Definition of Fiqh

The state of society in the pre-Islamic era was a story of uncivilized people, of uncultured habits and of unrefined behavior. The Arabs , primarily a martial race, lived in Arabia divided into tribes and led a nomadic life. There way of living could by no means be called systematic nor were they aware of decent conduct in their dealings with one another. They were governed by the head of the tribe, known as the chieftain who was responsible for maintaining the uneasy peace not only amongst the members of the tribe, but also between his and other tribes. Blood feuds, on paltry issues, were the order of the day. Female births were rarely tolerated and, therefor, infanticide was a common practice.

From the foregoing we can well understand the way the Arabs were leading their lives and the state of affairs that existed before the advent of Islam. it is in this perspective that we have to observe the interesting changes that followed.

Law And Religion:
The prophet Muhammad(PBUH) inspired by the first Wahi in A.D 610 began to preach Islam as a religion. He preached Islam not for his own sake but for the sake of the community. He preached to bring the most backward humanity onto the righteous and glorious path of peace, love, good conduct, justice and universal brotherhood. Islam is a religion essentially monotheistic, the religion of one God; commonly known as the " Doctrine of Toheed". Now, who is a Muslim? Any person who professes the Islamic religion, thereby acknowledging (1) that there is but one God and (2) Muhammad (PBUH) is His prophet. We should at this stage understand that the relation between Islam and Islamic Law is so interwoven that it is not possible to divorce one from the other. This is a peculiar and characteristic aspect of Islam. Therefore this inseparability, we will see, has caused religion to become the bases for Islamic Law which fact MR. Justice Mahmood has stated in these lines: " It is to be remembered that Hindu and Muslim Law are so intimately connected with religion that they cannot readily be divorced from it". The fact is that the Qur'an being the word of God is Law for Muslims thought it is essentially a code of religion.
Dr. Saeed Ramzan of the United Arab republic in his book, "Islamic Law, Its scope and Equity" , explains in the following words:

" TO gain a fair answer to such a question, one has to apply twofold method of research: on the one hand, one must examine the ethical basis of these Laws and on the other hand, one must circumscribe their actual impact in terms of positive Law."
We also quote Prof. Gibb who stated thus: " Law in the eyes of the Muslim scholars was the practical aspect of religious and social doctrine preached by Muhammad(PBUH)."

Before we proceed further a word about the terminology of"Jurisprudence". This term has been used to denote the study or the knowledge of the fundamental principles of Law. A number of Muslim authors have, while writing on Islamic jurisprudence, used different expressions; some have called it Muslim jurisprudence and some have called it Islamic jurisprudence, although the word Muslim and Muhammadan convey the same idea as the word Islamic does because both deal with Islam. The word Islam is a noun and its adjective is Islamic and Muslims and Muhammadans are those who profess Islam: thus to call their jurisprudence Islamic, Muslim or Muhammadan is one and the same thing; we prefer to call it "Muslim Law and Jurisprudence". The reason is that since the jurisprudence pertains to concept of Islam, therefore it is Islamic. Hence, for all practical purposes, we have decided to name it "Islamic Jurisprudence". The definition of Islamic jurisprudence as indicated earlier is that it is the science of the fundamental principles of Islamic Law.

Significant Changes:

Following the introduction of Islam, a number of changes took place in the Arab community. The prophet Muhammad(PBUH) announced in unequivocal and categorical terms that Islam is the message of God, the Almighty, which he was authorised to convey to suffering humanity. All human beings, he declared, are equal before God and there is no distinction of race, color or status amongst them. All are the creation of God and, therefore, should obey Him. People were called upon to practise Islam which advocates universal brotherhood. Islam means" to the submission to the will of God". When people in the dogma of the oneness of God, they have to follow His dictates. All immoral practices like infanticide, drinking of alcohol, adultery, fornication and all other evils were outlawed. Members of the Muslim community gradually learned to live a disciplined life. Their behaviour, conduct, dealings ans attitude towards one another underwent a basic change.

The rapid transformation of backward Arab community consequent upon their strict adherence to the dictates of Qur'an and Hadith, sweeping changes of a revolutionary nature took place and thus a powerful and indomitable force with unprecedented chivalry emerged. If we pause for a moment to think as who was responsible for this unprecedented transformation, we will come to the conclusion that it was the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophet(PBUH), however, put new life into them and one of the most remarkable achievements of Islam was to unify the warring tribes and inspire them with a common ideal.

Fiqh and Shari'ah

Fiqh literally means" understanding". It is the science of Law or Jurisprudence.
According to Thomas Patrick Hughes:
"Fiqh means the dogmatic theology of Muslims. Work on Muhammadan Law, whether civil or religious.

Ill-mul-Fiqh:
According to Thomas Patrick Hughes:
Ill-mul-Fiqh, Jurisprudence: and the knowledge of all subjects connected with practical religion. In the first place, Fiqh deals with the five pillars of practical religion: 1, the recital of creed; 2, prayer; 3, fasting; 4,zakat or alms giving; 5, hajj or pilgrimage; and in the other place with all questions of jurisprudence such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, sale, evidence, slavery, partnership, warfare, &c. &c.

It is the science of basic principles of Islamic Law. In other words it is the theoretical study of the legal science which concerns itself mostly with a discussion of the sources of Law, and matters appertaining thereto. It thus becomes the science of Islamic Jurisprudence. This gives us an idea of the scope of Islamic Jurisprudence.

Shari'ah:

If we give serious thought to the definition of the jurists belonging to the above referred Sunni school of thought, we shall find that these jurists have linked Fiqh with Shari'ah. Shari'ah in literal terms means "road to the watering place; the path to be followed" and technically speaking it is the canon law of Islam: the Islamic code. Law or Shari'ah is what is good or bad. Who can rightly judge this ? Not men but Allah. Therefore the Qur'an, Tradition, Analogy, all put together is Shari'ah.
There is another way of explaining as to what exactly Shari'ah is: Law is a system of social control established for the purpose of maintaining an ordered society among men. Although religion ascribes what the ideal life should be, the Law indicates the right path to follow. Shari'ah is a dispensation of justice by God among His people.

Definition of Law:

It is a communication from God with reference to man's conduct
(conscious actions)