By Raha Rafii Grand Muftī Shawky Ibrahim Allam of Egypt’s Dār al-Iftāʾ issued a fatwā in December 2017[1] stating that any and all uses of cryptocurrency was ḥarām, or forbidden—including purchasing, selling, and leasing. The al-Azhar-affiliated Dār al-Iftāʾ was established in 1895 with the Grand Muftī as its head; throughout its history it served a … Continue reading Fatwās on Cryptocurrency: Egypt’s Dār al-Iftāʾ
By Sohail Hanif Ritual prayer (ṣalāh) is a pillar of Islam. It functions as a pillar that upholds the daily routine and spiritual journey of a believer. However, the spiritual dimension of prayer is not a topic of investigation in works of Islamic law. There is, on the other hand, another overarching interest of Muslim … Continue reading A Prayer-Based Civilizational Order: The Social Dimension of the Rules of Ritual Prayer
By Sohail Hanif My research has centred on unpacking layers of argumentation in works of Islamic law, particularly legal commentaries. As one unpacks these layers, one comes to learn that what actually is ‘law’ is not always clear, and that it is within the arguments that one finds the principles and reasoning for the sake … Continue reading Social Dependencies of Islamic Law: A View Through the Legal Commentary
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Carpenter Wellington PLLC published a brief but comprehensive introduction to Islamic finance and how it interacts with traditional Islamic law. A recent review published by Chatham House found southeast European Muslims to be instrumental to democratization efforts in their countries. February 1, 2022 marked the ninth annual World Hijab Day. … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
By Junaid Quadri* In 663/1265, Sultan al-Ẓāhir Baybars appointed a chief judge from each of the four Sunnī madhhabs. For scholars of Islamic law, this decision has served as a signal moment in the story told about the normative pluralism found within Sunnī Islam. I say that this was a signal moment, but it was … Continue reading Intellectual and Practical Caution as Grounds for Legal Pluralism
By Issam Eido This is part four in a series of four posts on Ḥanafī criteria for using ḥadīth in the ‘courts and canons’ of early Islamic law. Kitāb al-Ḥujja ʿalā Ahl al-Madīna is one of several books attributed to the judge Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī.[1] Early Ḥanafī biographical dictionaries used to classify early Ḥanafī … Continue reading Tools for Interpreting Ḥadīth in Shaybānī’s Ḥujja
By Issam Eido This is part three in a series of four posts on Ḥanafī criteria for using ḥadīth in the ‘courts and canons’ of early Islamic law. Before the emergence of the canonical ḥadīth books, courts served as one of the main factors in the formative period in impacting the concept of fiqh and … Continue reading Canons: Specific and General aṣl
By Issam Eido This is part two in a series of four posts on Ḥanafī criteria for using ḥadīth in the ‘courts and canons’ of early Islamic law. There are many legal canons (uṣūl or qawāʿid fiqhiyya) pertaining specifically to court evidence, procedure, or conduct, such as “the burden of proof is on the claimant … Continue reading Early Ḥanafī Jurists, Court Practice, and the Authority of General Afflictions (ʿUmūm al-Balwā)
By Issam Eido This is part one in a series of four posts on Ḥanafī criteria for using ḥadīth in the ‘courts and canons’ of early Islamic law. In this series of four essays, I examine briefly the interpretive standards that were followed by early Ḥanafīs for analyzing, verifying, or rejecting ḥadīth. The first essay discusses the significance … Continue reading Lived or Non-Lived Ḥadīth? Content vs. Narrator Criteria in Early Ḥanafī Law
By Omar Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar This is a summary of the lecture by Professor Anas Sarmini entitled “Form, Function, and Historical Development of Ikhtilāf al-Fuqahāʾ as a Genre" delivered on September 29, 2021 at 12 noon (EST), 6 pm (Münster) 7 pm (Istanbul) via Zoom. The video recording of the lecture can be accessed here. Professor … Continue reading Monthly Lectures on Islamic Legal Genres: “Form, Function, and Historical Development of Ikhtilāf al-Fuqahāʾ as a Genre” by Professor Anas Sarmini
