophet (peace be
upon him) related it as follows [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (3427) and Sahîh Muslim (1720)]:
Two women went out with their children. One of them was
attacked by a wolf who took her child away. The women then started to
argue over the remaining child and appealed their case to David (peace
be upon him). He ruled in favor of the elder of the two women.
Then they went to Solomon. He asked: “How did he command you?”
The women told him. He then said: “Bring me a knife. I will divide the
child between you.”
The younger woman asked: “Will you cut him
in half?” He replied in the affirmative. She said: “Do not do it! Give
my share to her.”
Solomon then said: “He is your son.” And
awarded the child to her.
Allah says in the Qur’ân about
another case where two men disputed: “And David and Solomon, when they
gave judgment concerning the field, when people's sheep had strayed and
browsed therein by night; and We were witnesses to their judgment. And We
made Solomon to understand (the case); and unto each of them We gave
judgment and knowledge.” [Sûrah al-Anbiya’: 78-79]
We
first notice that Allah says: “We made Solomon to understand (the case)”.
Here Allah is showing us that he alone had understanding of this matter.
Allah then praises both David and Solomon on account of their
knowledge and wisdom when He says: “and unto each of them We gave judgment
and knowledge.” David had also been well-known for his precise thinking
and his keen mind.
Understanding of something is to know it as it
truly is. In Arabic, the word for this is fahm. There is another
word in Arabic for understanding, more precise in its meaning. This word
is fiqh. This is the word that is used in Islamic terminology for
“Islamic Law”
Fiqh linguistically is a special
understanding that comprises understanding the mind as well as in the
heart and through one’s actions. This word – fiqh – appears in
the Qur’ân roughly twenty times. If we consider how this word is employed,
we see that it is not used to refer merely to understanding some meaning.
Following the meaning of an instruction blindly might indicate that the
instruction was understood, but it does not indicate that acute
understanding referred to in Arabic as fiqh. This requires a
person to sense the matter in its entirely and grasp all of its
implications.
Allah says: “Wherever you are, death will overtake
you, though you are in lofty towers, and if a benefit comes to them, they
say: This is from Allah; and if a misfortune befalls them, they say: This
is from you (O Muhammad). Say: All is from Allah, but what is the matter
with these people that they do not make approach to understanding what is
told (to them)?” [Sûrah al-Nisâ’: 78]
Allah says: “They
said: O Shu`ayb! We do not understand much of what you say and most surely
we see you to be weak among us, and were it not for your family we would
surely stone you, and you are not mighty against us.” [Surah Hûd:
91]
Allah says: “And who is more unjust than one who is reminded
of the communications of his Lord, then turns away from them and forgets
what his two hands have sent before? Surely We have placed veils over
their hearts lest they should understand it and a heaviness in their ears;
and if you call them to the guidance, even then they will never follow the
right course.” [Sûrah al-Kahf: 57]
In each of these
cases, the people in question understood the meaning of the words that
they had been told. They might even have committed those words to memory.
Nevertheless, their hearts were unaffected and they could not accept the
implications of what those words meant.
This understanding that is fiqh is something that must be actively developed. It is partly
instinctive and partly acquired. A person who possesses this aptitude to a
high degree is someone who has a natural gift of understanding and then
develops it through knowledge and concerted effort.
The Prophet
(peace be upon him) said: “The best of you in the times of ignorance are
the best of you after accepting Islam, if they acquire understanding.”
[Sahîh al-Bukhârî (3494) and Sahîh Muslim (2526)]
Perhaps what the Prophet (peace be upon him) meant is that a
strong natural aptitude combined with proper Islamic guidance is the
ideal, and those who whom Allah blesses to possess both are the best pf
people.
Islamic Law – which is referred to as the science of Fiqh
– has understanding as its ultimate objective. There are two aspects to
the understanding that the field of Islamic Law requires from the scholar:
1. Understanding of the circumstances. The situation under
consideration must be understood from all angles. All factors need to be
accounted for, including those that vary according to time, place, and
circumstance. This is what is needed to derive accurate knowledge of the
situation in its proper context, so that everything about it can be
explained in a rational manner.
2. Understanding of how to respond
to the circumstances. We need to know what is required of us regarding
situation under consideration. How we must act in this situation? What is
Allah’s ruling that is taken from His Book and from the words of His
Messenger (peace be upon him)? In other words: How is the Qur’ân and
Sunnah to be applied to the situation?
This process is known as
the exercise of juristic discretion – ijtihâd – where a scholar
expends his best effort to arrive at Allah’s ruling for a given matter. It
is an effort which brings either a single reward or a double reward.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) recognized this uncertainty. He
said: “If a jurist engages in ijtihâd and is correct, he will have a
double reward. If he engages ijtihâd and is incorrect, he will have a
single reward.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (7352) and Sahîh
Muslim (1716)]
This activity is precisely what the Caliph
`Umar b. al-Khattâb meant when he wrote to Abû Mûsâ al-Ash`ârî the
following famous instructions, the historicity of which the Muslims have
widely accepted:
“Then understanding is the understanding that you
come by in what is not (expressly stated) in the Qur’ân and Sunnah. Then
compare these matters by analogy when they occur. Know that which is
similar and what shares a resemblance. Then seek to find that which is
most beloved to Allah in your opinion and nearest to the truth.”
We see the same activity being articulated in the Qur’an when
Joseph (peace be upon him) was falsely accused of wrongdoing: “(Joseph)
said: She it was who asked of me an evil act. And a witness of her own
folk testified: If his shirt is torn from the front, then she speaks the
truth and he is of the liars. But if his shirt is torn from behind, then
she has lied and he is of the truthful.” [Sûrah Yûsuf: 26-27]
It is the same effort we saw being exerted by Solomon (peace be
upon him) to arrive at the identity of the child’s true mother.
Islam Always Last Update February 22, 2006 2:07 AM EST |
