FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Consensus is responsible for the further development of Islamic law after the completion of the Prophet’s mission. Islam is a preserved religion and its Prophet is the last one. In the Quran, only fundamental principles of legislation are given and in the matters on which there is no explicit order, God has permitted the exercise of individual opinion. But a consensus of opinions of jurists is superior to individual opinions of experts on Islamic legal science as it is a collective opinion of a number of jurists. In the absence of any relevant order of the Quran or Hadith, consensus assumes the status of law. d) Inference/Analogical Deduction (Qiyas) Qiyas is an important source of Islamic jurisprudence and is regarded as an instrument in solving legal issues on the basis of reasoning based on original texts. All four schools of Sunni jurisprudence accept that in matters which have not been provided for by the Quran or precepts of the Prophet and Ijma, the law might be deduced from what has been laid down by any of these three authorities through the use of qiyas, which is generally translated as ‘analogy’. Qiyas literally means ‘to weigh’ or ‘to measure’ but, as a term of Islamic jurisprudence, it denotes the process by which a rule of law is deduced from the original text in view of a common cause. As a source of law, qiyas is defined as “an extension of law from the original text. It is a process of deduction by which the law of a text is applied to cases, which, though not covered by the literal language of the text, are governed by the reasoning given in the text. This process is applied in such cases with legal effect which are not directly covered by the text. Qiyas may be used only in the light of the Quran and Hadith, otherwise it will be invalid. More than one example can be cited from the Prophet regarding his approval of qiyas as a source of fiqh. One basic consideration that underlies every Islamic decree is that the believer, at all times and while doing any activity should be mindful of God. He should not forget that he is going to answer for his every deed before God. o Dr. Farida Khanam hub@thespiritofislam.org