Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (2nd Revised Edition)

In our busy lives, Friday comes around once a week. It often comes and goes without our being really aware of it. For many Muslim men, it may be punctuated by the congregational prayer that they make special efforts to attend. For many Muslim women, it may go by just like any other day. This ought not to be the case. In this unique book, Dr. Gowher Yusuf gives us reason to stop and think about how special Friday (al-Jumu‘ah) really is, and what we should be doing to achieve the many bounteous blessings it holds for those who observe it. Drawing constantly from the Qur`an and the Sunnah and the great works of the scholars of Islam, Dr. Gowher Yusuf explores this topic in depth and presents it to the reader in simple language for them to understand and ponder over. This book travels through the various issues pertaining to the Friday prayer and its Khutbah, or sermon. These issues are explained within the Islamic framework, thus abolishing any myths and misunderstandings and clarifying the topic for the reader. Dr. Yusuf writes: The day of the week known as al-Jumu‘ah, or simply Jumu‘ah, is Friday, and it is special. Compared to the other days of the week, Friday has been accorded the largest amount of merit, so much so that the father of all humankind, Prophet Âdam (peace be upon him), was created on this day and a particular prayer was ordered for this day. It was from the guidance given to Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to magnify this day, honour it, and designate it for acts of worship. …On a Friday, we all will be gathered and will stand congregated in front of Allah, the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection, also called the Day of Accountability or the Day of Judgement.

In this book, the author has widely described the main principle of Taqleed. He says that Allah and Prophet Mohammed (SAW) has not ordered us to follow any opinions and interpretations. So there’s a possibility of being correct or incorrect in the opinions because there are many issues on which the Imams had different views and they explain them according to their own reasons and speculations, but the real and true Islam is based on the book (Quran) and Prophet’s Sunnah.

Allah says: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith until they make you judge in all disputed matters between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decision, and accept them with full submission.” And the prophet said: “I leave you with two things as long as you hold them tightly, you never go astray: they are the book of Allah and my Sunnah.” In this sense, the author has described the difference between different Madhahib (madhabs/mazhabs), and their views and urged to follow only the Quran and Sunnah.

Worship in Islam is in-depth study of the nature and significance of Islamic spirituality by Abul A‘la Mawdudi (1903–79), one of the leading Muslim intellectuals of the twentieth century, with special reference to the concepts of God’s Oneness (tawhid), the finality of Prophethood (risalah) and the Islamic system of worship (‘ibadah) with a focus upon prayer (salah) and fasting (sawm) and their role in the development of the Islamic personality and Islam’s social order. The distinguishing feature of Mawdudi’s approach is his elaboration of the social dimension of worship, which extends the traditional approach found in Islamic jurisprudence, with its focus upon ritual and self-purification, to consider worship’s transformative role in social life. Presenting a holistic view of the Islamic system, Mawdudi highlights Islam’s social, economic and political dimensions, which he argues has the capacity to resolve emergent issues and problems that humankind faces.

This historic text should be of wider interest to both students and specialists in contemporary Islamic thought, and includes an introduction by Professor Anis Ahmad.

Edited and translated into accessible English by Ahmad Imam Shafaq Hashemi, this book is an authoritative compilation by a leading Islamic twentieth-century revivalist on the central matter of worship’s role in Islam.