I

slami
cLegal
Syst
em

Resear
chAr
ti
cleBy
:-

UsamaJami
l

Punj
abUni
v er
sit
yLaw
Col
lege
 I
slami
cLegalSy
stem
Isl
ami cl
egal system i
sbasi call
yderiv
edfrom Qur an,SunnahandHadi th.It
i
sest abl
ishedasShar i
ahl awinmanyMusl i
m count r
iesandpr ov
idea
compl et
esy stem ofjustice.I
tcompr i
sesnotonl yofIsl
ami ccodeoflif
ebut
Arabiancustomsar ealsopar tofit
.Besi
dest hi
s, i
tcomprisesoffiqh,qiyas
, i
jmaandI stihsan.TheShar i
ahl aworMusl i
ml awspeci f
ieshowt he
Musl i
msshoul dconductt hei
rselvesinaccordancewi t
hIslamicteachi
ngs.
It’
sacompl exl egalsystem wheni ti
sseenf r
om ey eofdiffer
entsectsand
j
ur i
sti
copinions.

Or
igi
n
Therewasnol egal“
sy stem”bef oreIslam inAr abia.Chiefofthe
tri
bewast hesolelawgi ver.Alllawswer ecust oms.Cust omswhi chwer e
notprohibi
tedbyIslam cont i
nuedt opr evai
l.I
ti snotcor recttosayt hat
Isl
am professedtorepeal t
heent i
recustomar ylawofAr abi a,andto
repl
aceitwi t
hacodeofal t
oget hernewl aws.Wi tht hedev el
opmentof
Isl
am newl awsemer gedwhileot herwerejustmodi fi
edcust oms.Themai n
sourceofinformati
onwasQur anandi tspract icalexampl ewasl if
eofHol y
ProphetS.A.W.InIslamiclegal system solelawgi v erisAllahi.e.
soverei
gntybelongst oHim.So, versesofQur an, l
ifeofPr ophetS.A.W.and
customsofAr abiaar eit
sor i
gin.
Or
igi
noflawiscovenantbet
weenmanandGod.Infact,thet
heor
y
ofsomejur
ist
sisthatt
heorigi
noflaw,ascr
eat
iveofobl
i
gationsand
ri
ghts,i
stobefindinaprimordi
alcov enant(mithaq-i
-azali
)enteredi
nto
betweenmanandGodatt hebeginningofcr eat
ion,whent hespiri
tsof
fut
urehumanityaresupposedtohav ev owedallegi
ancet oGod, andGodto
havepromisedtocreat
ethewor l
df ortheiruseandenj oyment.

Dev
elopment
Devel
opmentofI
slami
clegal
syst
em occur
redi
nfourst
ages
whi
char
egivenbel
ow:
1.Fi
rstper
iod—TheQur
an
Fi
rstper
iodcommencedwiththeHij
ratofPr
ophetS.A.W.t
oMadi na
andendedwithHi
sdeath.I
tiscal
l
edthelegi
slat
iveper
iodofi
slam.
2.Secondperi
od—Aft
erthedeathofProphetS.
A.W.
toest
abl
i
shmentof
di
ffer
entschool
sofjur
ispr
udence.
I
tcover
s,roughl
yspeaki
ng,t
hetimeofthecompanionsoft
he
pr
ophetS.
A.W.i.
e.Ashabandthei
rsuccessor
s(Tabi
’un)
.
3.Thi
rdper
iod–Thef
oundat
ionoft
heSunni
School
sofl
aw
themedi evalperiod, t
heMal ikischool wasal sousedi npartsof
Muslim-domi natedt errit
oriesinEur opesuchasSi cilyandSpainThe
deathoft hePr ophetMuhammadi n632BCEconst itut
edamaj or
cri
sisforthef l
edgl i
ngumma( Musl i
m communi t
y).Thequest ionof
successiondi vi
dedt heummai ntotwodi stinctreli
gio-poli
ti
cal
communi t
iesofi nterpretati
on, designatedsubsequent lyasSunni sm
andShi i
sm.Al thought hisschism wasi ni
tiall
yther esultofpoli
tical
fact
ionali
sm, itgradual lygainedt heologicalcharact eri
sti
csaswel l
.
Evenso, thereisnocl eardistincti
onbet weenShi aandSunni I
slam.I n
addit
ion,bothoft hesedenomi nati
onscanbedi vi
dedi nto
subcategoriesofi nterpretati
on: therearedi ff
erentbr anchesofShi a
Isl
am justast herear edi ff
erentbr anchesi nSunni Islam.

Gi
vent
hepoli
ti
cal
inst
abil
it
yandsocio-
rel
igiousf
acti
onal
ism among
t
heear
lyMusl
ims,var
iousmadhab(schools)oft
houghtwit
hinIsl
ami
c
j
urisprudenceemer gedI nt hef i
rst150y ear
sofI sl
am.Mostoft hem
wereshor t
-l
iv
ed, eit
herbecomi ngextinctormer gi
ngwi t
hot her
schools.Today ,Hanaf i,
Mal i
ki
, Shafii
,Hanbali(Sunni),Jafari,Zay di
(Shii
te),Zahir
iandI badi areconsi deredthemai nschool sofI slamic
j
urisprudence, andallhav emaj orconstit
uencieswi thinbot htheShi a
andSunni communi t
ies.Thi sar t
icl
elooksbrieflyatt hefourmaj or
schoolsi nSunni Isl
am.Al t
hought heseschoolsof ferdifferentlegal
i
nterpretati
onsabouti ssuest hatar enotaddressedi ntheKor anand
Hadith(tradit
ionsconcer ni
ngt hel i
feandut t
erancesoft hePr ophet
Muhammad) ,intermsoft hef undament alpr
inciplesofI slam, they
sharecommongr ound.

Hanaf
i
TheHanafischoolwasfoundedbyAbuHani f
aan-Numan(d.767),a
merchantwhostudiedandtaughtinKufa,I
raqandisrepor
tedtohave
l
eftbehi
ndonemaj orwork,al
-Fi
qhal-Akbar
.Hewasoneoft heear
li
est
Musli
m scholar
stoseeknewway sofapplyi
ngIsl
amictenetsto
ever
ydayli
fe.

Hanaf idoct r
inei sconsi deredamongt hemostf l
exibleandli
ber ali
n
I
slami cjurisprudence, includinginthear easofcrimi nall
aw,treatment
ofnon- Musl i
ms, indi
vidual fr
eedoms, mar ri
ageanduseofpr oper t
y.
Officiall
yadopt edbyt heOt tomanTur ksi nthe16thcent ury
,Hanaf i
j
urispr udencer emai nst hemosti nfl
uent i
alschool i
nt heworld.Iti
s
usedi nJor dan, Lebanon, Paki st
an,Syria,TurkeyandAf ghanistanand
bysi gnificantmi nori
tyMusl i
m groupsincount ri
essuchasI ranand
Mal aysia.

Mal
i
ki
Oneoft
hegi
ant
sofI
slami
cjur
ispr
udencewasMal
i
kibnAnas,
an8t
h-
centuryschol
arfrom Medinaandt hefounderoftheMali
kischool.
Malikii
sthesecond-lar
gestofthef ourschool
sofSunniIsl
am,
fol
lowedbyappr oxi
mat el
y25percentofMusl i
ms.TheMal i
kischool
i
spr edominantl
ypracti
sedinNorthAf ri
ca(excl
udingnor
thernand
easternEgypt)
,WestAf ri
ca,
Chad, Sudan,Kuwait,
Bahrai
n,Dubai
(Unit
edAr abEmirat
es)andnorth-easternpart
sofSaudiArabia.I
n.

TheMal i
kischool differssl ightl
yfr om thethreeot herschool sof
j
ur i
sprudencei nSunni I
slam, mostnot ablyint hesour cesi tusesto
deriveruli
ngs.Al thoughi tfoll
owsot herschool sini t
suseoft heKor an
asapr i
mar ysour ce, itrelieslessont hehadi th.Additional l
y,t
he
practiceoft hepeopl eofMedi na( amal ahlal-medi na)isusedasa
source, whichi sdiffer entf r
om ot herschool s.Thi ssour cesomet imes
takespr ecedenceov ert heHadi th, si
ncet hepr acti
ceoft hepeopl eof
Medi nawasconsi der eda‘ l
ivi
ngSunnah’ (
thebodyoft r
adi t
ionalsocial
andl egalcust om andpr actice),becauset hePr ophetMuhammad
l
ivedi nMedi na, f
or medagov ernmentt hereanddi edther e.
Furthermor e,mostofhi scompani onsl i
vedt heredur i
nghi sli
feand
afterhisdeat h.

Shaf
ii
TheShaf iischoolhi
snamedaf teritsfounder,I
mam Shaf ii(767-820)
.
From 804t o810, hewast aughtbyMal i
kibnAnas, t
hef ounderoft he
Malikischool.Shafi
i’
smosti mpor tantbooksar ear-
Risalah( ‘
the
message’ )andal-Umm ( ‘
themot her’)
.Oneoft hemostnot able
fol
lowersoft heShafiiSchoolwast hePersianschol
arImam al -
Ghazali 
(1058-1111),t
heinfluenti
al phi
losopherandtheol ogian.

TheShaf
iischoolpredomi
nat
esinKurdi
stan,Egypt,Yemen,I
ndonesia,
Thai
l
and,Singapore,t
hePhi
li
ppi
nes,
SriLanka,Palesti
ne,Sy
ria,
Brunei
 andMalaysi
a.Alt
houghtheschooli
sconsideredtobeoneofthemore
conser
vat
ive,manyofi
tsfol
lowersuphol
dliberal
viewsi
nint
erpret
ing
Isl
am.

Hanbal
i
TheHanbal i school isnamedaf tert heI raqi schol arAhmadi bnHanbal
(d.855),whowasadi sci
pleofI mam Shaf i
i.Unt iltheemer genceof
theHouseofSaudi ntheAr abianPeni nsul a, theschool didnotenj oy
anypat r
onageorsuppor tfrom aser iouspol iticalfor ce.Indeed, i
ts
l
egiti
macywasnotal way saccept ed.Today , itisregar dedast he
smallestofal ltheSunni school sofj urisprudence, foundmai nlyin
Saudi Arabi
aandQat ar.Alt
houghHanbal ii
st hemostconser v
at i
veof
theSunni school s,i
tisconsi deredl iber alinmostcommer cial mat ters.
‘
Conser vati
ve’ herereferstoadher encet oast ri
ctint erpreta-ti
onof
Isl
am throughal it
eralunder standingoft heKor anandHadi th.
Wahhabi sm, whi chisoneoft hest rictestandmosti nfluent i
al
mov ement swi thinSunni I
slam, isr oot edi nt heHanbal ischool .After
Mohamadi bnAbdul Wahhab( d.1791) , I
bnTay miyy ah( d.1328)was
oneoft hemostnot ableandcont rov ersialHanbal i schol ar
s.Hi sstrict
beli
efsar ethoughtt ohav ehadaconsi derabl einfluenceon
contempor aryWahhabi sm andJi hadi sm.

4.Four
thper
iod–St
il
lcont
inui
ng,
most
lycont
ainj
uri
sti
copi
nions
Anelaborat
eclassi
ficati
onhasbeenmadeofthej ur
ist
softhi
sper
iod
andtheirwork,
butitwillbemoreappr
opri
atet
odeal witht
hat
questi
oninanydetailinconnexi
onwit
hthedoctr
ineofTaqli
d.

Sour
ces
Theaut
hori
tytoenactl
awspri
mar i
l
ybelongstoGod,andHealone
hassupr
emelegisl
ati
vepoweri
ntheIsl
amicSy st
em.Besidest
his,
fol
l
owingar
ethemai nsour
cesofI
slamicLegalSyst
em
1.
Qur
an
“
TheQurani
st heBookofGod.Itist
heeternal
,uncreat
ed,l
i
ter
al
wordofGodsentdownfrom heaven,
rev
ealedonef i
nalti
metothe
Pr
ophetMuhammedasgui deforhumankind”

TheQur an,whichconsist
sof114chapt ersof6,000v er
ses,hasbeen
reveal
edt otheProphet(PBUH)ov eraperi
odof22y ears.I
tschapter
s
arearr
angedaccor di
ngt olength,notchronology.Thel ongerchapter
s,
whichrepresentthelat
erMedi nianrevel
ations,precedet heshort
er
onesrepresentingt
heear l
i
erMeccanr evelati
ontoMohammed.

Quranmeans‘ readi
ng’
orr eci
tat
ionandi sder
ivedfrom thewordqar
’a
whichlit
eral
l
ymeans‘ t
or ead’
.TheQur analsocall
sitselfby
alt
ernati
vemeanssuchasKi t
ab( Book),
Huda( Gui
de) ,
Furqan
(Di
stingui
shed)andDhikr(Remembr ance)

Qurani
sheldtoconsi
stofr
evel
ati
onsmadebyAll
ahtotheProphet
(PBUH)
.Nowt hequest
ioni
showthatmadepossi
ble?Dunn-
Mascett
i
giv
esustheanswer.

Mohammedt ookt ospendi ngni ghtsinahi llcavenearMecca.Ther e

heponder edthepr oblemswhi chwer eaffl
ictingMecca: t
ri
bal
soli
dar i
tywasbr eakingup, andrichmer chant spreferr
edt opur sue
i
ndividual(i
nter
est s)rathert hanfulfi
l
l t
heirdut i
est owardst hemor e
unfortunat
eones.OnedayMohammedhear dav isi
onsay i
ngt ohi m
’Youar eaMessengerofGod’ .Thiswast hebegi nningofv ocationas
ProphetofGod.Fr om thist imeonwar ds,atf requentintervaluntilhi
s
death,hereceived‘ r
evelation’-
messagest hatcamedi rectl
yf r
om God.
Inabout650CEt hemessageswer ecoll
ect edandwr i
ttendowni nthe
Koran, t
hesacredscr i
pturesofI slam
 Fi
nallybutmainly,Qurancanbedividedint otwo:t heoldestone
dati
ngf rom Mecca;thati
sthefir
stperiodoft heprophet ’
slif
et i
me,
containsrel
igi
ousmat ter
swhicharewr i
tt
eni napoet i
cal,oftenly
rical
sty
lewhi let
heMedi anschapter
shav emuchofpol iti
calandl egal
nature.Thesedif
ferencescorr
espondt ot woperiods;whent he
mov ementbeganatMecca; aspurelyrel
igiousandmor alreacti
on
againstpagansocietyandendedinMedi nawi t
htheest abli
shmentof
anewpol i
ti
cal–reli
giouscommuni ty.

2.
Sunnah

Sunnawasr egardedint heanci enttimesamongt heAr absoci etyasa

determinantnormi ntheconductofl i
feoft heindividualandofsoci ety.
Sot hisconceptisnotinv entedbyt heMusl i
ms, f
ori twasal readywell
knownt otheancientpagansoft heper iodbeforeI slam.I sl
am,
howev er,changedtheconceptandmeani ngoft hisanci enttermt o
meanany thi
ngthatcoul dbepr ov entohav ebeent hepr acti
ceoft he
Prophet[ PBUH]andhi sol destdiscipl
es.Slightdifferenceexists
betweenSunnaandHadi s.“TheSunnai srestr
ictedt otheconductof
thePr ophetMuhammed( PBUH) ,speci
al l
yhisexpr essedopi nion,
deedsandt aci
tapprovals”Thus, whil
et heformeroner eferstot heli
fe
andt eachingsofthePr ophet( PBUH) ,thelatt
eronei stheir
classifi
cati
on,coll
ecti
onandcodi fi
cati
on.

Thissourcewasnecessi tatedfordecisionoftheoftenraisi
ng
questi
on,forthesolut
ionofwhi chnodi r
ectrevel
ati
onwas
for
thcoming,orcertai
npoi ntshadt obeexpl ai
nedandmadecl ear.
ThusthePr ophet[PBUH]madepr onouncement sont hesemat ters.
Theyareequal l
yregarded,howev er,assacredasQur anthought hey
arecommuni catedorall
ybyt hepr ophet,whil
etheQur ani
s“ a
revel
ati
onmadei nGod’sownwor ds” .
3.
Fiqh
Accor dingtoAbuHani fa,f
iqhi s“Theknowl edgeofwhati sfora
man’ ssel fandwhati sagai nstaman’ ssel f”Fi qhi nI sl
am isknownas
“Islami cj ur
isprudence, ”oneoft hedy nami cdi scipl i
nes,dealingwi t
h
thepr act i
calregul ationsandr ulesoft heshar ī
ʿah, suchasobser vance
ofwor ships,ri
tuals, andsoci allegal
ism der i
v edf rom t hepr i
mar y
sour cesoft heQur ’ānandsunnah.I not herwor ds, fiqhisthel egal
dimensi onofI slam andi ncreasedexpansi onoft heshar ī
ʿ
ahl aws.Fiqh
canbestbedef inedast hest udyoft he“ scienceoft heDivineLaw”i n
Islami cj uri
sprudence.I tembr acesv ariantappr oachesanddev elopsi
n
thecont extofdiffer entcul t
ur eandt radition, whi l
eappl yi
ngt he
met hodol ogiesandappl icati
onsofGod’ sr ev elation.Fiqhenv i
sages
theef f ortsofjurist st ounder standandt opr act i
cet hewi llofGodand
Hi sgui dancei nt hei nt erfaceofi ndi
vidual ,soci etal,communal ,
and
civili
zat i
onal settings.
AfterthePr ophet,theCompani onsset tl
edindi fferentpar tsofthevast
Isl
amicempi re.Heret heywereconf ront
edwi thnewpr oblems, and
theyhadnoopt i
onbutt oexercisetheirpersonal judgement .The
Prophetwasnol ongerami dstthem toturnt ohimf orthesol uti
onof
thesepr oblems.Ther eforewhenev eranypr oblem ar oset heyfir
st
consultedtheQur '
anandhadi thandonl yiftheyf ailedtof indthe
soluti
ont here,theyresorted,t
ot heexerciseoft heirper sonal
j
udgement ,whileobser vi
ngfull
yt hespir
itoft heQur '
anandhadi t
h.

Atthisstagewhent heexerciseofreasonwasdonet odeducealaw,

thetermf i
qhcamet obef r
equent l
yusedforthisendeav our
.Towards
theendoft hefi
rstcent
uryamov ementofcollect
inghadi t
hstar
ted.
Largenumber sofpeopledev otedthei
renti
reli
vest ocoll
ectand
recordthetradi
ti
ons.Nowt heknowl edgeofthetradit
ionscamet obe
termedasi l
m andthetradi
tionist
sbegant obecalledulama.

Att
hisst
aget
her
ewasanot
hergr
oupwhowasi
nter
est
edonl
yin
 thosetr
aditi
onsfrom whichsomel egalr
ulecoul
dbededuced.Fort
his
purposetheyresort
edt otheexer
ciseofreasonandper
sonal
j
udgement .Thisknowledgecomingf r
om thi
ssecondgr
oupcamet o
betermedasf iqhasagainstil
m.

Duringtheageofsuccessor s(Tabiun)theAr absset t

ledindi f
f erent
partsoft hev astMusl i
m empi r
e.Consequent lytheycamei ntocont act
withdifferentculturesandci v
il
izati
ons—conf ronti
ngwi thprobl ems
theyhadnev erfacedbef ore.I
nt hei
rendeav ourtosolv ethese
problemst heymadegr eatadvancesinv ar
iousf i
eldsofl earning.
I
slami clawwasal sodev el
opedasasci ence.Accor dingt oIbn
Khaldunt het eacher softheQur'anwerenol ongercal l
edqur r
a, t
hey
werer atherknownasf uqahaandul ama.Amongt hesuccessor sthere
weref uquhaandul ama,thati
s,thosewhower eauthorit
iesinl awand
hadith.

Themostwel l
-knownschol arofMadi nawasSai db-al-
Musay yi
b(d94
AH) .I
nthissecondper iodoft hedevelopmentoff i
qhthephrasesahl
al-
il
m andahl al-
fiqhwer eoftenusedi nterchangeably
.Al-Muwattaof
Imam Mal i
kthemostf amousbookoft hisperiod,pr
ovidesan
exampl ewhenf i
qhandhadi t
hwasnoty etfull
yseparated.I
tisneit
her
exclusi
vel
yonhadi t
hnoronf iqh.Boththeset ermswer eusedfor
thosescholarswhoder i
vedrul esfr
om theQur '
anandt heSunnah,to
giveverdi
ctsonl egalmat t
ers.

Nowint
hethir
dstage,
towar
dsthemiddl
eofthesecondcent
uryof
Hi
jr
ahbooks,
begantobewri
ttenexcl
usi
vel
yonfi
qh

4.
Qiy
as
Despi
tethefactt
hatal
lthet hr
eesour
cesareusedsti
llt
heremayexi
st
agap,whichhastobefi
lled.Thisi
str
ueforall
otherl
egalsyst
ems.
Foraj
udgemaynotdenyr enderi
ngadeci
siononthegroundthat
 therearegaps.Thusi ntheSher athedev icet ofil
lthisgapisQiyas.
Ast henamei ndicat esitmeansani nductivepr ocessgov er
nedbyt he
rulesoflogic.“Itis…ext endingtheprinciplescont ai
nedi nthesources
discussedabov e, andther ebycoverscasesnotexpr essl
ycov er
ed.It
shouldbenot ed, howev ert hatasasour ce, j
udici
al r
easoningoccupies
asubor dinateposi t
ionot hef i
rstt
hreesour cesdiscussedabov e,and
cannotcont r
adi ctther ulesestabl
ishedbyt hem. ”

Inordertodot hi
st hejudgehast woalter
nati
ves:ifhecannotgiv e
solut
ionthroughappl yi
ngQur anandSunnahelooksintoanother
simil
arcasesinor dertosear chwhetherarul
ecanbededuct edornot ;
orhewi l
lseetoit“whet herasolutioncanbederi
vedfrom thetotal
ity
ofthelaw,consideringitcareful
l
yasawhol eandapplyingtothecase
i
nquest i
ont hesolutionwhichcor r
espondsbesttothegeneralspir
it
ofthelaw.

Therefore,thesour cesofI sl
ami clawar eQur an,Sunna[ Hadith]I
jma
andQiyaswhi char etheintegratedwhol eofI sl
ami clegalsystem.Thus
whenev ercasesar i
seonehasf irsttor esor
tt otheQur anandi ft
he
caseisnotr esolv
edwi t
hthehel pofQur anhel pcanbeobt ainedfrom
theothert hreesour cesrespectively.Meani ng“ …r i
ghtjudgmentcan
bearri
v edatt hroughf oursources:t heexpr esswor dsoft hebook
[Qur
an] ,unanimousl yrecognizedt raditi
ons( hadith),l
ogicalr
easoni ng
[Qi
yas]andconsensusoft hecommuni ty[j
j
ma]

5.
Ij
ma
Ij
ma’ orconsensusofopi ni
onisthedelegatedpowert olaydown
l
awsbyt heresolut
ionoft hosemeni nthecommuni t
ywhoar e
compet enti
nt hatbehalf,
thatis,t
heMuj t
ahidsorJurists.Thelawsso
l
aiddownar epr esumedt obewhatGodi ntended,andar ethus
coveredbythedef init
ionoflawasacommuni cati
onfrom God.This
sourceoflawi scalledIj
ma’ orconsensusofopi ni
on.
 Thejurist
sact i
nginabodyonl yexpoundt helaws,thelaws
whichtheysolaydownhav emostoft heat tr
ibutesoflegisl
ativ
e
enactments.Theirvali
dit
ycannotbedisput ed,andi snotaffect
edby
thereasonswithwhi chitmaybesuppor ted.Thepr esumpt i
ont hat
suchlawsar einaccordwi t
hthepri
nciplesofQur ’
anandt heHadi t
his
conclusi
ve,andtheycannot ,t
her
efore,betreatedasi nvali
dongr ound
ofrepugnancytot hereveal
edlaws.
Furtheral awr esolv edonbyt heMuj tahidscanber epeal edbya
subsequentr esol uti
onofasi milarbodyofmen.Thus, itwoul dbe
substantiall
ycor rectt osaythatt heMuhammadanj urisprudence
concedesl egi slativepower st othejuri
stsactinginabody .Such
power sthoughder ivedf rom div
ineLegislator
,arepracticallyunli
mit
ed,
andsincet heMuhammadanr el
igiondoesnotadmi tthepossi bi
li
tyof
fur
therrev el
at ionaf tert hedeathoft heprophet,t
hepr i
ncipl eofIj
ma’
mayber egar dedast heonlyaut hori
tyforlegi
slat
ionnowav ai
labl
ein
theMuhammadansy stem.

6.
Ist
ihsan
Ist
ihsanlit
er al
lymeanst odeem somet hi
ngprefer
able.I
ni t
sjur
isti
c
sense,Isti
hsani samet hodofexercisi
ngpersonalopini
on( r
ay)in
ordertoav oidanyrigi
dityandunfai
rnessthatmightresul
tf r
om li
ter
al
appli
cationofl aw.Ist
ihsanasaconcepti sclosetoequityinwestern
l
aw.Howev erequi
tyinwest er
nlawisbasedonnat urall
aw, whereas
Ist
ihsanisessent i
all
ybasedondi vi
nelaw.

Ist
ihsanisnotindependentofShar i
ah,itisi nt
egralpar
tofShari
ah.
I
sti
hsani sanimportantbranchofIjt
ihad,andhaspl ayedaprominent
rol
einadaptati
onofI sl
ami cl
awt othechangi ngneedsofsociety
.
I
sti
hsanhasbeenv ali
datedbyHanaf i
,Maliki andHanbal i
jur
ist
s.Imam
Shafi
i
, Shi
iandZahiriUlamahav erej
ectedi tasamet hodofdeducti
on.
Howev er,
inef
fectMaj ori
tyhaveacceptedI stihsan.
 I
thasbeenment i
onedt hatdeci sionofUmarBi nKhat t
abt o
suspend" hadd"penal ty(penaltypr escr ibedbyt heQur anandSunnah)
ofamput ati
onofhanddur i
ngf ami nei sanexampl eofI st
ihsan.Here
positivelawofI slam wassuspendedasanexcept ionalmeasur einan
except i
onal sit
uation.Amaj orjuristAl -Sarakhsiconsi dersIsti
hsanas
amet hodofseeki ngfacilit
yandeasei nl egali
njunct ionsandi sin
accor dwi t
ht heQur an( 2:185).Kamal isay sthatcompani ons( Sahabi)
andsuccessor s( Tabiun)wer enotmer elyli
ter
alist.Ont hecont r
ary,
theirruli
ngswer eof tenbasedont heirunder standingoft hespi r
itand
purposeofShar iah.Dr .Hashim Kamal i giv
esanewexampl e.Oral
testimonywast hest andar dfor m ofev idenceinI slamiclaw.Howev er
,
nowi nsomecasesphot ography ,soundr ecordingandl aborator
y
analysishav ebecomemor ereliablemeansofpr oof .Her eisacaseof
Isti
hsanbywhi chmet hodwecanpr ef erthesemeansofpr oofsover
oraltestimonyi nmanycases

7.
Cust
omsandusages
Cust
omsandusagesarethesourceoflaws.TheMuhammadan
system al
sor
ecognizesthef
orceofcustomsandusagesin
establi
shi
ngr
ulesoflaw.Theval
idi
tyofsuchlawsrest
sonpri
nci
ples
somewhatsimilart
othoseofIj
ma’.
Incaseoft hosecust omsandpr acti
ceswhi chpr evailedInthetime
oftheProphetwhenr ev elat
ion, therecognizedpr i
mar ysour ceoflaws,
wasst i
ll
active,andwhi chwer enotabr ogatedbyanyt extoft he
Qur’anorHadi t
h, t
hesilenceoft heDi v
inelegisl
atorisr egardedas
amount i
ngtoar ecognitionoft heirl
egal val
idi
ty.Andast ocust oms,
whichhav esprungupsi ncet hePr ophet’sdeath,theirv al
idit
yis
j
ustifi
edont heaut hori
tyoft het ext,
whi chlaysdownt hatwhat ever
thepeoplegener all
yconsi dertobegoodf orthemselv esisgoodi nthe
eyeofGod.Thus, theconcept i
onofl awasanemanat ionf rom Godis
saidtoholdgoodi nthecaseofcust omar ylawsaswel l.

Hadudor
dinance
Accor
dingt
ohudoodor
dinance
a.Zi
nal
i
abl
etohad
b.Zi
nal
i
abl
etot
azi
r
c.Zi
nabi
lj
abrl
i
abl
etohad
d.Zi
nabi
lj
abrl
i
abl
etot
azi
r
e.Qazafl
i
abl
etohad
f
.Qazafl
i
abl
etot
azi
r
Theintr
oductionoftheselawsr esul
tedintheoffencesofr apeand
adult
eryinthePakistanPenalCode( PPC)tober epealedast hey
weresubstit
utedbyt heseoff
ences.Thepr i
marydi st
incti
onbet ween
thehaddandt azi
roffensesisthatthehaddoffencesr equi
r eahigher
standar
dofpr oofthanisneededi ntazi
rastheIslamicpuni shments
aremor esevere.

Forexampl e,undertheZi naOr dinance,zinawasl i

abletoahadd
penaltyift heaccusedconf essedbef orethet r
ialcourtorifther ewere
fouradultMusl i
m mal ewi t
nesseswhometanI sl
ami ctestofpr obity
,
i
.e.tazkiyahal shuhood, whot estifi
edtobei ngey ewitnesses.The
haddpuni shmentgi ventosuchanadul tererwasst oningtodeat h
whilethepenal t
yforaf ornicat
orwaspubl i
cwhi ppingof100l ashes.
Howev er, i
ft heev i
dencer equirementf orzi nal i
abletohaddi snot
metbutt hecr imei sprovenbey ondar easonabl edoubtt hent hetazir
punishmentofi mprisonmentf orupt oteny earscanbegi ven.Rape,
nowr eferredt oaszina-bil-
jabr
, wassi milarl
ymadel i
abletoei therthe
haddort het azirpenaltydependi ngont het y peofpr oofav ai
lable.

Thisl awwasconsi deredintr

insicallymisogynisti
csinceits
applicationresultedinwomenbei ngconv i
ctedofadul t
ery/
forni
cat
ion
i
ft heyr eport
edacaseofr ape, ast hei
rreportwast r
eatedasa
conf ession.Furthermore,i
naddi tiontootherpr obl
emscr eatedby
thesel aws, t
heirjudi
cialappl
icationalsomadei teasiertogetaway
 wit
hcr i
mesagainstwomensuchashonourki
ll
ingsandgener
al
degradat
ionandhumil
iat
ionofwomeninsoci
ety.

I
twasnosurpr
isehence,
thatwomen’sr
ight
sact
ivi
stswer
eagai
nst
t
helawanddemandedasaf eguar
dagai
nsti
t.

Afterheat
edparli
amentar
ydebatesbet
weenthel
i
ber
al
parli
amentar
iansandthemoreconserv
ati
veul
emaacompromisei
n
theshapeoftheWomen’ sPr
otecti
onAct,
2006wasr
eached.

Overtlymisogynisti
cpr oblemshav ehencebeendiluted,forexample,
theof f
enceofz inali
ablet otazi
randqazfliabl
etot azirhavebeen
expungedhowev er,anof f
enceof‘forni
cati
on’and‘falseaccusation
offornicat
ion’havebeeni ncl
udedinthePPC.Itistobenot edthatthe
offenceoff or
nicati
onasi ncl
udedinthePPCi sdefinedal most
i
dent i
call
yast hetaziroffenceofzinaandispunishabl eby
i
mpr isonmentf orupt ofiveyearsandaf i
ne.

Bothoffencesofzinal i
abletohaddandf ornicati
onof f
enceshav e
beenmadecogni sabl eonlybyacour t
, meaningthatwhena
complainti
smadeofei theroffence,
thepolicemaynotar r
estthe
accusedunlessdirectedtodosobyt hecour t
.Thi si
stodiscourage
onestepofhumi li
ati
onofwomen.TheActhasal soaboli
shedthe
off
enceofzi na-
bil
-j
abrliabletohadd,inst
eadi ntr
oducingtheoffence
of‘Rape’i
nthePPC, andhasi ntr
oducedtheof fenceofmar i
talr
ape.

Thoughthi
slegi
slationdoesnotredressallt
heprobl
emsint
roduced
bytheHudoodOrdi nances,subst
ant
ialchangeshavebeenmade,
whichi
sast epi
nt herightdir
ecti
on.

I
slami
clegalsy
stem i
simpl
ement
edi
nPaki
stan?
PakistanisanI sl
amicr epubli
c.Isl
am isthestatereli
gion,andthe
Const i
tuti
onrequiresthatlawsbeconsi stentwit
hI sl
am.Thecount ryhas
anar eaof310,527squar emi lesandapopul ati
onof170mi ll
ion.Of
fici
al
fi
guresonr eli
giousdemogr aphy,basedont hemostr ecentcensustakenin
1998, showedt hatapproximat el
y97percentoft hepopulati
onwasMusl i
m.
Themaj or
ityofMuslimsi nthecount r
yareSunni ,wit
haShi '
ami nor
it
y
rangingbetween10t o20per cent.

ThePenal Codei ncorpor atesanumberofI slamicl aw( Shari'a)prov isi

ons.
Thejudici
al system encompassessev eraldiffer
entcour tsyst emswi t
h
overl
appingandsomet i
mescompet ingjurisdict
ionst hatr efl
ectdi fferences
i
nci v
il
,criminal,andI slami cjurisprudence.TheFeder alShar i'aCour tand
theShari'
abenchoft heSupr emeCour tserveasappel l
at ecour tsf or
cert
ainconv icti
onsi ncr i
mi nal courtundert heHudoodOr dinances; j
udges
andattorney sinthesecour t
smustbeMusl i
m.Thef eder alShar i
'acour t
mayov erturnanyl egislationj udgedt obei nconsi stentwi ththet enet sof
Isl
am.InMar ch2005, howev er,theSupr emeCour tChiefJust i
cer uledt hat
theFederal Shari'
aCour thadnoj ur
isdicti
ont orev i
ewadeci sionbya
provi
ncialhighcour tev eni ftheFeder alShari'aCour tshoul dhav ehadi niti
al
appell
atejurisdicti
on.
Therei sapar all
ell
egalsystem, i
slamicandwest ernbotharebeing
practiced.So,somet imesitishardt osayt hatt
helegalsystem ofPaki
stan
i
sI slamicbuti thasIsl
amicprov i
sionsinit.Thelegalst
ructurehasIsl
amic
represent at
iontoo.Theprinci
plesofj ust
icearealsoIsl
amici nl
egalsyst
em
ofPaki stan.

Cr
it
icalanal
ysi
s
Wehav eseent hatIsl
am hasacompl etel egalsystem.Infact,I
slamic
l
egal syst
em issystemati
csci ence.I
thashi storyandcust omarytouchtoo.
IthasDivi
ner el
ati
ont ooi
.e.conceptofnat urallaw.Itslawshav ereasons
andlogicwhichistheessenceofnat ur
al j
ustice.Itf
ulfi
llsthepri
ncipl
esof
natur
al j
usti
ce.Thepr obl
em whi chwefacei ni mplement ingiti
sthat,i
thas
compl exter
msandi ti
sdiff
iculttotr
anslatethem.Thesamecase
happenedinBri
ti
shI ndia,whentranslat
ionofIslamiclegaltermswas
di
ffer
ent.Wejusthav etoclassi
fythisfullfl
edgedlegalsystem inour
l
anguage.Moreover,someofi tsprovisi
onsar ebeingconsi deri
ll
ogic.We
havetodealwit
hthisi ssuetoo.Eit
herbypr ovingthelogi
corbyconsensus
ofopini
ononnewr isingneeds.Ithasst ronghistor
ybutpr esentneeds
somewor konit.