INTRODUCTION
The nature of the Qur’an and Sunnah as religious, non-legal texts ensures their status as the primary sources of Islamic law. The structure of Islam and the divinity of law within that structure necessitates that the Qur’an and the Sunnah remain the primary legal texts for Muslims.
The anachronistic nature of the texts and the ‘rule by law’ (as opposed to the ‘rule of law’) become problematic when reconciling more modern concepts. Consequently the non-legal nature of the texts, and more recently their anachronism, has instigated interpretation, and a lack of a central, authoritative hierarchy has allowed a plethora of interpretations to arise over the centuries.As Islam was a spiritual religion before becoming a complete political, legal and military force in the state of Medina,[1067] the societal aspects of the teachings of Islam are considered Divine Will, along with the religious teachings. In fact, ‘Islam is the only religion whose followers believe that the Qur’an is the word of God, and therefore that Qur’anic laws are God’s direct commands.’[1068] The Qur’an, being the word of God revealed to the Prophet, is a product of the phenomenon of Revelation and is indisputable for Muslims. While there are disputes as to the nature of the content in the Qur’an and scholars debate whether the Qur’an is the word of God verbatim or if the teachings were revealed to the Prophet who then spoke them in his own words, all scholars agree that the Qur’an is the product of Divine Revelation.[1069] The death of the Prophet Muhammad arrests the process of Revelation, limiting the known will of God to the content of the Qur’an with Muslims being unable to access fresh Divine Will. The Qur’an is therefore entrenched as the primary legal source, being the final word of God, following the end of Revelation.
The nature of the Qur’an as a non-legal text is problematic because it does not expressly provide the solution to every legal quandary.
The Qur’an, as a book about the relationship between God and people, deals predominantly with religion. While it does include verses that prescribe rules, only about 2 per cent of all Qur’anic verses relate to what is considered to be law in the Western legal tradition.[1070] This relatively small amount of Divine Law is supplemented by the Sunna, or prophetic reports, that document what the Prophet of Islam said, did or consented to during his prophesying, yet this second text is also not a strictly legal text as only 10 per cent of the sayings of the Prophet (Hadith) relate to proper law.[1071] The Hadith, compiled after the death of the Prophet based on what was passed down through the oral traditions of Islam, are also considered Divine Law because they are the product of the Revelation of the will of God to the Prophet. While it is accepted that the Qur’an is the word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad and because of its divine source cannot be questioned, it has been the function of Muslim jurisprudence to discover the terms of that command.[1072] The relatively few legal verses in the Qur’an and the Hadith necessitate the interpretation of the two texts in order that Islamic law can be applied to situations not expressly considered in the texts.Although earlier scholars took the view that Islamic law became increasingly rigid and set in its final mould,[1073] the challenge for contemporary Muslim scholars is to use the institution of the ijtihad as a tool through which a society can adjust itself to internal and external social, political and economic change. Historically, ijtihad in Islamic tradition refers to the exercise of Islamic legal reasoning by a single Muslim scholar (Mujtahid). However, since the nineteenth century there has been a new development that ijtihad is exercised by a group of Muslim scholars. This activity is called ijtihad jama’i (collective ijtihad). As a result, through the institution they produced what we call a collective fatwa.
This chapter will examine the establishment of such institutions that exercise collective ijtihad. First, I will briefly explain the rules on ijtihad from a historical perspective. Second, I will discuss the concept of collective ijtihad based on the 1964 decision of Majma’ al-Buhuts al-Islamiyah in Cairo. Finally, I will provide examples of collective ijtihad on health issues. I would argue that collective ijtihad should be considered as a tool for modern Muslim scholars to meet the requirement of Mujtahid in a collective way and for providing better answers to the problems faced by Muslims in contemporary time.
II.
More on the topic INTRODUCTION:
- 1 Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction
- 19 Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction
- INTRODUCTION
- Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction: Hegel, Marx and the Dialectic
- INTRODUCTION: OVERVIEW OF COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH HIV THERAPY
- Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction