Understanding Muslim Law: A Guide to Fiqh

Fiqh meaning in Islam is the interpretation of the principles and rules of Sharia contained in the Quran and the Sunnah.

The term Fiqh is often translated as “Islamic jurisprudence,” an expression that highlights the work of successive generations of jurists who, over centuries, have built the message of Islam on a legal level.

This effort by experts to interpret the fundamental texts of Islam and to draw Muslim law from it is called ijtihad.

The term Fiqh is derived from the root of the word faqiha, which means “deep and complete understanding.”

Someone who masters knowledge of Fiqh is called a faqih (jurist).

Arabic literature used the word “Fiqh” and its derivatives for research into knowledge, wisdom and deep understanding of Islamic laws.

The principles of the Quran and the Sunnah are immutable and the role of the Fiqh is to simplify them and explain to Muslims how to apply them to all their activities.

The goal of Fiqh is to explain various legal rules such as obligations, prohibitions, and recommendations, as well as the legality of acts, sanctions, and the nature of an act (licit, illicit, recommended, condemned, etc.).

Fiqh plays a major role in all Muslims’ daily lives, since it enables them to understand and apply their religion’s guidelines precisely.

The rules of Fiqh apply to everything Islam commands Muslims to do, including prayer, fasting, zakat, marriage contracts, commercial transactions such as sales, employment contracts, renting, and giving, in addition to jihad and to suppressing murder and theft, etc.

Regarding marriage, Fiqh established all the rules about marital unions in the fourth century of the Hijrah and that is when it became possible to talk about Muslim marriage law.

Sharia is all Islamic rules and values as revealed by Allah .عزّ وجل.

Fiqh is made up of the laws Muslim jurists have extracted from the Quran and the Sunnah. Fiqh means that human action is needed for legal interpretation.

That is why Fiqh is divided into four legal schools: 

• Hanafi
• Maliki
• Hanbali
• Shafi’i

The diversity of points of view of Sunni legal schools (ikhtilâf al-fuqaha), which are based on a common methodology (usul al Fiqh), is a wealth and benefit for Muslims.