Critical Analysis: Islamic Legal Interpretation, Muftis and Their Fatwas by Sehrish Saba, Nusrat Azeema (the read aloud family .txt) 📖

of thought was prevailing.

The writer also presented the disagreement of Ibn Sahl with his predecessors a view came after two centuries of above mentioned view. He presented a different opinion over the same topic. Ibn Sahl argued that general permission to assemble in the mosque should be restricted to very specific cases, such meetings should be allowed only when they are led by knowledgeable and trust worthy people. For Ibn Sahl, Muslims ought to meet in mosques only if they were properly directed by someone not likely to arose dangerous emotions. As, at that time such gatherings were increasing towards which Sahl pointed out, but two centuries earlier, scholars had not even considered this possibility, and they accepted and recommended assemblies of learned people in mosques. 

Caliphal Legitimacy and Expiation in al- Andalus

 

The chapter underhand is related to Caliphal legitimacy and expiation in al- Andalus. In this chapter writer has discussed three cases about the appropriate expiation in cases of transgression and the fatwas of eminent scholars of Maliki school of thought over the issue.

The writer has discussed different forms of expiation allowed in Islam and presented the views of muftis in cases of specific nature discussed in the chapter along with the reasoning of the muftis to opt for only one form of expiation which is fasting. According to writer, the reason to suggest this form of expiation is to purify the persons involved and to deter them from falling again into transgression.  

Ibn Taymiyya on Leadership in the Ritual Prayer

 

Chapter five presented the views of Ibn Taymiyya on leadership into the ritual prayer. The writer commented it as popular fatwa in truest sense because the question or mas’ala dealt in this fatwa is for people in general and is of much importance for Muslim community. The question dealt in fatwa was, concerning the four school of law, whether to perform prayer under leadership of certain people is permitted and disallowed for certain others and whether invalid performance of the prayer on the part of imam affects the validity of the prayer performed by the one being led, the ma’mum.   There is difference of opinion among the four schools of thought. According to Hanafi, Shafi’i and Hanbali view the prayer of ma’mum is not valid whereas Maliki view is that prayer of ma’mum is valid. Ibn Taymiyya’s fatwa affirms the open and tolerant spirit that existed within the confines of the four Sunni schools.

Use And Abuse Of The Law: A Mufti’s Response

 

This chapter refers to the issue of use and abuse of the law: a mufti’s response, in which fatwa of Taqi al- Din al- Subki is translated and analyzed. The fatwa discusses the adab al- mufti i-e rules, regulations and restrictions which a mufti has to follow while giving any fatwa. According to which muftis were not expected to verify the facts of the cases about which they were asked to issue fatwas. They are only expected to provide a precise answer to the question asked to him. They are advised to incorporate in their response all relevant information about the case. Muftis must insure that their written fatwas would stand as autonomous and self-explanatory texts and must be in particular context, justifying its problematic character.

Dhimmi Women and Mourning

 

In chapter seven writer states about dhimmi [1]women and time period of her mourning, as the Muslim woman has to observe certain limitations. A man from Tripoli (now known as Lebanon) sent a query to Taqi al- Din Subki to give fatwa. Al- Subki was popular jurist and was known for his interest in the application of principles of Islamic law to the status of non- Muslim, may be this is the reason that the same question was put to him by the questioner.

The mas’ala in the fatwa mentioned in this chapter was whether dhimmi women is the believer of God and the day of judgment and comes under the hadith of Prophet (saw) according to which she was to observe mourning of three days except for her husband for whom she has to mourn for four months and ten days.

Jurists noted that Quran does not limit the application of the widows idda’[2] to believer women only.  According to al- Shafi’i free women either Muslim or dhimmi, old or young, all are in equal status regarding ihdad. Modern jurists also observed that anything obligatory on Muslim women is also to be followed by dhimmi wife and she is also expected to observe idda’.

In his answer to the question al- Subki changes the order of the clauses , addressing the claim that dhimmis are believers before he addressed the interpretation of hadith dealing with ihdad and maintained his view that dhimmi women are bound by the hadith.

The write through this fatwa presented an example that a mufti can even go beyond a moot question to address what he believes to be an important issue. The writer concluded that for a mufti’s expertise is especially valuable for defining the borders of Islam that what comes inside or outside the concern of Islamic belief and how to relate them.   

 

[1]  Islam allows the marriage of a muslim man and a free jewish or christian woman, such a woman is called dhimmi women.

[2] Period of sexual abstinence, waiting period for a woman after divorce or the death of her husband.

The Art of Legal Opinion: al- Wansharisi On Tawlij

 

This chapter is elaborating the art of legal opinion: al- Wansharisi on Tawlij. Twalij means financial transaction between the parents and children designed to circumvent the Islamic inheritance law. The main focus of this chapter and fatwa including it is analysis of the way in which Muslim proprietors attempted to resist the perceived constraints of Islamic inheritance law and the manner jurists assisted them in this endeavor.

Islamic law of inheritance places substantial constrains on the freedom of a person to determine the devolution of his property. He cannot bequeath more than one third of his property and cannot made the same in favor of anyone who qualifies to be his legal heir. The jurists taught that the inheritance rules take effect only on property owned by the deceased at the moment they enter their deathbed illness, and that proprietors are free to dispose of their property in any way they wish prior to that moment. Similarly there is no restriction on the amount of property that a person alienates during his lifetime whether in favor of legal heirs or anyone else. This type of transaction was designed by Maliki jurists with the name of tawlij.

The mas’ala under the fatwa was whether a sale transaction under consideration qualifies the status of tawlij and whether that can be reversed/ claimed by the legal heirs. Al- Wansharisi rejected the claim because it was not supported by the testimonial evidence. Al- Wansharisi made no reference from Quran or Sunnah rather situates the authority of his response in an impressive range of Maliki sources that included doctrinal law books, treatises dealing with legal formularies, earlier fatwas and court practices.

When Women Went to Mosques: al- Aydini on the Duration of Assessments

 

This chapter is dealing with when women went to mosque: al- Aydini on the duration of assessments.  Duration of assessment is a treatise of al- Aydini in which he attempted to describe the “life span” of an assessment. In plain meaning, the phrase “duration of assessment” refers to a ruling issued in response to