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Fiqh or Islamic
Jurisprudence is the science of law which the early Muslims
developed (in second and third century of Hijrah) in order to
discover what the Shariah prescribes in detail. According to the
Jurists, there are four roots or sources from which Islamic law is
derived and those are: the Qur’an; the Sunnah or traditions of the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); the Ijma or the consensus of the
community; and Qiyas or analogical reasoning. First two sources
are primary and the other two are secondary. If neither of the
primary sources helps, then resort may be had to Ijma and if this
too does not help, then the last one i.e. Qiyas can be exercised.
The process of finding a rule of law by examining the roots is
called Ijtihad which means personal intellectual exertion by a
qualified legal expert called mujtahid. Principles known as
Istehsan or Juristic Equity, Istislah or doctrine of public good,
and Istidlal or reasoning guide in interpretation of law or in
deducing rules by resorting to Qiyas.
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Sunni Sects:
There emerged four schools of thought or schools of Jurisprudence
during eighth and ninth centuries among the Sunnis, namely: The
Hanafi School founded by Abu Hanifa (699-767 A.D) a resident of Kufa, known as the greatest Imam, and promoted by his illustrious
disciples Abu Yusuf and Muhammad Ash-Shaybani; the Maliki School,
founded by Malik-ibn-Anas (713—795 A.D.) who was an inhabitant of
Madinah and who wrote a book on traditions of the Prophet known as
Kitab-al-Mawatta; the Shafii School, found by Muhammad bin Idris
ash-Shafi (767-820 A.D.); and the Hanbali School, founded by Ahmad
bin Hanbal (780-855 A.D.) resident of Baghdad who wrote a book on
traditions called Musnad-e-Ahmad. The principles of these four
schools of jurisprudence are substantially the same and they differ slightly
from each other merely in matters relating to minor details.
Followers of Abu Hanifa in India, Pakistan, Turkey and Central
Asia form the largest group; Maliki law is followed in North and
West Africa; Shafi is followed in Indonesia, Egypt, East Africa
and Syria, while Hanbali School is followed only in Arabia.
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Shia
Sects:
The above mentioned four schools of law collectively form the
Sunni sect of the Muslims which represent 70 to 80 percent of the
total Muslim population in the world. The remaining 20 to 30% of
the Muslims form another sect or division known as the Shia.
According to the Shias, Imamate descended in the Prophet’s line by
Divine will. They consider that the first three caliphs – Abu Bakr,
Umar and Usman–were usurpers and Ali was the rightful Imam as also
the caliph. The central religious belief of the Shia is that God
has chosen a series of Imams for the leadership of the community.
The Imams are endowed with special knowledge or light and they are
innocent. Imam cannot be elected by the people but is directly
appointed by God and he nominates his successor. According to
their belief, Islam cannot be practiced without the guidance of
the Imam chosen by God. The major differences between the Sunni
and the Shia are relating to the institution of Imam and caliph.
However, there are some other differences also which relate to
some details of law and theology where the Shias have a more
rational tendency. There are some sub-sects or some sub-divisions
among the Shia and mainly these are three: First is the group of
Twelvers? They form the largest group and follow twelve Imams, the
last of whom disappeared. The second group is that of the Seveners
who disagreed with others on the question of successor to the
sixth Imam. As they followed Ismael, son of Imam Jaafar Sadiq,
they are also called Ismailies. Prince Karim Aga Khan is their
present Imam who is the 49th Imam of Ismailis. Another
group is called Zaidis who are followers of Zaid, son of 4th
Imam Zain-ul-Abidin. They are nearer to the Sunnis in the
interpretations of law. The Shia Muslims are fairly widespread in
the Muslim world. Mainly they live in Iran, Iraq, South Arabia and
countries of Indian sub-continent.
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Mysticism:
This section would remain incomplete if we do not record our brief
comments about Mysticism or Sufism. Sufism is neither a sect nor
is it a school of Islamic Jurisprudence. A mystic or Sufi may
follow any school of fiqh or sect, but as a Sufi he enjoys a
different status.
The word “Sufi” is
derived from ‘suf’, the Arabic word for wool, because the earliest
Sufis wore rough garments of wool. The wool robes were a form of
ascetic self-mortification (Zuhd) for the Sufis and a visible sign
of their protest against the worldliness of Islamic society after
the end of the pious caliphate. Hasan Basri (d. 728) and Rabia (d.
801) are known among the early Sufis. The Sufi theorists of the
early movement produced an elaborate psychology describing the
stations (maqamat) and states (ahwal) of the mystical process
toward union with God. The stations are those levels which a Sufi
can achieve through his own disciplined efforts, while the states
are graces bestowed by God when the Sufi has reached the end of
his own spiritual ability. These culminated in the experience of
extinction in the reality of God, (fana) and, beyond that in the
still more valuable experience of subsisting in the divine though
living in the phenomenal world (baqa)!
From the twelfth
century a new factor was added to Sufism with the formation of
organized brother-hood or orders of Sufis. A Sufi order is known
as a tariqa or way to attain union with God. Each order was headed
by a sheikh or pir who was the inheritor of spiritual knowledge
handed down through a series (silsila) of saints (awliya) before
him. The follower of the Sheikh was his disciple (murid), a seeker
for initiation into the way of mystic knowledge. Many sufi orders
maintained central headquarter, like a monastery, where members
lived their regime of discipline and meditation. These places
served important social functions for the common people where
food, medical care and even financial assistance were often
available.
In its later
phases, Sufism developed a cult of saints, and this aspect of the
movement appeals to ordinary Muslims. Great reverence is paid to
Sufi masters who are believed to possess spiritual power (barakah)
and the ability to do miracles (karamat). When a saint dies, his
tomb becomes a place of pilgrimage for seekers and suppliants,
often bringing gifts. For great saints there is an annual festival
(Urs), such as that for Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore and many
thousands of people visit the saints tomb to pay their respects
and offer prayers.
Sufi orders are
generally grouped into four, namely: Chishityah, Naqshbandiyah,
Suhrwardiyah and Qaderiyah. Saints like Ali Hajveri (known as Data
Gunj Baksh) of Lahore, Mueen-ud-Din Chishti of Ajmer, Qutb-ud-Din
Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi, Nizam-ud-Din Awliya of Delhi, Farid Shakar
Gunj of Pakpattan and Bhah-ud-Din Zikria of Multan played a great
role in conversion of millions of people to Islam in the 11th to
14th century in Indian sub-continent.
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