Meanwhile...

Meanwhile, Islam expects every Muslim to either become a Mujtahid (1) or do taqlid (i.e., imitation) of the highest ranking Mujtahid (i.e., a Marja) (2). Hence Taqlid is obligatory for every Muslim who cannot attain the level of Ijtihad (i.e., the ability to extract religious laws from their sources). A Mujtahid writes a book of ahkam (Islamic Laws), which is used by his followers (Muqallideen) to know his religious verdicts (Fatwas) about different issues.

The Sources of Fiqh There are two main sources of knowledge of Fiqh: The Holy Qur’an The Traditions (Sunnah) Holy Qur’an is the word of Allah as revealed to Holy Prophet (PBUHH) and it is available in a single book form. The Sunnah on the other hand means the sayings, actions and silent approval of the Holy Prophet (PBUHH) and the Holy Imams (PBUtH).

The literature of Hadith is scattered in different books written over different times and there are over 6000 Quranic verses and around 70,000 hadiths (Sunnah). Both the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah have equal status as far as the obligatory acts are concerned. If one obligation is mentioned in Sunnah only, it has the same weight as one obligation mentioned in the Quran only. Types of Islamic rulings Islamic rulings are two types: A.

Hukm al- Takleefi: These are the rulings that are directly connected to the actions of a matured Muslim (i.e., a Mukallaf). These are five: Wajib-Obligatory-, Haram-Forbidden-, Mustahab-Suererogatory-, Makrooh- Detestable and Mubah- B. Hukm al- Wad’i: These are the rulings that are not directly connected to the actions of a matured Muslim (i.e., a Mukallaf). For example, purification (Taharat).

The Essentials of Religion The essentials of religion are those things on which all Muslims agree as established commandments of Islam including, Salat (ritual Prayers), Sawm (Fasting), Hajj (Pilgrimage to Kaaba), Hijab, the finality of Prophethood etc. For example, Qadiyanis are considered infidel because they do not believe in the finality of our Holy (PBUHH), while all Muslims agree on (PBUHH) to be the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah.

Four Conditions of religious obligations Furu-ul-Deen (i.e., the branches of religion) are obligatory (wajib) on every Muslim who has the following 4 conditions: Being alive: Religious obligations are meant for one who is alive. Thus, there’s no obligatory practice on a dead person. Being Mature: Someone who has attained puberty stage in accordance with Islamic directives.