Fatwa ID: 02915

Answered by:  Moulana Imran Mughal​

Question:

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah

What makes Islamic jurisprudence different from other forms of jurisprudence?

   بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

                                              In the name of ALLAH the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Answer:

Assalamualaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh

The literal meaning of jurisprudence is “a theory or philosophy of law,” or simply a “legal system.”

The word for jurisprudence in Arabic is “fiqh” which literally means understanding. Terminologically speaking, the definition of fiqh is The knowledge regarding the rulings of shari’ah that are acted upon derived from the elaborate evidence of those rulings.[1]

Jurisprudence outside of the Islamic realm has often been the work of philosophers in the past but recently has also been a subject related to social scientists. They hope to gauge a deeper understanding of legal systems, legal reasoning, and the role of law in society.

Islamic Fiqh has been the work of the scholars who have a solid understanding of Quran and Sunnah, they derive rulings from the Quran and Sunnah in order to lay the rulings out for the general Muslims.

The biggest and most important difference between the two is that Islamic jurisprudence is based upon the Quran and Sunnah, which have remained preserved throughout the ages, whereas non-Islamic jurisprudence is based upon the opinions of individuals without any divine scripture to guide their understanding.

Only Allah SWT alone knows best.

Answered by Maulana Imran Mughal

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham