''Fiqh'' ( ) is Islamic jurisprudence. ''Fiqh'' is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Quran and Sunnah—that complements Sharia with evolving rulings/interpretations of Islamic jurists.

''Fiqh'' deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation in Islam. There are four prominent schools (''madh'hab'') of ''fiqh'' within Sunni practice and two within Shi'a practice. A person trained in ''fiqh'' is known as a ''Faqih'' (plural ''Fuqaha'').

Etymology

The word ''fiqh'' is an Arabic term meaning "deep understanding" or "full comprehension". Technically it refers to the science of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources (which are studied in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence)--the process of gaining knowledge of Islam through jurisprudence, and the body of legal advisements so derived, is known as ''fiqh''.

The historian Ibn Khaldun describes ''fiqh'' as "knowledge of the rules of God which concern the actions of persons who own themselves bound to obey the law respecting what is required (''wajib''), forbidden (''haraam''), recommended (''mandūb''), disapproved (''makrūh'') or merely permitted (''mubah'')".

This definition is consistent amongst the jurists.

In Modern Standard Arabic, ''fiqh'' has come to mean jurisprudence in general, be it Islamic or secular. It is thus possible to speak of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. as an expert in the common law ''fiqh'' of the United States, or of Farouk Sultan as an expert in the civil law ''fiqh'' of Egypt.

Introduction

There are cases where the Qur'an gives a clearly defined and concrete answer on how to deal with different issues. This includes how to perform the ritual purification before the obligatory daily prayers . On other issues, the Qur'an alone is not enough to make things clear. For example, the Qur'an states one needs to engage in daily prayers and fast during the month of Ramadan, however, it does not define how to perform these duties. The details about these issues can be found in the traditions of Islamic prophet Muhammad . This is true for most detailed issues, thus the Qur'an and Sunnah are the basis for the Islamic Divine Law .

With regard to some topics, the Qur'an and Sunnah are simply silent. In those cases, the Muslim jurists try to arrive at conclusions using other tools. Sunni jurists use analogy and historical consensus of the community . The conclusions arrived at with the aid of these additional tools constitute a wider array of laws than the Sharia consists of, and is called fiqh. Thus, in contrast to the ''sharia'', ''fiqh'' is not regarded as sacred, and the schools of thought have differing views on its details, without viewing other conclusions as sacrilegious. This division of interpretation in more detailed issues has resulted in different schools of thought .

This wider concept of Islamic jurisprudence is the source of a range of laws in different topics that govern the lives of the Muslims in all facets of everyday life.

Islamic Law

Fida Hussain solangi, a renowned jurist has discoursed upon the following issues as under:

Islamic law (''fiqh'') covers two main areas, rules in relation to actions and rules in relation to circumstances surrounding actions.

Rules in relation to actions ('''amaliyya'' — عملية) comprise:

Obligation (''fardh'')

Recommendation (''mustahabb'')

Permissibility (''mubah'')

Disrecommendation (''makrooh'')

Prohibition (''haraam'')

Rules in relation to circumstances (''wadia''') comprise:

Condition (''shart'')

Cause (''sabab'')

Preventor (''mani'')

Permit/Enforce (''rukhsah, azeemah'')

Valid/Corrupt/Invalid (''sahih, faasid, batil'')

In time/Debt/Repeat (''adaa, al-qadaa, i'ada'')

Fiqh is grouped into two parts:

# Ibadaat (worship) # Mua'malaat (dealings & transactions)

Fields of jurisprudence

Islamic economical jurisprudence فقه المعاملات

Islamic political jurisprudence فقه السياسة

Islamic marital jurisprudence

Islamic criminal jurisprudence فقه العقوبات

Islamic etiquettical jurisprudence الآداب

Islamic theological jurisprudence

Islamic hygienical jurisprudence

Islamic military jurisprudence فقه الجهاد

Methodologies of jurisprudence ''usul al-fiqh'' (أصول الفقه)

The Modus operandi of the Muslim jurist is known as ''usul al-fiqh'' (principles of jurisprudence).

There are different approaches to the methodology used in ''fiqh'' to derive ''sharia'' from the Islamic sources. The main methodologies are:

The four classical Sunni schools are, in chronological order: the Hanafi school, the Maliki school, the Shafi'i school and the Hanbali school. They represent the generally accepted Sunni authority for Islamic jurisprudence.

''Jafari fiqh'', or the Shi'a ''fiqh''

Other schools are the Zaidi, Zahiri, Sufian Al'thawree, Sufian bin O'yayna, Layth bin Sa'ad, Tabari and Qurtubi schools.

The four schools of Sunnis

The four schools (or Madh'hab) of Sunni Muslims are each named by students of the classical jurist who taught them. The Sunni schools (and where they are commonly found) are

Hanafi (The Levant, Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Iran, Afghanistan, Jordan, China and Egypt)

Maliki (North Africa, the Muslim areas of West Africa, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain)

Shafi'i (Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Southern Iran, Muslim Southeast Asia, Jordan, Egypt, Swahili Coast, Maldives and southern parts of India)

Hanbali (Saudi Arabia and Qatar).

These four schools share most of their rulings, but differ on the particular ''hadiths'' they accept as authentic and the weight they give to analogy or reason (''qiyas'') in deciding difficulties.

The Hanafi school was the earliest established under the jurist Imam Abu Hanifa, who was born and taught in Iraq. Imam Abu Hanifa (80A.H.–150A.H.), whose real name was Nu'man ibn Thabit, was born in the city of Kufa (modern day Iraq) in the year 80 A.H (689 A.D). Born into a family of tradesmen, the Imam's family were of Persian origin. Under Imam Abu Hanifa, the witr prayer was considered to be compulsory and the Hanafis also differed with other sects in relation to methods of taking ablution, prayers and payment of tithe or ''zakat''. Imam Abu Hanifa also differed with the other three schools in many areas including the type of punishments meted out for various crimes in Islam. On the whole, the Hanafi school of jurisprudence could be said to have the most differences with other three schools.

Students of Imam Malik established the Maliki school of which a majority now can be found in North Africa and some Persian gulf states . Imam Malik, whose real name was Abu Abdullah, Malik bin Anas, was born in Medina in the year 715 AD. His ancestral home was in Yemen, but his grandfather settled in Medina after embracing Islam. He received his education in Medina, which was the most important seat of Islamic learning, and where the immediate descendants of Muhammad's (SAW) followers lived. Imam Malik was attracted to the study of law, and devoted himself to the study of ''fiqh''. His principal book, the ''Kitab al-Muwatta'', is one of the earliest surviving books on ''hadith'' and ''fiqh''. Differences under the Maliki school included the fact that those following the Maliki school could state their purpose (or ''niat'') once only for compulsory fasting which is valid for the whole month of Ramadhan whilst for the Shafi'i.e. school (see below), one would have to state his purpose every day of the month of Ramadhan for his fast to be valid the next day.

Ja'fari jurisprudence

The Ja'fari school (Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia) is associated with Imam Jafar-as-Sadiq. The ''fatwas'', or time and space bound rulings of early jurists, are taken rather more seriously in this school, due to the more hierarchical structure of Shia Islam, which is ruled by the ''Imams''. But they are also more flexible, in that every jurist has considerable power to alter a decision according to his opinion.

The Jafari school uses '''aql'' "intellect" instead of ''qiyas'' in the Sunni schools, when establishing Islamic laws.

Ismaili Fatimid jurisprudence

Daim al-Islam is a book on the rulings of Islam followed by Ismaili Muslims who adhere to the Shi'a Ismaili Fatimid fiqh. It describes manners and etiquette, including Ibadat in the light of guidance provided by the Ismaili Imams. The book emphasizes what importance Islam has given to manners and etiquette along with the worship of God, citing the traditions of the first four Imams of the Shi'a Ismaili Fatimid school of thought.

Arguments for and against reform

Each school reflects a unique ''al-urf'' or culture (a cultural practice that was influenced by traditions), that the classical jurists themselves lived in, when rulings were made. Some suggest that the discipline of ''isnad'', which developed to validate ''hadith'' made it relatively easy to record and validate also the rulings of jurists. This, in turn, made them far easier to imitate (''taqlid'') than to challenge in new contexts. The argument is, the schools have been more or less frozen for centuries, and reflect a culture that simply no longer exists. Traditional scholars hold that religion is there to regulate human behavior and nurture peoples moral side and since human nature has not fundamentally changed since the beginning of Islam a call to modernize the religion is essentially one to relax all laws and institutions.

Early ''shariah'' had a much more flexible character, and some modern Muslim scholars believe that it should be renewed, and that the classical jurists should lose special status. This would require formulating a new fiqh suitable for the modern world, e.g. as proposed by advocates of the Islamization of knowledge, which would deal with the modern context. This modernization is opposed by most conservative ''ulema''. Traditional scholars hold that the laws are contextual and consider circumstance such as time, place and culture, the principles they are based upon are universal such as justice, equality and respect. Many Muslim scholars argue that even though technology may have advanced, the fundamentals of human life have not and is in the scope of current laws.

Early history

The formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with pragmatic issues of authority and teaching than with theory. Progress in theory happened with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i (767–820), who codified the basic principles of Islamic jurisprudence in his book ''ar-Risālah''. The book details the four roots of law (Qur'an, Sunnah, ''ijma'', and ''qiyas'') while specifying that the primary Islamic texts (the Qur'an and the hadith) be understood according to objective rules of interpretation derived from scientific study of the Arabic language.

Possible links with Western law

A number of important legal institutions were developed by Muslim jurists during the classical period of Islam, known as the Islamic Golden Age. One such institution was the ''Hawala'', an early informal value transfer system, which is mentioned in texts of Islamic jurisprudence as early as the 8th century. ''Hawala'' itself later influenced the development of the agency in common law and in civil laws such as the ''aval'' in French law and the ''avallo'' in Italian law. The "European commenda" (Islamic ''Qirad'') used in European civil law may have also originated from Islamic law.

The ''Waqf'' in Islamic law, which developed during the 7th–9th centuries, bears a notable resemblance to the trusts in the English trust law. For example, every ''Waqf'' was required to have a ''waqif'' (settlor), ''mutawillis'' (trustee), ''qadi'' (judge) and beneficiaries. The trust law developed in England at the time of the Crusades, during the 12th and 13th centuries, was introduced by Crusaders who may have been influenced by the ''Waqf'' institutions they came across in the Middle East.

The Islamic ''lafif'' was a body of twelve members drawn from the neighbourhood and sworn to tell the truth, who were bound to give a unanimous verdict, about matters "which they had personally seen or heard, binding on the judge, to settle the truth concerning facts in a case, between ordinary people, and obtained as of right by the plaintiff." The only characteristic of the English jury which the Islamic ''lafif'' lacked was the "judicial writ directing the jury to be summoned and directing the bailiff to hear its recognition." According to Professor John Makdisi, "no other institution in any legal institution studied to date shares all of these characteristics with the English jury." It is thus likely that the concept of the ''lafif'' may have been introduced to England by the Normans, who conquered both England and the Emirate of Sicily, and then evolved into the modern English jury.

Several other fundamental common law institutions may have been adapted from similar legal institutions in Islamic law and jurisprudence, and introduced to England by the Normans after the Norman conquest of England and the Emirate of Sicily, and by Crusaders during the Crusades. In particular, the "royal English contract protected by the action of debt is identified with the Islamic ''Aqd'', the English assize of novel disseisin is identified with the Islamic ''Istihqaq'', and the English jury is identified with the Islamic ''lafif''." Other English legal institutions such as "the scholastic method, the licence to teach", the "law schools known as Inns of Court in England and ''Madrasas'' in Islam" and the "European commenda" (Islamic ''Qirad'') may have also originated from Islamic law. The methodology of legal precedent and reasoning by analogy (''Qiyas'') are also similar in both the Islamic and common law systems. These influences have led some scholars to suggest that Islamic law may have laid the foundations for "the common law as an integrated whole".

See also

Abdallah al-Harari

Bahar-e-Shariat

Mizan—a comprehensive treatise on the contents of Islam written by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi

Palestinian law

Ma'ruf

Sources of Islamic law

List of Islamic terms in Arabic

Urf

Notes

References

Doi, Abd ar-Rahman I., and Clarke, Abdassamad (2008). ''Shari'ah: Islamic Law''. Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., ISBN 978-1842000878 (hardback)

External links

imamfaisal.com - Several mp3s explaining the fiqh of tahara and fiqh of marriage according to the scholars.

Category:Sharia Category:Fiqh Category:Islamic terms

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Birth name	Dennis Bradley Philips
Birth date	January 07, 1947
Birth place	Kingston, Jamaica
Occupation	Islamic preacher
Religion	Sunni Islam
Website	www.bilalphilips.com
Footnotes	}}

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (born Dennis Bradley Philips January 7, 1947) in Jamaica is a contemporary Islamistic scholar, teacher, speaker, and author, resident in Qatar. He appears on Peace TV, which is a 24-hour Islamic satellite TV channel broadcasted to many countries around the world. According to Investigative Project on Terrorism he follows a strong anti-Western agenda and is connected to radical and terrorist Islamistics.

Biography

Education

Philips was born January 7, 1947 in Jamaica, but grew up in Canada, where he converted to Islam in 1972. He received his B.A. degree from the Islamic University of Medina and his M.A. in Aqeedah (Islamic Theology) from the King Saud University in Riyadh, then to the University of Wales, where he completed a PhD in Islamic Theology in the early 1990's. Philips comes from a family of educators, as both his parents were teachers and his grandfather was a Christian minister and Bible scholar.

Islamic Information Center

In 1994 he founded (and continues to direct) an Islamic Information Center, now known as Discover Islam, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Islamic Online University

The Islamic Online University has been founded by Dr. Bilal Philips as a completely tuition-free institution that is offering an online intensive, undergraduate, and graduate courses in Islamic Studies. The university offers a four year bachelor of arts degree in Islamic studies program.

The IOU was initially launched in 2001 from UAE with an offering of a few short courses. After a five year interlude, it was restarted in 2007 from Qatar with a greater offering of completely free short courses.

Controversies

In an interview given, Philips accused the Australian authorities of "blindly following American allegations and unsubstantiated false accusations" claiming that investigations in the UK, Canada and Australia had found no evidence that he was in any way connected with terrorism. In this interview, he also pointed out that he had not entered the USA since 1995, characterizing media claims that he had been deported in 2004 as an "outright lie". Philips also called the statement that he was an "unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing "really a joke", claiming that it was based on a "supposedly leaked report" of over 100 prominent Muslims who were never charged. In April 2011 he has been banned from re-entering Germany as persona non grata.

At a conference in Toronto during the city's Pride Parade on July 3, 2011, Philips briefly reiterated his view that homosexuals caught in the act should be executed in countries governed by Islamic law.

Publications

Books

'' Fundamentals of TAWHEED (Islamic Monotheism) International Islamic Publishing House; ISBN 9960964809 '' The Evolution of Fiqh (Islamic Law & The Madh-habs) International Islamic Publishing House (Edited by Bradley Philips); ISBN 9960672867 '' True Message of Jesus Christ Islamic Book Services 2006; ISBN 8172313608 '' Purpose of Creation 84pp, Islamic Book Services 2002; ISBN 8172313586 '' Funeral Rites International Islamic Publishing House; ASIN 9960850846 '' Polygamy in Islam Islamic Book Services; ISBN 8172317158 '' Islamic Studies Al-Basheer 2002; ISBN 1898649197

Videos

Sundry videos at LightUponLight.com

See also

List of Da'ees

Dawah

Islam in Canada

Zakir Naik

Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo

Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno

References

External links

Bilal Philips' official website

Bilal Philips' Blog

Bilal Philips audio and video lectures

Interview with Bilal Philips on Famous Muslims

Lecture: Hardening of the Heart

Bilal Philips' Islamic Online University

Category:Converts to Islam Category:Canadian Muslims Category:Canadian people of Jamaican descent Category:Alumni of the University of Wales Category:Living people Category:1947 births Category:Muslim scholars Category:Islamic studies scholars Category:21st-century imams Category:Salafis

ar:بلال فيلبس da:Bilal Philips de:Bilal Philips ms:Bilal Philips ur:بلال فلپس

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq
residence	Leicester, United Kingdom
birth date	1971
birth place	Gujarat, India
occupation	Islamic scholar
title	Shaykh
religion	Sunni Islam
website	http://www.akacademy.eu
footnotes	The Shaykh was speaking on Surah Hujarat at Azhar Academy, London on 24th November 2008 when this photo was taken. }}

Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh-ul-Haq (born 1971) is an Islamic scholar based in the United Kingdom. He was born in Gujarat, India, and moved with his family to the United Kingdom in 1974. He is internationally recognized as a prominent scholar of Islam in the Western world and considered an authority on various Islamic fields including hadith. Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq is a graduate of the oldest and most prestigious Islamic religious seminary in the United Kingdom, Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah and a spiritual successor of Shaykh ul Hadith Hadhrat Maulana Yusuf Motala. Over 400 lectures of the Shaykh are in circulation with the earliest recordings from 1994. The Al Kawthar Academy was founded under the guidance of Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq.

Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq hails from a family known for their religious scholarship. His father, Maulana Muhammad Gora, served as an Imam for the early immigrant Muslim community in Leicester.

Education

His father began his son's religious instruction at a very young age. By the age of ten, the Shaykh had memorised the entire Quran and completed the study of a number of ''kitabs'' on various Islamic topics. When he was thirteen, he enrolled at Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah in Bury. There, the Shaikh undertook an intensive study of Arabic, Quranic tafseer, hadith and fiqh under traditionally qualified scholars. His teachers from whom he has ''ijazah'' in various Islamic sciences include Hadhrat Shaykh Yusuf Motala and the late Shaykh Islamul Haq. He also has ''ijazah'' in hadith from the late Mufti Mahmood Hassan Gangohi and the famous Muhaddith, Shaikh Yunus of Saharanpur, India. Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh-ul-Haq graduated from Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah in early 1991.

Preaching and Teaching

After his graduation, he became the Imam of Birmingham Central Mosque and then began teaching hadith at Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah. Until 2003, the Shaikh served as the honorary headmaster of Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah in Kidderminster, where he was previously ''sadr mudarris'' (head teacher/dean of the faculty). Since graduation he has devoted himself to the work of deen and remained actively involved in da'wah and teaching. He has taught and commented on numerous classical Islamic works and has lectured extensively on a range of topics including Quranic tafseer, hadith, aqeedah and fiqh. He has also travelled widely, teaching and lecturing in various countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America. Many of his sermons and lectures are recorded and are widely available. He has also authored two books, 'The Salah of a Believer in the Quran and Sunnah' and 'The Causes of Disunity'. A poem written by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq called 'Whispers of the Night' has been published on many websites and blogs,,,.

Sahih-al-Bukhari

Since 2001, Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq has been teaching an abridged version of Sahih-al-Bukhari to the general public. The collection of hadith in Bukhari are considered the most authentic collection in Islam. This is the first time ever that these hadith have been taught in English in a systemic, detailed and thorough manner. All rulings derived from the hadith are explained according to the understanding of the main schools of fiqh. The Shaykh teaches these hadith through an unbroken and authentic chain of narration or sanad.,. He narrated his complete sanad in Lesson 3 of the Bukhari series before teaching the first hadith. The lessons are currently held at Al Kawthar Academy in Leicester and number over 240 that have been delivered to date,. Many video excerpts from the Bukhari lessons are on Al Kawthar Academy's Youtube channel. Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq is considered to be an authority on hadith as along with his learning he known to have a prodigious memory. The hundreds of lay students along with many scholars that have attended his Sahih al-Bukhari lectures can attest to the fact that he teaches the hadith without recourse to any notes or translations relying only the original Arabic text. However, for any given hadith he is able to provide the rulings of all the main scholars of fiqh, along with any fringe rulings, which have been derived from that narration.

Lecture Series

The earliest spiritual discourses by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq which are available online date to around 1994 e.g. Prior to commencing the weekly Bukhari classes, the Shaykh taught lessons of Tafseer, Fiqh and Aqeedah. He has given many general talks often on topical subjects relevant to Muslims in the West. These lectures have been given across the UK and in many other countries often at conferences and seminars where the Shaykh is an invited and keynote speaker. In early 2009, the Shaykh addressed the credit crunch issue from an Islamic perspective.,.

Since 2008, Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq has been delivering a series of talks on 'The Mothers of The Believers' and also a series of talks on 'The Lives and Learning of the Companions',.

Intensive Study Courses

In November 2008, Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq delivered an intensive study course entitled 'The Etiquettes of Seeking Sacred Knowledge'. The course held over two consecutive weekends and was organised by Al Kawthar Academy. The location of the course was Azhar Academy, Forest Gate, London. This was the first intensive study course taught by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq. Al Kawthar Academy organised a second intensive study course entitled 'Fundamentals of Understanding the Glorious Qur'an'. This course was held at Azhar Academy, London on 27 and 28 June 2009. The Shaykh delivered a third intensive course at Azhar Academy entitled 'Ramadhan Dawn till Dawn' on the 8th and 9 August 2009.

Further, he has devised a syllabus for a part-time Alim course which is based on a classical curriculum and is designed to help beginners progress from an elementary stage to a very advanced level in Arabic and Islamic Studies. The course covers an in-depth study of Arabic language and literature as well as Islamic theology, Qur'an, hadith and fiqh. The Shaykh teaches this course in Leicester, UK.

Influence and International Recognition

Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq is listed in the 2010 Third Edition of 'The 500 Most Influential Muslims' published by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre This publication is the third of an annual series that provides a window into the movers and shakers of the Muslim world. It highlights people who are influential as Muslims, that is, people whose influence is derived from their practice of Islam or from the fact that they are Muslim. It gives valuable insight into the different ways that Muslims impact the world, and also shows the diversity of how people are living as Muslims today. Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq appears in a section of the publication where '450 leaders are categorized by their diverse fields of work and appear unranked'. In the publication, it is stated ''Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq is a very influential speaker and leading Deobandi scholar in the UK. He has been markedly influential through his work with the Al Kawthar Academy in Leicester. Al Kawthar is a leading Islamic educational institution at the forefront of knowledge proliferation through diverse media forms.''

Allegations of Extremism

In September 2007 The Times carried a news item by Andrew Norfolk accusing Riyadh ul Haq of being the "homegrown cleric who loathes the British" and a commentary article from the same author claiming there was a "hardline takeover of British mosques" led by ul Haq. In an opinion piece by the same author on the same date there was a claim that ul Haq was in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain, despite allegedly having extreme views. However, the hundreds of hours of recordings of ul Haq's lectures in the public domain suggest otherwise. Simultaneously, Andrew Norfolk published a further "comment" piece in the Times calling the Deobandis historically anti-British, but also aired the opposing views of Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, the chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain’s interfaith relations committee. Mr Mogra graduated from the same Deobandi seminary in Bury, Greater Manchester, that Mr ul Haq attended. Mr Mogra has a vision of a pluralistic, tolerant Islam "starkly at odds with mainstream Deobandi thinking", believing that for British Muslims "our loyalty to Britain must be unquestionable".

The next day Andrew Norfolk published two more opinion pieces, also in the Times, the first describing two British Muslims in a "sinister" Karachi madrassa of mutually opposing view points, the student there being "desperate" to come home to Yorkshire. The second opinion piece named another world respected Deobandi scholar (Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani), this time from Pakistan calling for followers to live peacefully in countries such as Britain only until they gain enough power to engage in jihad or battle.

Amongst the immediate responses the Guardian carried a "Comment is Free" opinion article by Inayat Bunglawala, media secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain, calling Norfolk's work "A toxic mix of fact and nonsense" and the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK) claiming on their own web-site that the Berelvis (a minority group in Islam) were coming out in defence of Riyadh al Haq. 2 days later, MPACUK called the attacks on ul Haq a "decapitation strategy".

References

External links

Al Kawthar Academy - Lectures of Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq, February 18, 2009

Al Kawthar Academy on YouTube

Abu Yusuf Riyad ul Haq audio and video lectures from Halal Tube

Islamic Information

Darul Ishaat UK - Purchase All of Audios in CD format

Speeches

Most of his speeches are digitally recorded and widely distributed. They can be found in most Islamic book stores in the form of cassettes or CDs.

His lectures can also be found at several places online. To mention but a few:

Al Kawthar Academy

Al Kawthar Productions - lectures for sale in various formats

Website featuring a wealth of Islamic lectures

Online Video Lectures of Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq

Category:Living people Category:Indian imams Category:British imams Category:21st-century imams Category:1971 births Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
region	Islamic scholar
era	Modern era
color	#B0C4DE
name	Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari
birth place	England
religion	Islam
citizenship	British
school tradition	Hanafi
main interests	Islamic law, Islamic finance, Lecturing
notable ideas	}}

Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-kawthari is a public speaker and author of Islamic books and translator of several Arabic works to the English language.

Early Life and Education

Born in Leicester, UK, al-Kawthari started learning about Islam from a very young age and memorized the Qur’an at the age of nine. He initially studied the Arabic language and various other traditional Islamic sciences including Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), Hadith and Fiqh at Dar al-Uloom, Bury, UK, under Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf Motala and the late Shaykh al-Hadith Islam ul Haq. He also received Ijazah in Hadith from the late Grand Mufti of India, Shaykh Mahmud al-Hasan Gangohi and underwent a one year course of specialization in the science of issuing religious verdicts (Fatwa).

Career

al-Kawthari is a teacher of various traditional Islamic sciences at Jamiah Uloom al-Qur’an and Director and Researcher at the Institute of Islamic Jurisprudence. He is a Board Member of the Al-Qalam Shari’ah Scholars Panel, established for Muslim consumers and businesses for Shari’ah-based guidance. He is also an Advisory Member of the Islamic Medical Ethics Forum (IMEF). He is also a Shari’ah Advisor for Habib Bank AG Zurich, UK - Islamic Banking department and gives lectures on various subjects around the world.

Works

His authored books include ''Islamic Guide to Sexual Relations'', ''Birth Control & Abortion in Islam'', and ''The Issue of Shares and Simplified Rules of Zakat''. He has also published Shaykh Zakariyya Kandahlawi’s Wujub I’fa’ al-Lihya (the obligation of growing a beard) and Shaykh Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri’s Mabahith fi Aqa’id Ahl al-Sunna aka: Al-Muhannad ala‘l-Mufannad (Discussions in the beliefs of the Ahl al-Sunna), both with critical analysis and footnotes in Arabic.

Controversy

In February 2011, University of York student media reported on the controversy surrounding al-Kawthari's visit. Various campus groups launched an official complaint on the grounds of social cohesion, focusing on a recent report by Civitas. Key criticisms included allegations that al-Kawthari's views "legitimis[ed] rape," and accusations that his opposition to women traveling more than 48 miles without their husbands was inherently sexist. The Member of the UK Parliament for York Outer, Julian Sturdy also weighed in on the debate, stating, "I believe in the absolute importance of freedom of speech, but I am not happy that this vile speaker is using the university as a platform to create tension in the community."

Defenders of al-Kawthari, including the University of York Islamic Society, stated that his views were taken "bizarrely out of context" and accused the campaigners of hypocrisy in selectively defending free speech. A statement by al-Kawthari responding to the allegations was read on BBC York. Following the controversy, al-Kawthari delivered the talk entitled "Misconceptions of Islam" on February 16, 2011 without incident.

References

Muhammad ibn Adam's Biography

http://www.whitethreadpress.com/authors/muhammad_adam.htm

http://www.turath.co.uk/tp/index.php?option=com_content&task;=view&id;=69&Itemid;=28

http://www.sunnipath.com/about/shaykhmia.aspx

http://www.lamppostproductions.com/node/189

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External links

Darul Iftaa

Darul Iftaa Youtube Channel

Sunni Path

SeekersGuidance

Islamic Manners

Imaam Abu Hanifa and Hadith

Category:British Muslims Category:Living people Category:Muslim scholars Category:Muslim scholars of Islam