How Fiqh Education Reforms the Muslim Personality?
Jurisprudential education reshapes the personality of the contemporary Muslim according to faith-based and intellectual principles that are characterized by steadfastness and openness. This educational perspective stems from a foundational principle: that jurisprudential education is the common ground of the Muslim mind, which may be exposed to various types of curricula and educational systems depending on the scientific and educational path it follows. However, this type of education—i.e., jurisprudential education—cannot be dispensed with by any Muslim due to its worldly, otherworldly, and civilizational necessity based on the fact of being a Muslim.
A Muslim’s knowledge of
the teachings of his Shariah, in its comprehensive sense (rulings, perceptions,
values, concepts, and objectives), is essential to being described as a Muslim,
and as a necessary prelude to applying those teachings and what they entail
across various areas of life. Moreover, this knowledge manifests its
responsibilities (both in knowledge and application) on two levels: the
individual and the societal. It also defines its responsibilities toward the
self, others, and Allah the Exalted. Hence, it is responsible knowledge.
As for the Sharia
ruling concerning the obligation to learn the rulings—in its specific
sense—Imam al-Shafi‘i said: Knowledge is of two kinds: one general, which no
mature person with a sound mind is excused from being ignorant of, such as: the
five daily prayers, that Allah has made fasting the month of Ramadan obligatory
upon the people, the obligation of pilgrimage to the House for those able to,
and zakah from their wealth, and that fornication, killing, theft, and drinking
alcohol are forbidden. Also included are those matters of similar nature which
the servants are obligated to understand, act upon, and dedicate themselves and
their wealth to, and to refrain from what is prohibited for them.
The second type is knowledge where servants act on behalf of others concerning
the branches of obligations and what is specific in terms of rulings and other
matters, such as: Jihad in the path of Allah, praying over the deceased and
burying them, returning greetings, and the like…
What is meant by the
knowledge required of the mukallaf (legally accountable person) is: that which
he is obligated to be able to know, not just practicing what they already know.
When a person reaches the age of maturity, is sane, and able to know the legal
rulings either by himself or by asking the people of knowledge about them, he
is considered knowledgeable of what he is charged with, and the rulings are
applied to him, and he is held accountable for their consequences. Ignorance of
them is not accepted as an excuse. Ignorance of legal rulings is not accepted
as an excuse in the domain of Islam; because if knowledge of what one is
obligated with were a condition for the validity of legal responsibility, then
legal responsibility would collapse, and the door would be wide open for
excuses based on ignorance.
This means that the
individual must strive with all his ability and resources to acquire and attain
this knowledge. On the other hand, if the contemporary educational system has
assumed the responsibility of educating people, then it is imperative for the
educational institutions of the Ummah to provide this knowledge to people
through all available and renewed means and methods, never neglecting or
delaying it.
As for the second type:
it is the knowledge of the elite—this is what is known by the scholars and
jurists. It involves the branches of the previously mentioned obligations, and
the new rulings and partial incidents that occur for which there is no explicit
text in the Book or Sunnah, and thus are open to interpretation and analogy.
Differences and disputes occur regarding them. This type is from the fard
kifayah (communal obligations); if some people fulfill it, the rest are
absolved of sin, but if everyone neglects it, they are all sinful.
Therefore, it becomes
obligatory upon the people collectively that a group of them should undertake
the study of jurisprudence (i.e., knowledge of legal rulings) to lift the
burden from the rest. This is another level of jurisprudential education
concerned with cultivating mujtahids (qualified scholars for legal
reasoning). This cannot be fulfilled by an individual or a small group alone,
but rather it must be shouldered by the educational institutions of the Ummah,
beginning with the identification of this type of qualified minds, and
continuing through programs and institutions capable of preparing and educating
that group. Without such an effort—as is evident in many aspects today—the
connection between Islam and life would be severed, not on a theoretical or
historical level, but on a practical, functional, and daily-life level.
In light of the above,
we can distinguish—based on this clarification of the meaning of “fiqh”—between
two meanings: "jurisprudential education" and “deep understanding (tafaqquh).”
The first refers to a type of knowledge presented to learners (i.e., the
legally accountable), whereby they become aware of their duties towards Allah
and others, and of their rights—those that are entailed by legal rulings. This
is the type of knowledge that is obligatory and necessary upon the legally
accountable, and it is delivered through one of the educational mediums, the
most prominent of which are the “teacher,” or the “preacher and caller,” or
through direct knowledge by reading and exploring. This, in turn, requires the
formulation of suitable curricula, syllabi, and educational literature prepared
by responsible and aware educational institutions. This type of education
should also be purposefully and systematically included in public education
programs directed at the members of society.
As for the second type,
tafaqquh (deep understanding), it is a scholarly approach undertaken by
a number of the Ummah’s members—the mujtahids—who engage in it to
generate new knowledge beneficial to the Muslim community. This is done through
applying rigorous scientific and research-based methods in accordance with the
principles of the discipline. This task is incumbent on those among the Ummah
who have the capability and are qualified to undertake it.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said: “…What
is obligatorily required of everyone is that which a person cannot be excused
for being ignorant of, from the total sum of obligatory duties upon him, such
as testifying with the tongue and affirming with the heart that Allah alone has
no partner, no likeness, no equal; He neither begets nor is begotten, and there
is none comparable to Him; He is the Creator of all things, and to Him is the
return of all things; He is the One who gives life and causes death, the
Ever-Living who does not die. That Muhammad is His servant and messenger and
the seal of His Prophets is true.
That resurrection after death for the recompense of deeds is true; eternal life
in the Hereafter for the people of happiness through faith and obedience in
Paradise is true; and for the people of wretchedness through disbelief and
denial in the blazing Fire is true. That the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, and
what is in it is true from Allah, and one must believe in all of it and act
upon its decisive rulings. That the five daily prayers are obligatory, and one
must know what is necessary for them to be valid, including purification and
their various rulings. That fasting Ramadan is obligatory, and one must know
what invalidates the fast and what is necessary for its validity.
If one possesses wealth and is capable of pilgrimage, then it is obligatory
upon him to know what requires zakah, when it is due, and how much is due. He
must also know that Hajj is obligatory once in his lifetime if he is able to
undertake it.
There are also other things that he is required to know in a general sense and
is not excused for being ignorant of, such as the prohibition of fornication,
usury, alcohol, pork, consuming carrion, all types of filth, usurpation,
bribery in judgments, bearing false witness, consuming people’s wealth unjustly
or without their consent unless it is something that people are generally not
particular about or do not covet. Also, the prohibition of all types of
injustice, the prohibition of marrying one's mothers and sisters and those
mentioned alongside them, the prohibition of unjustly killing a believing soul,
and similar matters all of which are clearly mentioned in the Book and agreed
upon by the Ummah.”
In light of this, we
see that the branches of jurisprudential education fall into three major
categories: the jurisprudence of creed (fiqh al-ʿaqīdah), the jurisprudence of
ethics (fiqh al-akhlāq), and the jurisprudence of practice (fiqh al-ʿamal). The legally accountable individual encounters all
three types in his life. Despite the differences among them in terms of
conditions, performance, and entitlement, they all share the same conditions of
obligation: maturity, sanity, and being a Muslim. The performance may vary
among the accountable individuals, and the form of performance and entitlement
may be required of some and not of others.
This makes the
understanding of these rulings, their contexts, conditions, and forms of
application a religious necessity for the life of a Muslim—or a mukallaf
in jurisprudential terms. Moreover, these three types are intended as principal
objectives for the legislations and rulings in the Qur’an—namely, the formation
of the Islamic personality in harmony with the Qur’an, the rulings of Islam,
and its value system.
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