The Waraqat Explained

Farid Dingle

Tie together language, reason, and the primary sources of Islam to discover the fascinating methods by which revelation is understood and interpreted. Learning the rules of deriving legal rulings and the intricacies of this complex science will help you to understand the need for qualified scholarship and how to truly follow the Quran and Sunnah.


LMT201-220x220
Department
Starting From
TBA
Duration
10 weeks
Price
TBA

Instant Financial Aid

At Qibla, we value the importance of providing a quality experience for our classes and charge a fee such that this experience may be maintained. However, we understand that some of us aren’t in the fortunate position to pay the full course fee. To apply for aid, when checking out simply enter the following code based on your capacity to receive an immediate discount on your registration fee:

ASSIST25 - 25% discount

Then click on the ‘Apply Coupon’ button to activate it. That is all there is to it!

At-A-Glance

  • Study a classical primer on the discipline of usul al-fiqh (legal methodology)
  • Recognize the method and rules of textual interpretation used to derive legal conclusions.
  • Understand the complexity involved in interpreting religious texts and deriving legal rulings
  • Learn how to truly follow the Quran and Sunnah
  • Discover the religious importance of language
  • Appreciate the need for specialists in the religious sciences
  • Learn how to differentiate between intricate scholarly debates and ignorant musings

Details

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the hearts of people, but He takes away knowledge by taking away scholars, until when not a single scholar remains, people take ignorant people as their leaders, who are asked and give legal opinion without knowledge, going astray themselves, and leading others astray.”  During this time of great confusion, understanding the importance of qualified scholarship is vital – and this importance can only be fully appreciated after studying the complexities behind the derivation of legal rulings.

Using the Waraqat of Imam al-Juwayni, the classical primer on usul al-fiqh, this course will introduce Islamic legal methodology, i.e. the rules of textual interpretation. Legal methodology is most directly applicable to the process of deriving legal rulings directly from the primary texts, but it has more general applicability to interpreting any text. Understanding legal methodology is thus a requirement for commentating on the Quran and hadiths, even when there is no legal ruling involved.

The course will explore a number of topics, misunderstandings, and commonly asked questions related to deriving legal rulings, including: literal and figurative interpretation of language; superficial understandings of general expressions; dealing with conflicting texts; properly interpreting the sunna; scholarly consensus; analyzing rulings for real-life circumstances not explicitly described in the Quran and Sunna; and more.

The goal of The Waraqat Explained is to help you recognize the method and rules of textual interpretation used by mujtahid scholars to derive legal conclusions. You will be able to apply these methods and rules in controlled case studies. This will help you to realize the complexity of this method such that you develop a respect for classical scholarship. Deriving legal rulings requires a depth of knowledge and understanding, pointing to the need for specialists in religious knowledge – just as we have specialists in medicine, engineering, and any other complex science requiring dedicated, long-term study.

Another important thing you will gain from this course is an understanding of the religious importance of language, and how to use it in order to understand revelation. Studying legal methodology allows you to read the Quran and sunna directly and gain something from the primary texts that you didn’t gain before.

The theory presented in the course will be supplemented by a number of case studies, where the rules of textual interpretation will be applied to real-life examples.  In order to understand the text, material, and case studies, prior coursework in introductory methodology, Arabic, and Islamic law is required.

This course is perfect for students of knowledge who have some understanding of Arabic and Islam, and are looking to understand how and why language is religiously important, and how scholars use language, revelation, and reason to understand and interpret revelation.

About Imam Juwayni: Imam Juwayni was born in 419/1028 and grew up to teach in Nishapur and Baghdad. After meeting the greatest scholars of Baghdad, he went on to Mecca for four years. He then moved to Medina and taught and gave formal legal opinion (fatwa), gaining his nickname, the Imam of the Two Sanctuaries. He then returned to Persia, where the vizier Nizam al-Mulk built an academy for him in Nishapur. Imam Juwayni was the author of many works in tenets of faith, Ash’ari theology, Islamic legal methodology, and Shafi’i law. Among his greatest legacies to Islam and the Muslims was his pupil, Imam al-Ghazali.

  • LESSON 1:
    The Difference Between Law (fiqh) and Legal Methodology (usul)

    • The differences between the disciplines of fiqh and usul al-fiqh
    • Definition of usul al-fiqh and why it is important to study it
  • LESSON 2:
    Using Language in Its Literal and Figurative Senses

    • How scholars have determined the divine intent in law
    • The meaning of “literal” and “figurative” language uses and how to objectively distinguish between the two
  • LESSON 3:
    Commands and Prohibitions

    • -The meanings and implications of commands or prohibitions
    • -The complexity of this issue
    • -Commands don’t always imply obligation and prohibitions don’t always imply unlawfulness
  • LESSON 4:
    General and Particular Wordings

    • -Moving beyond superficial understandings of general statements to really understanding the intent of the Lawgiver
  • LESSON 5:
    Clear and Unclear Expressions

    • -Distinguishing between equivocal and unequivocal texts
    • -Respecting viable legal differences of opinion
  • LESSON 6:
    The Legal Implications of Prophetic Actions

    • -How to interpret the Prophet’s actions for the sake of deriving law
  • LESSON 7:
    Abrogation

    • -The types of abrogation and their role in inferring legal rulings from the primary texts
    • -Modern objections against the concept of abrogation
  • LESSON 8:
    Conflicting Texts: Reconciliation vs. Preponderance

    • -How scholars explain the seemingly (but not actually) conflicting of primary texts
    • -The tools of usul al-fiqh to resolve this apparent conflict
  • LESSON 9:
    Scholarly Consensus

    • The role and importance of scholarly agreement in usul al- fiqh
  • LESSON 10:
    Transmitted Reports

    • The process of authenticating hadith and its relationship to usul al-fiqh.
  • LESSON 11:
    Analogy

    • The meticulous process of analogy and its use to derive the vast majority of legal rulings
      -Moving beyond simplistic and crude arguments.
  • LESSON 12:
    Independent Interpretation and Following Qualified Scholarship

    • The meaning of “qualified scholarship”
      -The importance of learning our religion from “qualified scholars” -Dealing with difference of opinion
  • The Sources of Islamic Law, Introduction to Islamic Worship Parts 1 and 2 (Hanafi or Shafi’i), and at least one non-worship Islamic law course (such as Living Islam, Family Law, or Modern Financial Transactions) are required prerequisites.
  • Introductory Arabic 2 or equivalent knowledge of Arabic is also a required prerequisite due to the course’s strong Arabic component.