Ilm al-Hadith (عِلمُ الحَدِيث — the sciences of hadith; from *hadith* — speech, report, or something new; used technically for the Prophet's statements, actions, and tacit approvals) is a cluster of disciplines that emerged to authenticate, classify, and transmit the second primary source of Islamic law after the Quran. The hadith literature is vast — imam al-Bukhari reportedly examined 600,000 hadith and accepted 7,275 as fully authentic for his Sahih. The sciences include: *mustalah al-hadith* (technical terminology), *'ilm al-rijal* (narrator authentication), *'ilm al-jarh wa al-ta'dil* (critical evaluation of narrators), *ilm al-'ilal* (identification of hidden defects), and the classification of hadith into grades from *sahih* (sound) down through *hasan* (good), *da'if* (weak), and *mawdu'* (fabricated).
Surah al-Naml (سُورَةُ النَّمل — The Ant; 93 verses; 27th surah; Meccan) takes its name from the ant whose overheard conversation — warning her colony to enter their homes before Sulayman's army passes — prompted Sulayman's smile and gratitude (27:18-19). The surah is a gallery of prophetic stories: Musa and the fire/snake (27:7-14), Sulayman's animal army and the hoopoe who brings news of Bilqis and her people (27:20-44), Salih and Thamud (27:45-53), and Lut (27:54-58). Its theological centerpiece is Sulayman's response to power and wealth: everything he possesses — language of birds, command of jinn, judgment of the ant — is a test for gratitude. *'This is from the grace of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful.'* (27:40)
Fiqh al-Sawm (فِقهُ الصَّيَام — jurisprudence of fasting; from *sawm* — abstention, restraint; used technically for the obligatory fast of Ramadan and recommended fasts throughout the year) governs one of the five pillars of Islam. The Quran commands: *'O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you — that you may become righteous.'* (2:183) The obligatory fasting is for the month of Ramadan, confirmed by the sighting of the new moon. Fasting requires: abstention from food, drink, sexual relations, and deliberately causing vomiting from the appearance of Fajr (true dawn) until the sun sets. The *spiritual* definition is equally important in Islamic scholarship: *'Fasting is not [merely] from food and drink — rather, fasting is from vain speech and obscenity.'* (hadith)
Al-Dai al-Mutlaq (الدَّاعِي المُطلَق — the Absolute Caller/Vicegerent; from *da'i* — one who calls, invites, summons; and *mutlaq* — absolute, unqualified, not bound) is the highest religious authority in the Tayyibi Ismaili tradition, including the Dawoodi Bohra community. He holds this authority as the vicegerent of the hidden Imam al-Tayyib and functions as the living guide of the community in the Imam's absence. The *Dai al-Mutlaq* is appointed by his predecessor (*nass*) and holds binding authority (*hujja*) over the community in religious, legal, and spiritual matters. The 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq is Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, currently residing in Mumbai.
Fiqh al-Hajj (فِقهُ الحَجّ — jurisprudence of pilgrimage; from *hajj* — pilgrimage to Mecca; and *fiqh* — Islamic jurisprudence) governs the fifth pillar of Islam: the obligation upon every Muslim who is capable (*mustati'*) to perform Hajj once in a lifetime. The Quran commands: *'And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah — for those who are able to find a way to it.'* (3:97) The pilgrimage's rites compress the history of Ibrahim, Ismail, and Hajar into a moving sequence: the *ihram* (ritual state of consecration), the *tawaf* (circumambulation of the Ka'ba), the *sa'i* (running between Safa and Marwa), the *wuquf* at Arafat (standing on the plain), the *muzdalifa* overnight, the *rami al-jamarat* (stoning of pillars), the *qurbani* (sacrifice), and the completion of the pilgrimage.
Fiqh al-Sadaqa (فِقهُ الصَّدَقَة — jurisprudence of voluntary charity; *sadaqa* from *sidq* — truth, sincerity; the word connects truthfulness of heart to giving as its outward expression) governs the vast domain of voluntary giving in Islamic law — encompassing *sadaqa* (any voluntary charity), *sadaqa jariya* (continuous/enduring charity), *waqf* (pious endowment), *infaq fi sabil Allah* (spending in the way of Allah), and *hiba* (gift). Unlike *zakat* — which is obligatory and precisely calculated — voluntary charity has no minimum, no nisab, no schedule. The Prophet said: *'Every act of goodness is sadaqa'* — expanding the concept beyond money to a smile, removing an obstacle from the road, a kind word, teaching someone who cannot read.
Surah al-Ma'arij (سُورَةُ المَعَارِج — The Ascending Stairways; 44 verses; 70th surah; Meccan) opens with a questioner demanding to know about punishment: *'A questioner asked about an impending punishment — for the disbelievers, of which there is no preventer — from Allah, Owner of the Ascending Stairways.'* (70:1-3) The *ma'arij* are the stairways or levels through which the angels and the Spirit ascend to Allah in a day whose measure is fifty thousand years (70:4) — a compression of divine time that makes human impatience look absurd. The surah then pivots to an ethical portrait: the human being is created anxious (*halu'an*, from *hal'* — extreme anxiety, agitation) — despairing when evil touches him, withholding when good reaches him — with a single exception: those who pray, give, and maintain their trusts.
Surah al-Balad (سُورَةُ البَلَد — The City/Mecca; 20 verses; 90th surah; Meccan) opens with an oath by the city of Mecca — *'I swear by this city — and you are free [from sin] in this city'* (90:1-2) — establishing the Prophet's special relationship to Mecca, then pivots to a central metaphysical claim: the human being was created into *al-kabad* (struggle, hardship, labor). Everything good is uphill. The surah names this the *'aqaba* (the steep mountain pass) — a demanding path that involves freeing the enslaved, feeding the hungry, and being among those who believe and counsel patience and mercy. The alternative — the two eyes, the tongue, the lips, all given and wasted — leads to the Fire.
Surah al-Asr (سُورَةُ العَصر — Time/The Afternoon; 3 verses; 103rd surah; Meccan) is one of the Quran's shortest surahs and — according to al-Shafi'i, who said 'if people pondered this surah alone, it would be sufficient for them' — one of its most complete ethical statements. *'By Time — indeed, mankind is in [a state of] loss — except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.'* (103:1-3) Three verses: an oath, a verdict on humanity, and a four-part exception that defines what it means to escape the universal human condition of loss.
Fiqh al-Jihad (فِقهُ الجِهَاد — jurisprudence of struggle; *jihad* from *jahada* — to strive, to exert effort, to struggle; the term encompasses spiritual self-discipline, intellectual effort, and — under strict legal conditions — armed defense or combat) is one of the most complex and contested domains of Islamic jurisprudence. Classical jurists distinguished: *al-jihad al-akbar* (the greater jihad — struggle against the nafs/lower self, also called *mujahada*) from *al-jihad al-asghar* (the lesser jihad — armed conflict under defined conditions). The rules governing armed jihad — who authorizes it, when it is permitted, who may fight, who is protected, how it ends — form a substantial portion of classical Islamic law and anticipate many of the principles codified centuries later in modern international humanitarian law.
Surah al-Tin (سُورَةُ التِّين — The Fig; 8 verses; 95th surah; Meccan) contains one of the most significant theological statements about the human form in the Quran: *'We have certainly created man in the best of stature — then We returned him to the lowest of the low — except for those who believe and do righteous deeds.'* (95:4-6) The surah opens with oaths by four sacred geographical and historical sites — the fig tree, the olive, Mount Sinai, and this secure city (Mecca) — weaving together a geography of divine revelation before arriving at the verdict on the human being: created perfect, capable of falling to the lowest depths, with a path of exception through belief and action.
Fiqh al-Qiyas (فِقهُ القِيَاس — jurisprudential analogy; from *qays* — measure, compare, proportion; sometimes transliterated *qiyās*) is the fourth source of Islamic law after the Quran, Sunna, and Ijma' (scholarly consensus), recognized by the majority of classical Sunni jurists. Qiyas extends an explicit legal ruling to a new case by identifying the *'illa* (effective legal cause or ratio legis) that links the original ruling to the new situation. When wine (*khamr*) is prohibited, the prohibition is not limited to grape wine — the *'illa* is intoxication, and any intoxicant falls under the same prohibition. Without qiyas, the law becomes frozen at explicitly enumerated cases; with it, law can respond to new realities.
Surah al-Alaq (سُورَةُ العَلَق — The Clinging Clot; 19 verses; 96th surah; contains the first five verses revealed to the Prophet of Islam) begins with the word that changed human history: *Iqra'* — Read. The command came to the Prophet in the Cave of Hira on Mount Nour, in 610 CE, through the Angel Jibril. The Prophet replied that he could not read (*ma ana bi-qari'*). Jibril embraced him and repeated: *Iqra'.* Three times — and the verses poured forth: *'Read in the name of your Lord who created. Created man from a clinging clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous — Who taught by the pen — Taught man that which he knew not.'* (96:1-5) Five verses: a command, a cosmology, an attribute of God, an instrument (the pen), and its result (knowledge where none existed before).
Surah al-Qamar (سُورَةُ القَمَر — The Moon; 55 verses; 54th surah; Meccan) opens with one of the most debated verses in the Quran: *'The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split.'* (54:1) — an event the classical tradition understands as a literal miracle: the splitting of the moon that the Meccans witnessed and then dismissed as 'ongoing magic.' The surah then surveys the destruction of six previous nations — Nuh's people, 'Aad, Thamud, Lut's people, Pharaoh's people — each following the same pattern: warning given, rejection sustained, punishment delivered. And four times within the surah the same refrain appears: *'And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance — so is there any who will remember?'* (54:17, 22, 32, 40)
Fiqh al-Umra (فِقهُ العُمرَة — jurisprudence of the lesser pilgrimage; *umra* from 'amara — to visit, to inhabit, to populate) governs the rites of the lesser pilgrimage to Mecca, which may be performed at any time of year (unlike Hajj, which is restricted to specific days of Dhul Hijja). Umra consists of four rites: (1) entering the *ihram* (state of consecration) at the *miqat*; (2) *tawaf al-qudum* — circumambulation of the Ka'ba seven times; (3) *sa'i* — seven circuits between Safa and Marwa; (4) *tahallul* — exiting ihram by cutting hair. The Prophet performed Umra four times in his life. While not obligatory (scholars differ, with Shafi'i and Hanbali schools considering it obligatory; Hanafi and Maliki considering it Sunna mu'akkada), it is among the most powerful acts of voluntary worship in Islam.
Surah al-Humaza (سُورَةُ الهُمَزَة — The Slanderer/Backbiter; 9 verses; 104th surah; Meccan) opens with a double condemnation: *'Woe to every slanderer and backbiter'* (104:1) — the *humaza* (one who strikes, stabs with words, gestures, contempt) and *lumaza* (one who uses words to find fault, to defame). But the surah immediately identifies the root: *'who collects wealth and [continuously] counts it — he thinks that his wealth will make him immortal.'* (104:2-3) The disease is not primarily verbal; it is the delusion of wealth-permanence that produces the verbal contempt. And the fire that punishes is described in one of the Quran's most striking images: *al-hutama* — a crushing fire that *attali'u ala al-af'ida* — rises over and penetrates the hearts.
Surah al-Nur (سُورَةُ النُّور — The Light; 64 verses; 24th surah; Medinan) contains three of the most important passages in the Quran for Islamic social ethics and spirituality: (1) the laws of modesty and public behavior, including the *khimar* (head covering) verse (24:31) and the rule against entering homes without permission; (2) the *Hadith al-Ifk* — the story of the slander against Aisha, the Prophet's wife, and her exoneration by Quranic revelation; and (3) *Ayat al-Nur* (24:35) — the Light Verse, arguably the most celebrated single verse in the Quran for philosophical and mystical commentary.
Surah al-Inshirah (سُورَةُ الانشِرَاح — The Opening/Expansion of the Breast; 8 verses; 94th surah; Meccan; also called Surah al-Sharh) was revealed in the early Meccan period as a comfort to the Prophet under the weight of rejection and persecution. It begins by reminding him of what Allah has already given: *'Did We not expand for you your breast?'* (94:1) — the opening of the heart to receive revelation. And it contains the Quran's most repeated statement of hope: *'For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.'* (94:5-6) — the word for hardship (*'usr*) is the same both times; the word for ease (*yusr*) is the same both times. The scholars derived: one hardship, but two eases.
Fiqh al-Nikah (فِقهُ النِّكَاح — Jurisprudence of Marriage) governs the Islamic marriage contract, which the Quran calls a *mithaq ghaliz* (a firm, weighty covenant; 4:21) — the same term used for the covenant made with the prophets. The four pillars of a valid marriage: offer and acceptance (*ijab wa qabul*), a guardian (*wali*) for the bride, *mahr* (a bridal gift from the groom to the bride that is her sole property), and witnesses (two adult Muslim males in most schools). Marriage is simultaneously a legal contract (*'aqd*) and an act of worship (*'ibada*): the Prophet said, *'Whoever marries has completed half his religion.'*
Surah Qaf (سُورَةُ ق — the letter Qaf; 45 verses; 50th surah; Meccan) opens with the mysterious detached letter *Qaf* — linked in its sound to *Qur'an*, the mountains (*qaf* as cosmic mountain in the ancient cosmology), or the divine oath. The surah is one of the most concentrated treatments of death, resurrection, and accountability in the Quran. The Prophet reportedly recited Surah Qaf every Friday at Jumu'a prayer and on 'Id mornings — a surah so central he chose to remind the community of it weekly. Its most striking passage: *'We have created the human and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein.'* (50:16) The recording angels (*Raqib and Atid*, 50:17-18) are described at work: every word spoken is recorded.
Surah al-Nazi'at (سُورَةُ النَّازِعَات — Those Who Violently Extract; 46 verses; 79th surah; Meccan) opens with a series of five oaths on the angels of death performing their work: extracting souls, drawing them out gently, gliding swiftly, racing ahead, and administering affairs — each describing a different angelic function in the management of souls and cosmic events. The surah then moves to the story of Musa and Pharaoh as the paradigm of a warner meeting a denying tyrant, and closes with the questions of the Hour: *'They ask you about the Hour — when is its arrival?'* (79:42) The answer: knowledge of it belongs only to Allah; but its signs, the Day of Terror, and the division of humanity into those who feared the meeting with Allah and those who did not — all of this is described.
Al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya (السُّنَّةُ النَّبَوِيَّة — the Prophetic Practice/Way) is the second foundational source of Islamic law and theology after the Quran: everything the Prophet said, did, or tacitly approved of, as preserved through chains of transmission (*isnad*) and compiled in hadith collections. The Sunna is binding because the Quran commands obedience to the Messenger: *'Whatever the Messenger gives you — take it. And whatever he forbids you — refrain from it.'* (59:7) The categories: *qawl* (what he said), *fi'l* (what he did), and *taqrir* (what he silently approved when it occurred in his presence). The science of hadith criticism (*'ilm al-jarh wa al-ta'dil*) developed to assess the reliability of each link in every chain.
Fiqh al-Wudu (فِقهُ الوُضُوء — Jurisprudence of Ablution) is the science governing the ritual purification required before prayer. The Quran mandates it: *'O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles.'* (5:6) Across the four Sunni schools, six acts are obligatory (*fard*): intention (*niyyah*), washing the face once, washing the arms to the elbows once, wiping part of the head, washing the feet to the ankles once, and doing so in the correct order (Shafi'i, Hanbali, Maliki) or without specific order (Hanafi for some elements). The Sunna elements — what the Prophet did that is recommended but not obligatory — nearly double the acts performed. Wudu is the gateway to prayer; without it, prayer is invalid.
Fiqh al-Ghusl (فِقهُ الغُسل — Jurisprudence of the Major Ritual Bath) governs *ghusl*, the full body purification (*tahara kubra*) required after states of major ritual impurity (*janaba*). The Quran mandates it: *'...and if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves.'* (5:6) The causes that make ghusl obligatory: sexual intercourse, ejaculation (with or without intercourse), menstruation (*hayd*), postnatal bleeding (*nifas*), and — according to some schools — death (where others perform ghusl on the deceased). The minimum valid ghusl requires: intention, and water reaching every part of the body. The complete Sunna ghusl follows the method the Prophet demonstrated.
Luqman (لُقمَانُ الحَكِيم — Luqman the Wise; non-prophet sage mentioned in Surah Luqman/31; traditionally identified as an Abyssinian or Nubian slave or freedman who became a byword for wisdom; not a prophet — Allah explicitly withheld prophethood from him at his own preference, granting him wisdom instead) is the only non-prophet individual in the Quran given his own surah through his teachings. Surah Luqman (31:12-19) preserves his counsel to his son in seven commands — an entire parenting and moral curriculum compressed into eight verses — covering gratitude, shirk, parental rights, divine omniscience, prayer, patience, and social conduct.
Fiqh al-Tahara (فِقهُ الطَّهَارَة — Jurisprudence of Purity) is the foundational branch of Islamic law dealing with states of ritual cleanliness and impurity. The Prophet said: *'Purity is half of faith.'* (*Al-taharah shatar al-iman*) The science distinguishes between two categories: *tahara hissiyya* (physical cleanliness from physical impurities/*najasa*) and *tahara hukmiyya* (ritual purity requiring wudu or ghusl). Najasa (ritual impurity that must be physically removed from body, clothes, and prayer space) has two grades: *najasa mughallaza* (severe — requiring up to seven washes with sand; blood of pigs, dogs) and *najasa mukhaffafa* (light — easier to remove; urine of infant boys who have not yet eaten solid food). Prayer is invalid if any najasa is present on the body, clothing, or prayer space above the permitted threshold.
Kalimat al-Shahada (كَلِمَةُ الشَّهَادَة — the Word of Witnessing/Declaration of Faith): *La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasulullah* — 'There is no deity except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah' — is the first Pillar of Islam, the entry into the faith, the summary of Islamic theology in fifteen Arabic words, and the last words whispered into the ears of the dying. Its first half (*la ilaha illa Allah*) is the negation of all false objects of ultimate concern and the affirmation of One; its second (*Muhammadun Rasulullah*) affirms the channel through which the One makes Himself known to creation. In Ismaili theology, the shahada has a third dimension — an implied *wa Aliyun wali Allah* (and Ali is the Friend/Trustee of Allah), which the Bohra tradition includes in the extended shahada alongside the recognition of the Imam and Dai.
Fiqh al-Ijarah (فِقهُ الإِجَارَة — Jurisprudence of the Hiring/Rental Contract) is the Islamic law governing contracts for the benefit (*manfa'a*) of an asset or service. Two types: *ijarah 'ala al-a'yan* (rental of a physical asset — a house, land, animal, vehicle) and *ijarah 'ala al-amal* (hiring of a person for their labor — an artisan, a teacher, a worker). The contract requires: the same conditions as any sale (offer/acceptance, capacity, legality of subject), plus specification of the duration (*mudda*) or task (*'amal*), and specification of the rent/wage (*ajr*). The Prophet's hadith: *'Give the worker his wage before his sweat dries'* — establishing the Islamic standard for prompt wage payment that remains the law in all schools.
Zakat al-Fitr (زَكَاةُ الفِطر — also Sadaqat al-Fitr; 'the charity of breaking the fast') is an obligatory purification payment due at the end of Ramadan, before the Eid al-Fitr prayer. The Prophet Ibn Abbas narrated: 'Allah's Messenger made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory — as a purification of the fasting person from idle speech and obscenity, and as food for the poor.' Its amount is one *sa'* (approximately 2.5-3 kg) of the staple food of the region — dates, wheat, rice — per person in the household, including infants and dependents. Crucially, it must be given BEFORE the Eid prayer: given after is ordinary sadaqa, not Zakat al-Fitr. Its dual purpose: purify the spiritual residue of fasting's lapses, and ensure the poor can celebrate Eid with food.
Al-Hudud (الحُدُود — the Limits; singular hadd) are a specific category of fixed punishments prescribed by Quran or mutawatir hadith for six specific offenses. The term means 'the limits of Allah' — boundaries that must not be crossed. The offenses with fixed punishments: unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), false accusation of zina (qadhf), theft (sariqa), highway robbery (qat' al-tariq), drinking intoxicants (khamr), and apostasy (ridda — though its hadd is debated). What distinguishes hudud from discretionary punishments (ta'zir): hudud cannot be reduced, pardoned, or commuted by judge or victim. However, their evidentiary requirements are extraordinarily stringent — designed more to deter through proclamation than to be regularly applied — so that scholars like Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya argued that averting punishment through any legitimate means is itself Quranic intent.
Fiqh al-Buyu' (فِقهُ البُيُوع — Jurisprudence of Sales; plural of *bay'* — sale/exchange) is the broad field of Islamic commercial law governing all transactions involving the exchange of property for consideration. Its foundational Quranic text: *'Allah has permitted sale and forbidden riba'* (2:275). The two pillars that structure the entire field: (1) prohibition of *riba* (interest/unlawful increase), which has an extensive taxonomy in classical fiqh; (2) prohibition of *gharar* (excessive uncertainty/ambiguity) — making contracts void when the subject, price, or delivery terms are insufficiently specified. The classic gharar example from the Prophet: *'Do not buy fish still in the water — it is gharar.'* The field covers: cash sales (*bay' al-musawama*), deferred payment (*bay' al-murabaha*), futures (*bay' al-salam*), commission manufacture (*bay' al-istisna'*), and their contemporary Islamic finance derivatives.
Surah al-Waqi'a (سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَة — 'The Inevitable Event'; Surah 56; 96 verses; Makkan) opens with the great sorting of Judgment Day into three groups — not two. Not simply righteous and wicked: the Companions of the Right (أَصحَابُ المَيمَنَة), the Companions of the Left (أَصحَابُ المَشأَمَة), and the *Sabiqun* (السَّابِقُون — the Forerunners, those nearest to Allah). For the Sabiqun, Paradise is described with detail (reclining on jeweled couches, immortal youths serving them, fruits and meats of their choosing). Then the Surah pivots to argumentation: have you considered what you sow? Who makes the seed germinate — you or Allah? Water: who sent it down? Fire: who created the wood-tree from which you strike it? This repeated interrogative form drives the logical case for resurrection before the final verse addressed to the dying soul.
Fiqh al-'Aqd (فِقهُ العَقد — the Jurisprudence of Contracts; from *'aqada* — to tie, to bind, to conclude) provides the general theory underlying all Islamic transactional law: what elements constitute a binding contract, what conditions must be met, and how contracts are classified from fully valid to completely void. The three pillars of any Islamic contract: *sigha* (form — the offer and acceptance), *'aqidan* (contracting parties — with capacity and free will), and *ma'qud 'alayh* (subject matter — lawful, existing, deliverable). Beyond the pillars, conditions affect validity: some make the contract void outright (*fasid* or *batil*), others make it merely incomplete until met (*mawquf*), and others are stipulated by one party and their validity depends on whether they serve a lawful purpose. This architecture governs sales, leases, marriage, gifts, guarantees, and labor — the entire range of Islamic private law.
Fiqh al-Dayn (فِقهُ الدَّين — Jurisprudence of Debt; *dayn* means a deferred financial obligation, distinguished from *qardh* — immediate loan) governs how Muslims lend, borrow, document, and discharge debts. The foundational Quranic text is Ayat al-Mudayana (2:282) — the longest single verse in the Quran, sometimes called Ayat al-Dayn — which provides a detailed protocol for debt documentation: write it, have two male witnesses or one male and two female witnesses, do not tire of writing it whether small or large, have the debtor dictate it, protect yourselves with collateral ('aqd al-rahn) if unable to write. The verse's length signals the Quran's concern with financial justice: debt disputes destroy communities. The Prophet said: 'The soul of a believer remains suspended in relation to his debt until it is settled.'
Ilm al-Fara'id (عِلمُ الفَرَائِض — the Science of the Obligatory Shares; *fard* = fixed share; also called *'ilm al-mirath* or simply *faraid*) is the branch of Islamic jurisprudence calculating the division of a deceased person's estate among heirs according to Quranic specifications. The Quran in verses 4:11-12 and 4:176 (the 'verse of summer' — ayat al-sayf — because it was revealed in summer) specifies fixed fractions (*furud*) for particular relatives: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, and 1/6. These six fractions, applied to the estate after clearing debts and bequests (which have priority), define the *dhawil furud* (those with fixed shares). Remaining assets after the furud-holders are satisfied go to the *'asaba* (residual male agnate heirs). The science requires determining which heirs exclude others (*hajb*), and what happens when shares sum to more than the estate (*'awl*) or less (*radd*).
Fiqh al-Kafala (فِقهُ الكَفَالَة — Jurisprudence of Surety/Guarantee; *kafala* — to guarantee, to take responsibility for another; *kafil* — guarantor) is the Islamic law governing personal guarantee contracts — where a third party (the *kafil*) undertakes to fulfill another's obligation (*makful 'anhu*) if that person defaults. The Quranic basis: Yusuf's brothers said, *'And I am a kafil for him'* (12:72) — the word appears in the Quran itself as a guarantee of personal custody. Three types: *kafala al-nafs* (guarantee of person — the kafil ensures the debtor's physical presence for judgment), *kafala al-mal* (guarantee of debt — the kafil pays if the debtor cannot), *kafala al-wajh* (presentment guarantee — ensuring the debtor appears). The Prophet said: *'The guarantor is bound by what he guaranteed.'*
Fiqh al-Wakala (فِقهُ الوَكَالَة — Jurisprudence of Agency; *wakala* — representation, delegation; *wakil* — the agent/representative; *muwakkil* — the principal) governs the Islamic law of agency: one person (the muwakkil) authorizing another (the wakil) to act on their behalf in a specified transaction or range of transactions. The Quran provides the foundational case in the story of the Companions of the Cave (*Ashab al-Kahf*): when they awoke, one was sent as their agent to the city to buy food — *'Send one of you with this silver coin as your wakil to the city, and let him see which food is purest'* (18:19). The Prophet himself appointed agents (*wukala'*) for payment of zakah, purchase of property, and marriage negotiations — establishing the sunna practice of agency.
Fiqh al-'Arbun (فِقهُ العَربُون — Jurisprudence of Earnest Money; *'arbun* — a down payment or deposit paid at contract, forfeited if the purchaser withdraws) governs one of the most contested minor transactions in Islamic commercial law. The buyer pays a sum (*'arbun*) to the seller; if the deal goes through, the sum is counted toward the price; if the buyer withdraws, the seller keeps it as compensation. Three schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i) prohibit it as a form of *gharar* (uncertainty) with two prohibited elements: the buyer may get back nothing for something paid, and the seller receives something without performing. The Hanbali school permits it, citing a hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar and the principle that commercial custom (*'urf*) can validate otherwise prohibited transactions if the harm is minimal. Contemporary Islamic finance widely uses 'arbun structures.
Fiqh al-Qard (فِقهُ القَرض — Jurisprudence of the Loan; *qard* — a cut-off portion of wealth given temporarily to another) is the Islamic law of gratuitous loans. A qard is a contract where ownership of fungible goods (money, grain, etc.) transfers temporarily to the borrower, who returns an equivalent — not the same physical items — at a later date. The defining rule: *kull qard jarra manfa'atan fa-huwa riba* — 'every loan that draws a benefit is riba.' The lender may not receive more than the equivalent back. Conditional return of more violates this rule; voluntary gifts after repayment, by convention, are permitted. *Qard hasan* (goodly loan) is called so because it is pure benevolence — the lender sacrifices the use of their capital for a stated term with no return.
Fiqh al-Rahn (فِقهُ الرَّهنِ — Jurisprudence of Pledge/Collateral; *rahn* — holding something as security for a debt) is the Islamic law of pledging an asset to secure repayment of a debt. Quranic basis: 2:283 — 'If you are on a journey and cannot find a scribe, then take a pledge in hand (*fa-rihanun maqbudah*).' Core structure: the debtor (*rahin*) delivers an asset to the creditor (*murtahin*) as security; if the debt is unpaid, the creditor sells the asset and recovers the debt from proceeds; any surplus returns to the rahin. Critically: the murtahin cannot *use* or *benefit from* the pledged asset while holding it — use would constitute riba. The rahin retains ownership and any natural increases (crops, offspring, rent) belong to the rahin.
Fiqh al-Takaful (فِقهُ التَّكَافُل — Jurisprudence of Mutual Guarantee; *takaful* from *kafala* — guarantee; also called Islamic insurance or cooperative insurance) is the Sharia-compliant alternative to conventional insurance. The classical prohibition on conventional insurance: it combines riba (the policyholder pays premiums and may receive more or less back, based on chance), gharar (uncertainty about what will be received), and maysir (gambling-like chance). Takaful restructures this as: participants contribute to a shared fund (*tabarru'* — charitable donation, not a premium for purchase); from this fund, eligible participants are compensated for losses; any surplus belongs to the participants (not the company). The operator manages the fund for a fee (*wakalah*) or a profit share (*mudaraba*).
Fiqh al-Istisna' (فِقهُ الاستِصنَاع — Jurisprudence of the Manufacturing Contract; *istisna'* — requesting a craftsman to make something; from *sana'a* — to make/manufacture) is the contract where a buyer (*mustasni'*) commissions a manufacturer (*sani'*) to produce a specific item not yet in existence, against an agreed price and delivery terms. It is the Sharia-validated mechanism for custom manufacturing, construction, and project finance. Unlike *bay' al-salam* (deferred goods with upfront full payment), istisna' allows the price to be paid in installments during manufacture, making it more practical for large construction projects.
Fiqh al-Sukuk (فِقهُ الصُّكُوك — Jurisprudence of Islamic Certificates; *sukuk* — plural of *sakk*, meaning a written deed or certificate; medieval Islamic instruments for commercial obligations) are the primary Sharia-compliant capital market instruments. The defining principle: sukuk represent ownership in an underlying tangible asset, usufruct, or project — not a debt obligation. Holders receive returns from the asset's income, not interest on a loan. This distinguishes them from conventional bonds, which are pure debt instruments. The most common type: *sukuk al-ijara* — certificates representing undivided ownership in a leased asset; holder receives rental income; principal returned at maturity through asset buyback.
Fiqh al-Ihtikar (فِقهُ الاحتِكَار — Jurisprudence of Hoarding; *ihtikar* — holding back goods from the market to force prices up; *muhtakir* — the one who hoards) addresses one of the few direct market interventions in Islamic law: the prohibition on monopoly-hoarding of essential goods. Hadith basis: the Prophet said 'No one hoards except a sinner (*khatia*)' — narrated by Muslim. The Maliki and Hanafi schools extend this prohibition broadly; the Shafi'i school restricts it to food staples. When hoarding is established, the judge may compel the muhtakir to sell at market price.
Fiqh al-Hajr (فِقهُ الحَجر — Jurisprudence of Interdiction; *hajr* — restraint, restriction of legal capacity; the court order that limits a person's legal ability to execute transactions with their own property) addresses the Islamic law of legal capacity restriction. The three classical grounds for hajr: (1) *safih* (prodigality/foolishness — wasting wealth to the point of self-harm or harm to dependents); (2) *junun* (insanity — loss of rational capacity); (3) *iflas* (insolvency — the insolvent debtor's property is restricted to protect creditors). A fourth category: the minor (*saghir*) whose legal capacity is inherently restricted until majority.
Fiqh al-Darura (فِقهُ الضَّرُورَةِ — Jurisprudence of Necessity; *darura* — pressing need, dire necessity, compulsion; the legal doctrine that necessity lifts prohibitions) is grounded in the Quranic principle: *'He has explained to you what is forbidden, except what you are compelled to' (6:119)* and the prophetic principle: *'la darar wa la dirar'* (no harm, no reciprocal harm). The ruling: when observing a prohibition would cause greater harm than violating it, the prohibition is suspended — but only to the extent necessity demands, not beyond it. The classic example: eating prohibited food (carrion, pork, intoxicants) to avoid death by starvation.
Fiqh al-Waqf (فِقهُ الوَقفِ — Jurisprudence of the Endowment; *waqf* — holding, making stationary, stopping; the Islamic institution of the perpetual charitable endowment) is the mechanism by which assets are permanently dedicated to a public or charitable purpose, with the asset itself made inalienable (cannot be sold, gifted, or inherited) while its usufruct (*manfa'a* — the income or use produced by the asset) flows to designated beneficiaries. The Prophet's hadith foundation: *'When a human being dies, all their deeds cease except three: a continuing charity (*sadaqa jariyya*), beneficial knowledge, and a righteous child who prays for them.'* Classical jurists identified waqf as the primary legal form of *sadaqa jariyya*.
Fiqh al-Jihad (فِقهُ الجِهَادِ — Jurisprudence of Struggle; *jihad* — striving, exertion; the legal framework governing Islamic warfare, including its justification, initiation, conduct, cessation, and the treatment of enemy combatants, civilians, property, and prisoners) is one of the most developed areas of classical Islamic law — elaborated by jurists of all four schools, systematized by scholars like al-Awzai, al-Shaybani, and later Ibn Rushd. The framework is simultaneously a law of war and a framework of ethical constraint: Islamic armies historically operated under rules governing who may be targeted, what may be destroyed, how prisoners must be treated, and when peace must be accepted.