Sharia and jurisprudence (Fiqh)

Allah, the most merciful, has put to us some rules and guidelines to walk through not to lose our destination, these rules are formed in the shape of Sharia and jurisprudence of the Islamic doctrine, the instruction of the prophet and his companions to have a life that Allah would be satisfied over it. People are different and their minds are varied so, Allah, the all-wise, the all-knowing, did not leave us in life without a guidance to take us to the right path, and if it were not for this guidance, we all will be lost, misled and our lives will be a mess.

The difference between Sharia and jurisprudence

• 

Sharia in general applies to all the beliefs, morals and deeds that God has legislated, and in particular it applies to all practical rulings that God has legislated only without the ethical or dogmatical rulings, that are not mentioned in Qur’an or Sunnah. As for jurisprudence, it is the knowledge of the practical legal rulings deduced from detailed evidence, Jurisprudence is limited to practical rulings only that issued by the servant with the aim of getting close to his Lord, and these rulings are inferred from the evidence of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and based on the above, Sharia is represented by rulings revealed from God, as for jurisprudence, it is represented by the rulings that the jurists have extracted from the texts of Sharia or by jurisprudential evidence such as analogy, sayings of the prophet’s companions and so on. Moreover, Sharia is general, jurisprudence is specific, and Sharia is all valid. As for jurisprudence, it may be mistaken sometimes because it has some attempts of the scholars in its rulings.

The Sharia, then, includes beliefs, ritual acts, transactions, policies, customs, and other areas of life, there is no aspect of life that God has not made clear to us, and what is permissible and forbidden, either by mentioning it in detail and specifying it, or by returning it to the general rules on which the Sharia is built.

The jurist is tasked with extracting practical rulings from the evidences of Sharia (the Qur’an and Sunnah), or from sources that the Shari’a attested to validity and consideration (such as consensus and correct analogy).

Fiqh is concerned with searching for practical rulings, and not searching for doctrinal matters, as it is part of the sharia, and Sharia is more general than it.

God Almighty wanted Islamic law to be the last of the laws for his creation, just as the Almighty wanted that this law would be the most complete among the other laws, so it came in a form that guarantees its survival, vitality and continuity, and it came in a form that guaranteed its validity for the human being wherever and in any place or time, so he finds This supreme Sharia is complete with his requirements and conditions.

Islamic jurisprudence, which is the spirit and basis of Sharia, has remained despite the passage of fourteen centuries of time since its inception, strong in its structure and solid in its cohesion despite all the circumstances and fluctuations that the Islamic nation has been subjected to throughout this period of time.

The characteristics of the Islamic jurisprudence

• 

Those who follow and read the Islamic jurisprudence carefully and accurately will find that it has characteristics and features that are not existed in the other legislations, which made it capable of stability and growth for fourteen centuries of time, and it will remain with this perfection till the day of judgment as Islamic law has a universal and permanent impact. The Sharia of Islam is the last heavenly law on the surface of this earth, and this religion was the seal of the previous monotheistic religions. It was imperative that this law be distinguished with characteristics and features that make it capable of being stable and continuing to keep pace with human life whatever it is, at any time and in any place, and before we are exposed to the most important of These characteristics and advantages, we need to indicate that Islamic jurisprudence is broader and more comprehensive than positive law.

Islamic law includes issues that are discussed in positive laws and other subjects that are not addressed by those laws.

It is surprising, as this jurisprudence derives its origins and its rules stem from the Book of God Almighty, which the falsehood possibility is never exist, it is a revelation from  the all-wise, who made this jurisprudence characterized by characteristics and features which are unique and nothing equals them in the history of the legislation of nations.

Islamic jurisprudence is the widest legislation in the world and in its application, it covered the Islamic world from end to end with different thoughts, and it had a great impact on other nations, and many peoples of the world borrowed from it their legislations in the old ages such as Andalusia, Sicily, Turkestan, Bukhari and the Balkans, and in the modern era it is considered one of Legislation sources in the world.

We can mention some of the characteristics of Islamic jurisprudence as follows:

First: The supremacy of the goal and objectives:

Every law has a goal intends to reach it and the Islamic law has the most supreme goal ever.

Second: The provisions of Islamic jurisprudence are divine revelation:

Rulings in Islamic jurisprudence are a divine revelation from God Almighty, so He is the one who legislated and created it for man, he is most knowledgeable in what is right for him in his life and in the hereafter, and he is most knowledgeable about what is inside the human soul and what is consistent with it and what contradicts its inclinations and nature

Third: Applying the rulings of Islamic jurisprudence is obedience to God Almighty:

Compliance with rulings in Islamic jurisprudence is considered obedience to God Almighty and worship for which the obedient will be rewarded.

Fourth: Islamic jurisprudence is characterized by comprehensiveness and generalization:

That is because Islamic jurisprudence came to regulate three things, which are man’s relationship with his Lord, his relationship with himself and his relationship with other people.

Fifth: consistency in rules and flexibility in application:

Islamic jurisprudence is based on fixed basic principles that do not change, derived from its first sources: the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah.