Name: Nurul Hidayah binti Hamzah

Student ID: 2020471264

Group: LWB02J

1) Discuss the meaning of Shariah

It is an Arabic word meaning the Path to be followed. In Islam, Allah SWT alone is the
sovereign and it is He who has the right to ordain a path for the guidance of mankind.
Qurtubi also define Shariah as the canon law of Islam that is all the commandments of
Allah to mankind. These commandments from Allah for all Muslims, in application,
constitutes a system of duties that are applied upon all Muslims by virtue of their
religious belief. Hence, it is known as the Shariah which also means literally “the path
leading to the watering place”, the law represents a divinely ordained path of conduct
that guides Muslims toward a practical expression of religious conviction in this world
and the goal of divine favour in the world to come. According to Surah Al Jathiah: 18
states “Then We have put you (Muhammad) on a plain way of our commandment. So,
follow you that (monotheism and its laws) and follow not the desires of those who not
know not.”

2) There are three main components of Shariah; al-ahkam al-i’tiqadiyyah ,al-ahkam

al-akhlaqiyyah and al-ahkam al-‘amaliyyah. Discuss each component supported
with relevant authorities.

Firstly, al-ahkam al-I’tiqadiyyah means belief. The fundamental belief or foundations

of faith are belief in Allah SWT, belief in the angels, belief in Allah’s messengers,
believe in the Day of the Judgment and believe in the divine will which is qadha and
divine premeasurement which is qadar. Referring to Surah Al-Hujurat:13 states “O
mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations
and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with
Allah is that (Believer) who has at-Taqwa. Verily Allah is All Knowing, All Aware.”

Secondly, al-ahkam al-akhlaqiyyah means akhlak. In which akhlak refers to the practice
of virtue, morality and good manners. Akhlak is shown towards Allah by obeying,
having reliance towards Allah, piety, sincerity. On the other hand, akhlak is being
 implied between other human beings by being sincere, honest, fair and just, consultation
and the injunction to tell the truth. Referring to Surah At-Talaq [65:3] states “And will
provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever places his trust in Allah,
Sufficient is He for him, for Allah will surely accomplish His Purpose: For verily, Allah
has appointed for all things a due proportion.” From this verse, we can say that always
trust and rely on Allah because He is the Best Sustainer and He will guide us in our
difficult time and surely, He will protect us.

Thirdly, al-ahkam al-amaliyyah means the rule of law to only those that pertain to acts
or conducts. In other words, it refers to sanctions relating to sayings and doings of the
individuals and his relations with others. For instance, acts such as prayers, purification,
fasting and pilgrimage. Other than that, al-amaliyyah also consist of acts in a form of
social transactions (Muamalah) which are marriage, inheritance, trade, business,
crimes, international diplomacy and relations. Referring to Surah al-Baqarah [2:185]
states “The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance
for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So, whoever sights [the new
moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal
number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship
and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He
has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful”

3) Explain the characteristic of Shariah

The Islamic Law or Shariah possesses a number of characteristics. Firstly, shariah is of

a Divine origin. In which this means the Shariah comes from a higher degree of
authority which is Allah SWT. From Surah Al-Hujurat:13 states that “O, mankind! We
have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that
you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that
(Believer) who has at-Taqwa. Verily Allah is All Knowing, All Aware.” The Shariah
is known to complete the interest and benefit of mankind as a whole. As all human
beings are equal before Allah and on one is above the law.
Hence, there shall be no discrimination in the implementation of Islamic law. Hadiths
reported that from Usamah bin Zayd came to the Prophet(s.a.w.) asking him to pardon
a woman from the tribe of Makhzumiyyah, the Prophet said to him “Are you requesting
me to withdraw the had punishment which Allah has prescribed?” The Prophet
continued “one of the reasons why the earlier nations was destroyed is because, when
the people who has position among them committed a crime, they will be released
without any punishment, but the poor (or who has no position) committed a crime then
they will be punished. I swear in the name of Allah, if Fatimah binti Muhammad (the
daughter of the Prophet) has stolen anything (and convicted for the crime) I will chop
her hand.”

As we are discussing on the divine origin, as a part of aqidah of a Muslim, is to believe

and obey all commandments of Allah and implement it as part of ibadah. According to
Surah Al-Nisa:65 states that “But no, by your Lord, they have no faith, until they make
you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no
resistance against your decisions, and accept with full submission.”

Secondly, Shariah is universal, realistic and contemporary. In which means the belief
system in Islam is realistic in the sense that Allah have ordered the Muslims to worship
Him alone. All the unseen matters which the pillars of Islam such as the angels of Allah,
Messengers, Day of Judgment and belief in Qada’ and Qadar is explained by evidences
in the Quran. Other than that, the teachings of Islam are suitable to be implemented at
any time, place or situations. According to Surah Al Ahzab: 40 states “Muhammad is
not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last of
the Prophets, and Allah is ever all-aware of everything.”.

In addition, as for the universal principles, such as shura, equality, justice, no infliction
of harm. Shura means mutual consultation that is propagated in Quranic verses by
making decisions in political economics or other matters of public interest. Referring
to Surah Al-Shura:38 states “And those who answer the call of their Lord, and perform
salat and who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation.”

As for universal principles for equality (al-musawa) means no discrimination in the

implementation of Islamic law. All are equal in the eye of law whether they are rulers
 or commoners. Other than that, the principle of justice is also manifested in Quranic
verses. As in Surah Al-Maidah: 8 states “O you who believe, stand firmly for Allah, as
witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to
wrong and depart from justice. Be just that is next to piety and fear Allah. For Allah is
well-acquainted with what you do.”
The third characteristics of Shariah is the rewards and punishments in Shariah and how
they are prescribed in the Quran and sunnah. As in Surah Al-Nisa: 13-14 states These
are the limits set by Allah and whoever obeys Allah and his Messenger (Muhammad
s.a,w) will be admitted into the gardens under which rivers flow, to abide therein; and
that he will be in great success. And whoever disobeys Allah and his messenger and
transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the fire, it abides therein; and he shall have
a disgraceful torment.”

The last characteristics is the completeness of Shariah where Shariah covers all aspects
of life as Islam is a complete and the injunctions for the Quran are comprehensive to
guide man in all spheres of life such as spiritual, family, financial criminal, political
and even international matters. As stated above the Shariah commandments covers all
three areas of Itiqadiyyah, akhlaqiyyah and amaliyyah. As to describe the completeness
of Shariah, by Surah al Maidah:3 states “This day I have perfected your religion for
you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”

4) What are Fiqh and Usul Fiqh? Discuss the meaning, differences, and elaborate
with relevant authorities.
The science of studying Shariah is known as “fiqh.” While this is the technical meaning
of “fiqh,” the term itself is a general Arabic word that means “understanding.” After
the development of Islamic sciences, the word fiqh is associated with the various
sciences of Islam such fiqh al-hadith (the science of hadith), fiqh al-sirah (branch of
knowledge relating to the life of the Prophet and fiqh al-Quran (branches of knowledge
relating to the Quran). Adding to that, Al-Ghazali, in his book Al-Mustafa min confined
the word fiqh to the science of rule of law. The fiqh is derived from specific evidence
found in the Quran and Sunnah and or the consensus of opinions among the learned
(ijma’) or analogical reasonings (qiyas).
On the other hand, usul fiqh is a methodology of understanding and interpretation from
the text derived from the Quran and Sunnah. The methodology of usul fiqh refers to
ijtihad (method of reasoning) such as qiyas (analogy), istihsan (juristic preference),
istilah (public interest), istishab (presumption of continuity), al-urf (customary
practice), amal ahl a’-Madinah (practice of the people of Madinah) and sadd al-dharai
(blocking the means to evil).

The main difference between fiqh and usul-fiqh is that fiqh is concerned with the
knowledge of the detailed rules of Islamic law in its various branches however, for usul
al-fiqh, it is concerned with the methods that are applied in the deduction of such rules
from their sources. In other words, fiqh is the law itself whereas usul al-fiqh
methodology of the law. Other than that, the duty of usuli the legal theorist is to provide
rules and principles and methodology, hence it is the duty of the faqih (the jurist) is to
derive the Islamic rules by using and implementing those rules and principles provided
by the usuli. This is mainly because fiqh is the product of usul al-fiqh.