Towards A Fiqh For Minorities: Some Basic Reflections

Remembrance and Prayer: The Way of Prophet Muhammad, was one of the first works of Shaykh al Ghazali’s to be translated into English. The book describes in vivid prose how the Prophet, upon him be peace, used to remember Allah and pray to Him. Not only are the exquisitely beautiful, deeply moving and penetrating words of the Prophet given in the English translation, but in the original Arabic as well, thus allowing those desirous of memorizing Arabic access to the original texts. The intimate relationship with Allah, which was the hallmark of the Prophet’s life, becomes clear and vivid. The book’s contents are immensely relevant. to the life and concerns of modern man, whose life has been made barren by the present secularist machinery.

Preservation of health (hifz al-sihhah) is the most important branch of Islamic medicine since it is primarily concerned with the prevention of illness rather than cure. This book represents one of the few attempts to introduce the role of Islamic medicine, although Chapter One provides information about a historical background of the preservation of helath in Islam, its aim is to provide fresh ant timely overview of the major aspects of legal, ritual and spiritual structures of teh Islamic law (shariah). These include the laws related to Ibadah, Islamic family laws, foods and drinks as well as environmental laws, for maintaning and preserving human health. Findings indicated that prevention of any diseases from Islamic medical law presentive cannot attain any real success unless it emanates from an Islamic fundamental teaching, namely: the pillars of Islam. Iman and observance of the Islamic rituals such as Salah, zakah, Sawm and Hajj, have played an important role in shaping the attitude, behavior and model personality of the Muslim, in boosting the spiritual motivation or attitude change, and in disseminating the message of prevention. This indicates that bodily and spiritual health goes hand in hand and that pyscho-spritual balance and health is a primary consideration whereas physical health is a secondary one.

This work constitutes a critical analysis of classical and modern aspects of the concept of istihsan (juristic preference), an important principle in Islamic legal legislation throughout history. Although there has been many research works on the subject, it still requires further investigation on the role and nature of istihsan with regard to a combination of classical and modern approaches. Consisting of four chapters, the author begins by introducing some general principles of Islamic law, before discussing the history of istihsan during the time of the Prophet and his Companions. He also analyses the validity of istihsan as a source of law and discusses the differences among scholars on its method of implementation.