The general philosophy of Islamic law: This book primarily addresses three salient questions. What is the general philosophy of Islamic law: Maqāsid al-Shari'ah? Why do we need the doctrines of the general philosophy of Islamic law today? How do we apply the doctrines of the general philosophy of Islamic law in this modern world? The basic argument of this book is that dramatic social changes are taking place around us in this digital world. So, to relate Islamic teaching into this modern global world, we need not only a comprehensive reading of the divine text, but also, a comprehensive understanding of the contexts of this modern world. We could no longer adhere to the literal interpretation of divine texts in this modern world on certain aspects of Islamic teaching. Neither classical Islamic thought nor the literal legal schools provide ready-made answers for the problems of modern Islamic world. This does not mean we must abandon the divine text as some radical Muslim secularists claim. This does not mean we should ignore 1400 years of intellectual legacies in Islamic history. There is nothing wrong with the divine texts of the Qur'an and the prophetic traditions. Nevertheless, human understanding to the divine texts differ from century to century, place to place and person to person. For the last 14 centuries, different Muslim communities have been reading the corpus of Islamic law differently within their own social contexts. There is no uniformity in human understanding of divine texts. They are prone to different human interpretation for various reasons. The corpus of Islamic law we have today are the collections of the 1400 hundred years of the Islamic legal interpretation of different times and social contexts. Today, to choose some appropriate legal ideas from the 1400 hundred years of Islamic legacy we should have not only a thorough knowledge of Islamic sciences, but we should also contextual understanding of the divine texts. We should know how to relate the divine texts appropriately to the modern social conditions. The principles of the general philosophy of Islamic law are contrived to facilitate the application of the divine texts into different contexts without diluting the primary values of the divine texts. It is argued by many Muslim scholars that the Muslim communities are suffering from intellectual and ideological crises presently. This is reflected in the socio-political and religious thought of the contemporary Muslim communities Today; Islamic universities and colleges are producing thousands Muslim graduates in many Muslim countries. Most of these graduates are trained and educated in Islamic sciences alone without enough professional training and learning in modern sciences. As a result of this, many of them find it difficult to relate what they learn to the modern social issues. It is my firm contention in this book that the Muslim jurists must learn many modern sciences such as politics, geopolitics, economics, phycology, sociology, history, science, and many other areas of human sciences so that they could address the modern social issues that the Muslim community faces today. Otherwise, they would not be able to relate what they learn in Arabic college into modern social conditions. Therefore, I would argue that learning modern sciences is a prerequisite for the students of Islam to become jurists or scholar in Islam. It is also my conviction that many radical Muslim groups do not know how to relate many aspects of Islamic teachings into modern geopolitical and social conditions. They come into some erroneous conclusions in many religious issues. Because, they take the literal meanings of the divine texts and prophetic traditions without due consideration into the modern social conditions of this global world.

How does Islamic law respond to social changes? This has been one of the challenging questions in Islamic legal history. Muslim legal theorists have been debating this since the formative period of the Islamic legal thought. The sources of Islamic law are limited in certain scriptural texts, historical legal precedents and supplementary legal sources. Yet, human challenges and problems are unlimited. So, how do limited numbers of divine texts and prophetic traditions provide viable solutions for ever-increasing problems of the Muslim community in this modern digital world? This book explores the intriguing relationship between social and legal changes in Islamic law. Modern technological and digital revolutions have brought about unprecedented social changes in all walks of human life. Classical Muslim jurists devised the doctrines of the general philosophy of Islamic law to relate Islamic law to changing social realities of their historical contexts. Classical legal theorists created many legal principles, theories and concepts to demonstrate the flexible and adaptable nature of Islamic law to different social conditions. Yet, classical Islamic legal thoughts are not always viable and applicable to modern social conditions. For this reason, many modern Muslim scholars argue that the legal reform is very much important today to meet the challenges of modern time. Muslim scholars seek solutions for the problems of the Muslim community in the historical precedents of past the Muslim intellectual heritage without appreciating all these modern changes. Many of them are experts on Islamic studies and yet, they find it difficult to relate what they learn to the modern social condition of this complicated world. The science of the general philosophy of Islamic law provides some dynamic mechanisms to relate Islamic teaching to modern social conditions without distorting or twisting the pure teaching of the divine message. It bridges the gap between the historical legacies of the Islamic past and the scientific development of the modern world. It relates the past legacy of Islamic heritage with the present-day realities of the modern world. It directs Muslim jurists to understand modern social conditions in a holistic approach considering both the literal and contextual meaning of the text. Therefore, many others argue that the science of the legal philosophy of Islamic law can be developed as a dynamic research methodology and developmental policy strategy. This book explores the classical and modern ideas of the general philosophy of Islamic law to understand the dynamic nature of Islamic law to adapt to the modern social conditions. This book emphasises the importance of understanding texts, context and social realities. When we apply the divine texts into modern context we should time and space factors. Moreover, the social realities of modern societies otherwise, the application of divine texts will not be always viable in this modern world. The literal school of Islamic legal thought does not take these factors into consideration when they try to apply the divine texts to modern conditions. The challenges of modernity are immense in all field of human sciences. We see a lot of changes in politics, geopolitics, finance, business sections and many other fields of education and human sciences. It is expected that the digital technology and artificial intelligence will bring dramatic changes into human life by 2040. The Muslim world must make some legal changes to meet the challenges of the social changes. The basic argument of this book is that some aspects of classical legal thoughts are viable today in our modern context and legal changes are unavoidable. The book explores different areas of modern development in human sciences to highlight the importance of legal changes in accordance with social changes and it explores the adaptable nature of Islamic law to all places and in ages without distorting the essence.

Since Europeans first colonized Arab lands in the 19th century, they have been pressing to have the area's indigenous laws and legal systems accord with Western models. Although most Arab states now have national codes of law that reflect Western influence, fierce internal struggles continue over how to interpret Islamic law, particularly in the areas of gender and family. From different geographical and ideological points across the contemporary Arab world, Haddad and Stowasser demonstrate the range of views on just what Islam's legal heritage in the region should be. For either law or religion classes, Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity provides the broad historical overview and particular cases needed to understand this contentious issue. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Social changes demand the legal changes in Islamic law: Some theoretical and pragmatic arguments by DR SLM RIFAIHow does Islamic law respond to social changes? This has been one of the challenging questions in Islamic legal history. Muslim legal theorists have been debating this since the formative period of the Islamic legal thought. The sources of Islamic law are limited in certain scriptural texts, historical legal precedents and supplementary legal sources. Yet, human challenges and problems are unlimited. So, how do limited numbers of divine texts and prophetic traditions provide viable solutions for ever-increasing problems of the Muslim community in this modern digital world? This book explores the intriguing relationship between social and legal changes in Islamic law. Modern technological and digital revolutions have brought about unprecedented social changes in all walks of human life. Classical Muslim jurists devised the doctrines of the general philosophy of Islamic law to relate Islamic law to changing social realities of their historical contexts. Classical legal theorists created many legal principles, theories and concepts to demonstrate the flexible and adaptable nature of Islamic law to different social conditions. Yet, classical Islamic legal thoughts are not always viable and applicable to modern social conditions. For this reason, many modern Muslim scholars argue that the legal reform is very much important today to meet the challenges of modern time. Muslim scholars seek solutions for the problems of the Muslim community in the historical precedents of past the Muslim intellectual heritage without appreciating all these modern changes. Many of them are experts on Islamic studies and yet, they find it difficult to relate what they learn to the modern social condition of this complicated world. The science of the general philosophy of Islamic law provides some dynamic mechanisms to relate Islamic teaching to modern social conditions without distorting or twisting the pure teaching of the divine message. It bridges the gap between the historical legacies of the Islamic past and the scientific development of the modern world. It relates the past legacy of Islamic heritage with the present-day realities of the modern world. It directs Muslim jurists to understand modern social conditions in a holistic approach considering both the literal and contextual meaning of the text. Therefore, many others argue that the science of the legal philosophy of Islamic law can be developed as a dynamic research methodology and developmental policy strategy. This book explores the classical and modern ideas of the general philosophy of Islamic law to understand the dynamic nature of Islamic law to adapt to the modern social conditions. This thesis emphasises the importance of understanding texts, context and social realities. When we apply the divine texts into modern context, we should take the time and space factors into account. Moreover, the social realities of modern societies otherwise, the application of divine texts will not be always viable in this modern world. The literal school of Islamic legal thought does not take these factors into consideration when they try to apply the divine texts to modern conditions. The challenges of modernity are immense in all field of human sciences. We see a lot of changes in politics, geopolitics, finance, business sections and many other fields of education and human sciences. It is expected that the digital technology and artificial intelligence will bring dramatic changes into human life by 2040. The Muslim world must make some legal changes to meet the challenges of the social changes. The basic argument of this paper is that some aspects of classical legal thoughts are viable today in our modern context and legal changes are unavoidable. This study explores different areas of modern development in human sciences to highlight the importance of legal changes.

The Islamic Shari'a as a phrase has two scope of meanings. Generally and widely construed it denotes everything that has been written by Moslem jurists throughout the centuries, whether it dealt with contemporaneous issues of the time or in anticipation of future ones. The jurist derived their principles from the Qur'an and the Sunna (way of action and the opinions of the Prophet), and from the other sources of Shari'a such as Ijma', (the consensus of the community represented by its scholars and learned men), and public interest considerations. The Shari'a looked upon in this wide scope constitute a huge Juristic tradition the value of which depends on the individual jurist himself, his era, or even the particular problem confronting him. As such the system has a tremendous scholastic value to the Moslem, however, it has no binding authority; since within it one might find different, and sometimes contradictory principles resolving the same issues, depending on the Juristic school that propagated the principle. Furthermore, it cannot have a binding authority since circumstances that brought about a certain principle might not be in existence any more, and surely we cannot maintain that previous Moslem Jurists have anticipated all our existing contemporary problems. Yet, as I said before in this wide sense, one cannot deny the Shari'a scholastic value as an elaborate system of deduction which should be relied upon for future derivations of principles. Construed narrowly, the Shari'a is confined to the undoubted principles of the Qur'an, to what is true and valid of the Sunna, and the consensus of the community represented by its scholars and learned men during a certain period andregarding a particular problem, provided such consensus was possible. Viewed as such, the Shari'a has a binding authority on every Moslem, and he is obligated to follow and employ it to resolve his affairs, deriving what is not explicit of its principles by the methods and means. The statement that it is too late for Shari'a to face contemporary issues is an exaggerated prejudiced statement, made possible because of the closing of the doors of investigation many centuries ago. The spirit and general principles of Shari'a are as valid today as they were yesterday many centuries ago and as they will be tomorrow many centuries to come. They are like a green oasis in the desolate desert of our lives which is over crowded with problems and conflicting ideologies. At the time of the original publication Ahmed Zaki Yamani was Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. AUTHOR COMMENTS The Islamic world, relying on the principles of Shari'a, can achieve its own entity, independent of East and West, and by which it can defend and protect itself from the torrent of communism and certain inequities of capitalism. The ability of Shari'a, to developed and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of society, by relying on the concept of public interest as a source of legislation. The collective notion in Islam should be emphasized, outstanding quality in Shari'a which establishes a profound equilibrium between the individual and the community, should be put in perspective in relation to our own age. When our political leaders begin to think seriously about the happiness and welfare of their people, they shall find in Shari'a a guiding proven system to achieve and fulfill theiraims. The immortal principles of Shari'a can be used to correct and cure our social diseases in the Islamic world. Perhaps even the West might find it, again, a ray of light and knowledge to achieve still a more advanced civilization, or at least to preserve its existing one.

This book offers unique insights into Islamic law, considering its theoretical perspectives alongside its practical application in daily Muslim life.