ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A History of Muslim Philosophy Volume 2, Book 5 Chapter 61: Jurisprudence In this chapter it is proposed to bring into relief the philosophical significance of certain salient points and aspects of Muslim Law, otherwise known as Fiqh. But before doing so, let us have a tolerably precise idea of what one under­ stands by law, and in particular what the Muslim jurists have understood by it. A - The Law Law roughly means the rules of conduct.

But not every rule of conduct forms a part of law. There are things people instinctively do under the dictates of their normal impulses. These do not concern law, nor are the concern of law the modes of behavior regarding things which persons do deliberately but which relate to their private lives, and have no repercussions on other members of the society or are of rare occurrence.

Men differ enormously among themselves in their capacity for reasoning and the power of choosing an action out of the various possible alternatives. Even some matters of general occurrence and those affecting other persons besides the agent himself do not come under law. Law does not take cognizance of the behavior of individuals which is in­finitely varied, for if it did, it would lead to chaos and conflicts rather than uniformity in behavior.

The cases which fall under law are as follows: (i) Sometimes certain individuals do things of their own accord and thus their private initiative sets precedents, customs, and usages if experience shows their utility, or in case historical reasons create a halo of prestige and awe around the names of their initiators. (ii) Sometimes actions are done at the instance of others.

For example, a child may do something or abstain from doing something because its mother, father, or some other superior directs it to do so. A young student may behave similarly at the instruction given by his teacher. A grown-up man may do something at the suggestion of his friends in whose sincerity and intelligence he has confidence, on the direction of his spiritual guide, or at the dictates of public opinion.

Rules of conduct are also sometimes determined by the orders of a superior to whom we delegate powers out of our own free choice, such as an elected or accepted ruler with or without the power of revoking our decisions. On other occasions a rule of conduct may arise from a superior's order, obedience to which is a lesser evil than its disobedience.