The Importance of Fiqh In Islam

Dina Essawy

22 Oct 2018

Fiqh in Islam is the interpretation of Islamic sources of knowledge (mainly the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH)). Over the years, Muslim scholars have exerted efforts to understand, decipher, and explain the teachings of Islam in order to help Muslims better understand and grasp their religion. These efforts began after the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

During the prophet’s life, Muslims relied on him to explain the Quran and hadiths. However, after his death, people needed a way to correctly interpret Allah’s words and the words of his messenger; therein, came the role of fiqh.

The words of the Prophet were transferred orally from those closest to him, especially his wife, Aisha bint Abi Bakr, and his companions. Thereafter, his teachings and interpretations of the Quran were recorded and documented properly by expert scholars.

Fiqh mainly depends on four fundamentals: the Quran, Hadith (quotes of the Prophet), Al-Ijmaa’ (which means scholarly consensus), and Qiyas (which is finding parallels between issues in which the ruling on one particular issue, which is known, could be applied to another which is unknown).

There are several schools of fiqh in Islam. They share many of their rulings, but differ on their interpretations of verses and hadeeths, and how they apply Qiyas. These schools of fiqh are named after the jurists who preached these teachings; the most well-known of which are: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi', and Hanbali.

Fiqh has developed with the times, and many studies and researches have been conducted to better understand how to apply Islam in our modern times. Following Islam correctly positively impacts our lives every single day and ensures that no one is falsely judged and that no bad deed goes unpunished, in accordance with the teachings of Islam.