FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dr. Farida Khanam has been a professor at the Department of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. A Study of World's Major Religions, A Simple Guide to Sufism are two of the books amongst others, of which she is the author. She has also translated many books on Islam authored by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Currently, the chairperson of Centre for Peace and Spirituality (CPS International), an organization founded by her father Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, she is a regular contributor of articles to journals, newspapers and magazines. Dr. Khanam has edited Maulana’s English translation of the Quran and has also translated his Urdu commentary of the Quran into English. Under Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Peace Foundation, along with the CPS team, she has designed a series of courses on peace-building, countering extremism and conflict resolution. AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE Understanding the Basics I SLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE or fiqh literally means an understanding and knowledge of something. The Quran has used the word fiqh in its general sense of ‘understanding’ on more than one occasion. In the early days of Islam, the terms ilm (knowledge) and fiqh were frequently used interchangeably to denote an understanding of Islam in general. This shows that in the Prophet’s time, the term fiqh was not understood in the legal sense alone, i.e. synonymous with law. The Prophet once blessed Ibn Abbas (d.68 AH) in these words: ‘Allahumma faqqih ho fiddin’, that is, ‘O God, bestow upon him understanding in religion’. By these words the Prophet did not mean exclusively knowledge of law. He meant a deeper understanding of religion. Technically, fiqh refers to the science of deducing Islamic laws from evidence found in the sources of Islamic jurisprudence. The sources of law are four and are explained in detail below; the Quran, the Sunnah, Consensus (Ijma) and Inference (Qiyas). But by extension of meaning, fiqh also means the body of Islamic law deduced in this way. Shariah literally means a ‘route to the watering place’ or a ‘visible and well marked-out rail’. Hence in Islam it means a ‘clear path’ or a ‘highway’ to be followed by all the believers. The Quran uses the term Shariah with the meaning of ‘religion’, that is a way, ordained by God for man to travel on in the course of his life. The word shariah was used