1. What is the difference between shari’a and fiqh?
The difference between the Sharī’ah and fiqh is best illustrated by their function in Islamic law. The Sharī’ah is the law according to the way God wants Muslims to live. Ideals and Realities of Islam 94. It is derived from the Qur’ān. Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence 14. The Qur’ān is the spoken word of God given to Muslims by the prophet. Id. It follows that the Sharī’ah “is the ideal pattern for the individual’s life and the Law which binds the Muslim people into a single community”. Ideals and Realities of Islam at 94. Sharī’ah is Islamic law. Id. at 93.
While the Sharī’ah is the law, fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence, explains the Sharī’ah, Qur’ān, and other secondary sources of Islamic law. N.J. Coulson, A History of Islamic Law 83. However, some ulema go as far to say that all other sources are explanatory to the Qur’ān. Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence 14.
The fiqh is the jurisprudence in which to understand the Sharī’ah. Coulson, supra, at 83. Fiqh provides direction to Muslims on Islamic law. Id. Fiqh regulates issues, in great detail, of ritual practices of faith, composite science of law and morality. Coulson, supra, at 83. The teachings of fiqh are explained by the fuqahā, who are the “guardians of the Islamic conscience”. Id.
In brief, the differences of Sharī’ah and fiqh can be illustrated by looking at their functions. The Sharī’ah is the source of Islamic law and is derived from the Qur’ān, whereas, fiqh is the Islamic jurisprudence and provides guidance on Islamic law.
2. The motto of The Muslim Brotherhood proclaims, “The Qur’ān is our constitution.” (AL-QUR’ĀN U DUSTURUNA). Is this a realistic statement based on your understanding of the concept of Shari’ah? Why or why not?
In the strictest sense, the statement “The Qur’ān is our constitution” is inaccurate. The Qur’ān is not a “legal document or constitutional document.” Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence 19. In fact, less than 1/10th of the Qur’ān relates to the law. Id. By taking a closer inspection, the Qur’ān is a religious document and directs Muslims on issues of “belief, morality, the five pillars of faith” and numerous other topics. Id. Based strictly on the above observation, the Qur’ān can not be considered a constitution.
While there are some significant similarities between these two faiths, there are also some major differences. Firstly, in Islam, God works through prophets and does not have a physical form. They do not believe in idols and cannot have images of God. However, in the Nation of Islam, Fard Muhammad was the re-incarnation of Allah. He was essentially God in the physical form, which is what Islam goes
MUDDATHIR Abd Al-Rahim, “The Development of Fiqh in the modern Muslim World”, Kuala Lumpur: Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), 1996.
Islam also differ in their definition of what it means to be Muslim. The belief in Islam is
The Constitution of the United States is the spirit of America written on a piece of parchment. It is the linchpin of American life, the source of our liberty and freedom, written by some of the wisest and most courageous men ever to walk the earth; our “Founding Fathers”. Our Founding Fathers were intelligent, religious men. The Constitution is so great because it was founded upon principles and rights given by God through the Holy Bible.
For us to examine the statement in question, we have to define what is a constitution? K. Wheare, in his book, “Modern Constitutions” from 1966 gave quite a good definition of what a constitution is. For him, he
Across the world there are countless religions, new and old, each having their own unique traditions and laws that believers abide by. As defined by World History, Sharia, the Arabic word meaning “the path” or “the way”, alludes to traditional Islamic law. (Ellis, Esler, and Beers, 255) Sharia originates within the Koran, the holy book of Islam, which Muslims consider the unaltered word of God. Along with the Koran, Sharia is derived from the teachings and examples set by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, who Muslims view as the perfect man of faith. Muslims believe that God revealed his true conviction to Muhammad, who in turn was to spread the commands of God through the Koran. Between Muhammad’s death in the seventh century and leading up to the tenth century, many Islamic scholars worked to understand Sharia in its entirety, and apply it to the rapidly expanding Muslim Empire of the time (Dunn, 57). Sharia played a key role in uniting the Islamic Empire by serving as the precedent which dictated laws concerning both private and public behavior.
The Qur’an is believe to the ultimate source of God by many Muslim believers. It contains 114 suras for the believers as the core practices of the Islamic religion and Muslims throughout the world recites its verses (Chang, Lecture. 1/21/14). They believed the prophet of Allah was Muhammad, who received the words of Allah through Angel Gabriel, and was passed on with the Qur’an during Ramadan. Angel Gabriel one night came to Muhammad “in clear human form” (“Scripture and Tradition in Islam- The Qur’an and Hadith” 104), and gave the messages from Allah to him. From the establishment of the Qur’an, Muslims have viewed the book as the last revelation of their god Allah, and thus are the true words from God for their ways of life and in reaching Allah in their afterlife. The book also teaches “mankind’s responsibility assigned by God” (Gordon 115). Therefore, Muslims practices in ways to prove their devotion towards the new religion of Islam by being faithful, and performing religious practices.
Islam and the worship of Allah (god) began with Muhammad and his revelations that lasted for 23 years of his life from (610 C.E.- 623 C.E.). In the Islamic religion it is believed that he was the last prophet sent by Allah (god) and this made all his teachings into to Law and are looked at as the will of God. These messages were given to him through the archangel Gabriel, in a kind of continuation to the Jewish Torah and Christian Bible, which the Qur’an shares some similarities or past “history” with them such as the belief in Abraham and Jesus as a prophet, but in the eye’s of Mohammad the Jews and Christians had fallen astray from the real teaching of god.
Islam is a religion that was founded by Muhammad in the seventh century. He was believed to have had direct revelations from God. After Muhammad's death, his predecessors took all his words/prophecies and compiled them into a book that is now known as the Qur'an. The Qur'an is a sacred text derived from the Islamic religion. It is the epitome of the heart and soul of the Muslim culture. Although Islam is a separate religion from that of Christianity, a plethora of their ideas are intertwined. The Qur'an is similar to the Holy Bible because both texts establish the practice of monotheism and believe that God is the creator of the universe. The sacred texts are different because the Holy Bible preaches of Jesus Christ being the Son of God while the Qur'an deems him but a prophet. Both texts also differ because while the Bible was written to inform, reform,
2) Qur’an- The Qur’an is the holy book of Islam. It contains parts of the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah. The Qur’an was originally written in Arabic and is still memorized today in Arabic. The Qur’an is believed to be a sacred guide for all human kind and contains the Five Pillars of Islam which Muslims must do throughout their lifetime.
Saheeh International. The Qur’an: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meaning. Jeddah: Abul-Qasim Publishing House, 1997. Print.
Islamic finance is a financial system that operates according to Islamic law (which is called sharia) and is, therefore, sharia-compliant. Just like conventional financial systems, Islamic finance features banks, capital markets, fund managers, investment firms, and insurance companies. However, these entities are governed both by Islamic law and the finance industry rules and regulations that apply to their conventional counterparts. Therefore, islamic finance is to be assets based as oppose to the currency based whereby investment structured on exchange or ownership of assets, and money is simply mechanism for transaction process. It would based on two sources which are Al-Quran and As-Sunnah.
Judaism and Islam are known to be two of the main religions that are found throughout the world. They each have similar traits and many more differences. They both are monotheistic, which means they only believe in one god. Muslims worship the God called Allah, which means in Arabic “the God”. And Jews worship the god called Yahweh, which means the God of Israel. Their differences include their core beliefs, rituals, symbols, and history.
Both Christianity and Islam practice the belief in one all mighty God. While one of the pillars is, “Concern for the needy,” which is a dominant theme throughout the Bible as well, it is not a “law” of Christianity. The Ten Commandments rule over more so as literal law, such as “Thou shalt not kill,” whereas all of the Five Pillars are all morals that follow religion, and not everyday life. The most current, and obvious distinguisher between the two would be their traditional holidays. Like most organized religion, the two both have religious holidays.
Religion is an important factor in many lives in today’s society. A particular western religion that is taken very seriously by many is known as Islam. Essentially, Islam means “submission”, or in other words a person is to abide by God and peace will follow. In order to comprehend the Islamic religion, it is consequential to view the major themes associated with this religion. By going through the central themes of Islam it could help others comprehend what is involved with this specific religion.