Islamic Laws and the Muslim Personal Law in India

Muslim Personal Law, just like any other law, has its base engraved in the text of the Qur’an and then the sayings and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Thereafter, it takes its source from a detailed, intricate and well-documented scholarly tradition of Islam.

One important factor that is to be understood to understand this nuance is the acknowledgment of the heterogeneity among Muslims, i.e. Islam being one of the most diverse religion in the world. From these scholarly traditions, Muslims do follow slightly different interpretations of particular subjects throughout the world. Most of the jurisprudential aspects are in consonance through all madhabs (schools of thought). There are only some subjects that witness difference of opinion among scholars, with some having a stricter position and some a little lenient. However, these differences are not in nature of conflicts but rather in nature of dissent and dialogue among Muslim scholars with a follower of one madhab having full liberty to follow an interpretation of a different madhab. Muslims in India, based on their regions, do follow certain different practices and rituals but this is not to be confused with negation or in contravention to Islamic law. Scholars throughout the history of Islam with their works have tried to find a common ground between Islamic ideals and indigenous practices. In early Islam, we see a beautiful blend of the customary practices of Arabs with Islamic ideals. In the southern part of India, we see attempts to retain a pure customary matrilineal practice within the four walls of Islam through the institution of waqf. Interestingly, in India even codified Hindu law is supremely Brahman in nature with practices such as kanyaadan and satpati, which are intrinsically Brahmin rituals finding their way in the codified law. In this sense, is Muslim Personal Law in India Islamic? The answer is affirmative based on the sources, history, and objective of Muslim Personal Law in India. Muslim Personal Law in India is in consonance with Islamic principles/ sources and, given the legal history, will keep falling back to the defined sources of Islamic law to derive legitimacy among Indian Muslims. That is the only way Muslim law will further be refined and that is the primary reason why Muslim Personal Law intrinsically is Islamic law.

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Source: Ahmed Hilal, Mishra R.K.. Rethinking Muslim Personal Law: Issues, Debates and Reforms. Routledge India,2022. — 187 p.. 2022

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