Islamic Law Concepts Flashcards
what is ra’y
The personal discretion or sound opinion
who is a qadi?
a judge.
Who is the ulama?
Religious scholars
What is the hadith and sunnah relation?
They became practically synonymous. Hadith being a vehicle or carrier of an example of the Prophets conduct.
Sunnah is used to describe the normative practice of Muhammad, the authoritative example of how to live a good muslim life
What is an athar?
Traditions from the Companions and Successors, important but secondary to genuine prophetic accepted Hadith.
Hadith Qudsi?
Words in which Allah speaks in first person
Hadith Al Nabi
A report transmitted directly from the prophet.
What are the two parts of a hadith?
The isnad (chain of transmitters) and the Matna (the body, or story).
Mawdu’at
Forged Hadiths
What is Shari’a
Islamic Law based on the Q and the Traditions, prescribing religious and secular duties, and penalties for law breaking.
- The manner by which it is applied in modern states is a subject of dispute between Muslim traditionalists and reformists.
Ijtihad
“Effort”. The Independent or original interpretation of problems not precisely covered by the Quran or Hadith and Ijma (scholarly consensus)
What is ijma?
Scholarly consensus on a point of law, by the islamic community. There can be many types, from different groups, so it depends on who you agree with.
What is taqlid?
The unquestioning acceptance of legal decisions without knowing the basis of these decisions
Taqlid and Ijtihad?
Taqlid is to follow precedence made by Mujtahid, “to imitate”,whereas Ijtihad is original and independent reasoning on a point of issue without needing to consult the precedence. ijtihad encourages more inquisition, became more popular.
What is fiqh?
Islamic law, derived from the Tradition and Quran
What are the Sunni Legal Schools?
The Hanafi Legal School (East Middle East)
The Maliki School (Northern Africa)
Shafi’i (Indonesia)
Hanbali (UAE)
What is a school of law?
A madhab is a legal school. They comprise of understandings of Sharia.
What is the Hanafi Madhhab?
From around the 767, founded by Abu Hanifah, He did note down alot of analogies (qiyas), which tended to be strictly applied. Offered role of Qadi, but refused it.
Who was Ibn Khallikan (1282)
A guy who recorded data in Medieval Islamic Period on historical events and outstanding figures, mainly known for his interest in Sunni Madhhab schools
What was the Maliki School?
A contemporary of Hanifah, Founded by Malik
- A profound devotion for the traditions of the prophet. He wrote two thousand Hadiths.
What was the Shafi’i School?
A student of Malik, Abu Al-Shafi’i, descendant of the Quraysh tribe. Ibn Khallikan was a Shafi’i.
Al Shafi’i wrote a lot of legal production, apparently a very smart man, who systematized
-Held it that the concept of sunnah should be narrowed. tried to make it so that only Hadith that could be traced back to the Prophet as the last narrator in the isnad be counted as Sunnah. To eliminate innovation and fiction. - was not very succesful.
- Qiyas must firmly based on the Quran and the Sunnah - he hoped to eliminate discretionary use of ra’y or istihsan
- Adopted “Ijma” (Consensus) (was meant to be the consensus of all muslims, but later legal theorists changed their tune to mean the agreement of the Mujtahids (Person of islamic authority).
What four key things did Al-Shafi crystallise for the classical theory of islamic law? What was his legacy?
The QUran, the Sunnah of the Prophet as contained in recognised Traditions, The method of reasoning by analogy (qiyas), and the consensus of ijma.
Ijma
Consensus. Depends on the group, lots of arguments about this.
Categories for actions in law?
“Fard (obligation)” all the way to “haram”, forbidden.
When was most of the islamic law written?
from the 8th to 10th.
What is a fatwa?
an advisory legal opinion based on islamic tradition, but with no binding force
What is a mufti?
A specialist in islamic law capable of making fatwas.
