The Power of Peace

TAQLID AND IJTIHAD but offered no comparable discussion on introducing Islam to the world. While the Quran explicitly calls for this work, these leaders had neglected the Quran as a direct source for deriving guidance and relied almost exclusively on fiqh. Unfortunately, the pages of fiqh offered little guidance on this concept. This highlights the immense value of ijtihad and the detrimental consequences of relying solely on codified fiqh for deriving rulings. A similar error was made by Muslim leaders of the Indian subcontinent after the rise of British dominance. They declared India as Dar al-Harb (the abode of war). In 1823, Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlvi (1746-1824) issued a fatwa declaring India Dar al-Harb (Fatawa Azizi [Persian], Delhi, 1322 AH, p. 17). Subsequently, 500 ulama signed a collective fatwa obligating jihad against the British. Indian Muslims, considering it their religious duty, waged armed jihad against British rule. Despite a century-long struggle, this jihad proved entirely fruitless. Had these leaders moved beyond their reliance on fiqh, they would have recognized that contemporary India should have been seen as Dar al-Dawah (a field for peaceful outreach), much like certain regions during the early period of Islam. However, their rejection of ijtihad and exclusive reliance on codified fiqh left them confined to its limitations. Notably, existing fiqh texts contain rulings on Dar al-Harb (a territory of conflict), but lack any concept of Dar al-Dawah (a field for peaceful outreach).