Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is often described as the human understanding and practices of the sharia, that is human understanding of the divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the sunnah. Fiqh expands and develops Shariah through interpretation (ijtihad) of the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists (ulama) and is implemented by the rulings (fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them. Thus, whereas sharia is considered immutable and infallible by Muslims, fiqh is considered fallible and changeable. Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation in Islam as well as economic and political system. In the modern era, there are four prominent schools (madh'hab) of fiqh within Sunni practice, plus two within Shi'a practice. A person trained in fiqh is known as a faqīh.
Sharia is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and this is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its interpretations by Islamic scholars. Fiqh, practical application side of sharia in a sense, was elaborated over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists and sharia has never been the sole valid legal system in Islam historically; it has always been used alongside customary law from the beginning, and applied in courts by ruler-appointed judges, integrated with various economic, criminal and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers.
The Hanafi school or Hanafism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was established by the 8th-century scholar, jurist, and theologian Abu Hanifa, a follower whose legal views were primarily preserved by his two disciples Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani. As the oldest and most-followed of the four major Sunni schools, it is also called the "school of the people of opinion". Many Hanafis also follow the Maturidi school of theology.
The Assembly of Experts, also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme Leader of Iran. All directly elected members must first be vetted by the Guardian Council.
Istislah is a method employed by Islamic jurists to solve problems that find no clear answer in sacred religious texts. It is related to the term مصلحة Maslaha, or "public interest". Extratextual pragmatic considerations are commonly accepted in Islamic jurisprudence concerning areas where the Qur'an and the practices of the earliest Muslim generations (Salaf) provide no specific guidance.
Principles of Islamic jurisprudence are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (sharia).
The Jaʿfarī school, also known as the Jafarite school, Jaʿfarī fiqh or Ja'fari jurisprudence, is a prominent school of jurisprudence (fiqh) within Twelver and Ismaili Shia Islam, named after the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq. In Iran, Jaʽfari jurisprudence is enshrined in the constitution, shaping various aspects of governance, legislation, and judiciary in the country.
Maqasid or maqāṣid al-sharīʿa is an Islamic legal doctrine. Together with another related classical doctrine, maṣlaḥa, it has come to play an increasingly prominent role in modern times. The notion of maqasid was first clearly articulated by al-Ghazali, who argued that maslaha was God's general purpose in revealing the divine law, and that its specific aim was preservation of five essentials of human well-being: religion, life, intellect, lineage, and property. Although most classical-era jurists recognized maslaha and maqasid as important legal principles, they held different views regarding the role they should play in Islamic law. Some jurists viewed them as auxiliary rationales constrained by scriptural sources and qiyas. Others regarded them as an independent source of law, whose general principles could override specific inferences based on the letter of scripture. While the latter view was held by a minority of classical jurists, in modern times it came to be championed in different forms by prominent scholars who sought to adapt Islamic law to changing social conditions by drawing on the intellectual heritage of traditional jurisprudence. These scholars expanded the inventory of maqasid to include such aims of sharia as reform and women's rights ; justice and freedom ; and human dignity and rights.
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi is an Iranian Shia marja' and religious leader.
Maslaha or maslahah is a concept in Sharia regarded as a basis of law. It forms a part of extended methodological principles of Islamic jurisprudence and denotes prohibition or permission of something, according to necessity and particular circumstances, on the basis of whether it serves the public interest of the Muslim community (ummah). In principle, maslaha is invoked particularly for issues that are not regulated by the Qur'an, the sunnah, or qiyas (analogy). The concept is acknowledged and employed to varying degrees depending on the jurists and schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhhab). The application of the concept has become more important in modern times because of its increasing relevance to contemporary legal issues.
Sadeq Ardeshir Larijani, better known as Amoli Larijani, is an Iranian scholar, conservative politician, and current chairman of Expediency Discernment Council. He is the former and fifth Chief Justice of the judicial system of Iran after the 1979 revolution.
Grand AyatollahJafar Sobhani is an Iranian Twelver Shia marja, influential theologian and writer. Sobhani was a former member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom and founder of Imam Sadiq Institute in Qom.
Dilwar Hussain is an independent British consultant working on social policy, Muslim identity and Islamic reform in the modern world. He formerly taught MA courses on Islam and Muslims at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education.
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Nekoonam Iranian Twelver Shi'a Clergy.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Abdullah Al-Musawi Al-Shirazi was a Grand Ayatollah of Twelver Shi'a Islam.
Mujahidul Islam Qasmi was an Indian Mufti, Qadhi and Islamic scholar, founder of Islamic Fiqh Academy. He served as the President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Marja' is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and clerics below him in rank. The highest ranking marjiʿ is known as the marja al-mutlaq or marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq. A marji' is usually also a grand ayatollah.
Najm ad-Dīn Abū r-Rabīʿ Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Qawī aṭ-Ṭūfī was a Hanbali scholar and student of Ibn Taymiyyah. He referred to ibn Taymiyyah as "our sheikh." Most of his scholarship deals with Islamic legal theory and theology. His writings did not attract a large following of Hanbalis, though his Mukhtasar al-Rawdah has been commented upon up to the 16th century.
Seyed Kazem Seyed Bagheri is an Iranian political scientist and associate professor of politics at the Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought. His book titled Shia's Political Fiqh won the Farabi Award and Howzeh Book of the Year Award.
Hojjatoleslam Seyed Sajjad Izdehi is an Iranian political scientist and associate professor of politics at the Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought. His book titled Supervision on the power in the political jurisprudence won the Farabi Award and Howzeh Book of the Year Award.
