Fiqh Archives

Da’wah in Complex Settings (1) | Ra’d ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz

THERE IS NO question that there are few or no serious fiqhi (legal) problems connected with the Muslim individual’s living in a society where Islamic principles and teachings reign supreme. Difficulties, however, crop up when this society distances itself from Islam—and the…

Shari‘ah Ruling on Marrying a Person Who was Previously an Adulterer or an Adulteress (2) | Mahmoud Rizq

PART (1) DISCUSSED an âyah (24:3) which apparently prohibits a Muslim from marrying a person involved in adultery or fornication. Scholars differ as to the meaning of yankiḥ, whether it means ‘to marry’ or ‘to copulate. Each side of the controversy can…

Shari‘ah Ruling on Marrying A Person Who Was Previously an Adulterer Or An Adulteress (1) | Mahmoud Rizq

ALLAH SAYS IN Sûrat Al-Nûr: A man who fornicates shall not marry anyone but a woman who fornicates or an idolatress. And as for the woman who fornicates, none shall she marry but a fornicator or an idolater—and such marriage is forbidden…

Why Scholars Disagree (3) | Shaykh Ibn Uthaimin

WE CONTINUE FROM Part 2 with issues related to the weighing of evidence received by scholars. Three categories of reasons for a scholar not following a [known] hadith Ibn Taymiyyah said: “It is an established fact that none of the known and…

The Inward Requirements of Fasting | Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali

PRAISE BE TO Allah who has thwarted the hopes of Satan and frustrated his designs by making fasting a bulwark and a shield for his righteous servants; who taught them that the way of Satan to their hearts lies in secret lust;…

Learning Fiqh: Practical Steps | Abu Aaliyah Surkheel Sharif

ACCORDING TO IMAM Al-Nawawi (d.676 H/1277 CE), there are two opinions as to whether a lay person is obligated to follow a particular school of law (mathhab) or not. He stipulates: What the proof necessitates is that a layman is not required…

Deconstructing Riba

DEEP DOWN INSIDE, we all want something for nothing. We love delicious fruits and vegetables, but don’t want to have to grow and pick them ourselves. We want a nice house, but don’t want to have to sweat for it. We want…

Qur’anic Interpretation | Part 2 | Tadabbur and the Need for Scholarly Explanation

IN PART ONE of this series, we addressed the basic misconceptions that cause Muslims to be deprived of the real message and infinite wisdom of the Quran. On the one hand, many self-proclaimed interpreters, denying the need for recourse to any classical…

Allowance for Movement in Salâh: An Explanation Based on Ibn Hajar Al-ʿAsqalâni’s Fath Al-Bâri

AL-AZRAQ IBN QAYS said: “We were in Al-A ḥwâz [a district near Al-Ba ṣra, between present day ʿIrâq and Iran] fighting the Harûrîyyah [the Khawârij, who fought against ʿAlî. They were called Harûriyyah because their initial base was in Ḥarûrâ’, a now…