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Fiqh (Arabic: فقه‎ [fiqh]) is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct (Sharia) expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition (Sunnah) and implemented by the rulings and 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).^[1]

Etymology[link]

The word fiqh is an Arabic term meaning "deep understanding" or "full comprehension". Technically it refers to the body of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources (which are studied in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence) and the process of gaining knowledge of Islam through jurisprudence. 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), sinful (haraam), recommended (mandūb), disapproved (makrūh) or neutral (mubah)".^[2] 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[link]

The Qur'an gives clear instruction on many issues, such as how to perform the ritual purification (Arabic: wudu) before the obligatory daily prayers (Arabic: salat), but on other issues, some Muslims believe the Qur'an alone is not enough to make things clear. For example the Qur'an states one needs to engage in daily prayers (Arabic: salat) and fast (Arabic: sawm) during the month of Ramadan but some Muslims believe they need further instructions on how to perform these duties. Details about these issues can be found in the traditions of Islamic prophet Muhammad (Arabic: Sunnah), so Qur'an and Sunnah are in most cases the basis for (Arabic: Shariah).

With regard to some topics the Qur'an and Sunnah are silent. In those cases the Muslim jurists (Arabic: Fuqaha) try to arrive at conclusions by other means. Sunni jurists use analogy (Arabic: Qiyas) and historical consensus of the community (Arabic: Ijma). 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 (Arabic: madh'hab).

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[link]

Islamic law (fiqh) covers two main areas:

1. rules in relation to actions, and,
2. rules in relation to circumstances surrounding actions.

Fiqh can also be grouped as:

1. Worships (Ibadaat)
2. Dealings & transactions (Mua'malaat)

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/Enforced (rukhsah, azeemah)
• Valid/Corrupt/Invalid (sahih, faasid, batil)
• In time/Debt/Repeat (adaa, qadaa, i'ada)

Fields of jurisprudence[link]

• 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

[edit] 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 minor 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[link]

Map of the Muslim world with the main madhhab's

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, Iraq, 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[link]

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[link]

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[link]

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[link]

The formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with issues of authority and teaching than with theory and methodology.^[3]

Progress in theory and methodology 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.^[4]

Secondary sources of law were developed and refined over the subsequent centuries, consisting primarily of juristic preference (istihsan), laws of the previous prophets (shara man qablana), continuity (istihsab), extended analogy (maslaha mursala), blocking the means (sadd al-dhari'ah), custome urf and saying of a companion (qawl al-sahabi).^[5]

Possible links with Western law[link]

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.^[6] The "European commenda" (Islamic Qirad) used in European civil law may have also originated from Islamic law.^[7]

The Waqf in Islamic law, which developed during the 7th–9th centuries, bears a notable resemblance to the trusts in the English trust law.^[8] For example, every Waqf was required to have a waqif (settlor), mutawillis (trustee), qadi (judge) and beneficiaries.^[9] 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.^[10][11]

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.^[7]

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.^[7] The methodology of legal precedent and reasoning by analogy (Qiyas) are also similar in both the Islamic and common law systems.^[12] These influences have led some scholars to suggest that Islamic law may have laid the foundations for "the common law as an integrated whole".^[7]

See also[link]

	Islam portal
	Law portal

• 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[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Potz, Richard: Islamic Law and the Transfer of European Law, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: November 28, 2011.

External links[link]

• Laws of Islam concerning ritual purity and food including jurisprudence/fiqh
• imamfaisal.com - hundreds of free mp3s explaining the fiqh of tahara, marriage, business, etc. according to the scholars.

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Danish Wikipedia. (September 2011) Don't speak Danish? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the Danish article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|da|Bilal Philips}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Philips in August 2010
Born	Dennis Bradley Philips (1946-01-06) 6 January 1946 (age 66) Kingston, Jamaica
Education	B.A. Islamic Studies, M.A. Aqeedah, & PhD Islamic Theology
Alma mater	B.A. - Islamic University of Medina, M.A. - King Saud University, & PhD - University of Wales
Occupation	Islamic preacher
Years active	1971-present
Religion	Islam
Website
www.bilalphilips.com

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (born Dennis Bradley Philips on 6 January 1946 in Jamaica) is a contemporary Islamic scholar, teacher, speaker, and author, resident in Qatar.^[1][2] He appears on Peace TV, which is a 24-hour Islamic satellite TV channel broadcasting to many countries around the world.

Biography[link]

Education[link]

Philips was born on 6 January 1946^[3] 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 1990s.^[4] Philips comes from a family of educators, as both his parents were teachers and his grandfather was a Christian minister and Bible scholar.^[5]

Islamic Information Center[link]

In 1994 he founded (and continues to direct) an Islamic Information Center, now known as Discover Islam, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.^[5]

Islamic Online University[link]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

Controversies[link]

According to Steven Emerson, Executive Director of Investigative Project on Terrorism, he follows a strong anti-Western agenda and is connected to radical and terrorist Islamists.^[8] Bilal has made statements against suicide bombing and other terrorist tactics as un-Islamic. He has also suggested that once violent conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims can be better solved with education.^[9]

Bilal Philips (left) and Pierre Vogel speaking on a rally in Frankfurt in 2003.

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.^[2] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

Publications[link]

Books[link]

• Fundamentals of TAWHEED (Islamic Monotheism) International Islamic Publishing House; ISBN 9960-9648-0-9^[12]
• The Evolution of Fiqh (Islamic Law & The Madh-habs) International Islamic Publishing House (Edited by Bradley Philips); ISBN 9960-672-86-7^[13]
• True Message of Jesus Christ Islamic Book Services 2006; ISBN 81-7231-360-8^[14]
• Purpose of Creation 84pp, Islamic Book Services 2002; ISBN 81-7231-358-6^[15]
• Funeral Rites International Islamic Publishing House; ASIN 9960850846^[16]
• Polygamy in Islam Islamic Book Services; ISBN 81-7231-715-8^[17]
• Islamic Studies Al-Basheer 2002; ISBN 1-898649-19-7^[18]

Videos[link]

• Sundry videos at LightUponLight.com

See also[link]

• List of Da'ees
• Dawah
• Islam in Canada
• Zakir Naik
• Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo
• Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno

References[link]

External links[link]

• 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

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (April 2012)

Abu Yusuf Riyadh-ul-Haq (born 1971) is an Islamic scholar based in the United Kingdom. He is internationally recognized as a prominent scholar of Islam in the Western world and considered an authority on various Islamic fields including hadith. Over 400 of ul Huq's lectures are in circulation with the earliest recordings from 1994. The Al Kawthar Academy was founded under the guidance of Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq.

Preaching and teaching[link]

After his graduation, he became the Imam of Birmingham Central Mosque and then began teaching hadith at Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah. Until 2003, ul Haq 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'^[1] and 'The Causes of Disunity'.^[2] A poem written by ul Haq called 'Whispers of the Night' has been published on many websites and blogs.^[3][4][5][6]

Sahih-al-Bukhari[link]

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. Ul Haq teaches these hadith through an unbroken and authentic chain of narration or sanad.^{[citation needed]} He narrated his complete sanad in Lesson 3 of the Bukhari series before teaching the first hadith.^{[citation needed]} The lessons are currently held at Al Kawthar Academy in Leicester and number over 240 that have been delivered to date,.^[7][8] Many video excerpts from the Bukhari lessons are on Al Kawthar Academy's Youtube channel.^[9]

Lecture series[link]

The earliest spiritual discourses by Riyadh ul Haq which are available online date to around 1994.^[10] Prior to commencing the weekly Bukhari classes, he taught lessons of Tafseer, Fiqh and Aqeedah.^[11] 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 ul Haq is an invited and keynote speaker. In early 2009, ul Haq addressed the credit crunch issue from an Islamic perspective.^[12][13]

Since 2008, ul Haq has been delivering a series of talks on 'The Mothers of The Believers'^{[citation needed]} and also a series of talks on 'The Lives and Learning of the Companions'.^[14][15]

Intensive study courses[link]

In November 2008, ul Haq delivered an intensive study course entitled 'The Etiquettes of Seeking Sacred Knowledge'.^[16] 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 ul Haq. Al Kawthar Academy organised a second intensive study course entitled 'Fundamentals of Understanding the Glorious Qur'an'.^[17] This course was held at Azhar Academy, London on 27 and 28 June 2009. Ul Haq 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. Ul Haq teaches this course in Leicester, UK.^[18]

Influence and international recognition[link]

Ul Haq is listed in the 2010 Third Edition of 'The 500 Most Influential Muslims' published by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre^[19] 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. 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." ^[20]

Allegations of extremism[link]

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"^[21] 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.^[22] However, the hundreds of hours of recordings of ul Haq's lectures in the public domain may suggest otherwise.^{[citation needed]} Simultaneously, Andrew Norfolk published a further "comment" piece in the Times calling the Deobandis historically anti-British,^[23] 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".^[24]

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.^[25] 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.^[26]

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".^[27] The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK) claimed on their own web-site that the Berelvis were coming out in defence of Riyadh al Haq.^[28] Two days later, MPACUK called the attacks on ul Haq a "decapitation strategy".^[29]

References[link]

External links[link]

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

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

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[link]

Born in Leicester, UK, Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari started learning about Islam from a very young age and memorized the Qur’an at the age of nine.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} He received Ijazah in Hadith from the late Grand Mufti of India, Mahmud al-Hasan Gangohi, and underwent a one year course of specialization in the science of issuing religious verdicts (Fatwa). He also studied in the Arab world.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

He is a teacher of various traditional Islamic sciences 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)and a Shari’ah Advisor on Islamic Banking.

Works[link]

His authored books include Islamic Guide to Sexual Relations,^[1] Birth Control & Abortion in Islam,^[2] 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[link]

In February 2011, University of York student media reported on the controversy surrounding al-Kawthari's visit.^{[3] [4]} Various campus groups launched an official complaint on the grounds of social cohesion, focusing on a recent report by Civitas.^[5] 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."^[6]

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.^[7] A statement by al-Kawthari responding to the allegations was read on BBC York.^[8] Following the controversy, al-Kawthari delivered the talk entitled "Misconceptions of Islam" on February 16, 2011 without incident.^[9] The evening ended with a question and answer session, which raised some controversial and challenging questions about homophobia and honour killings. Al-Kawthari argued that honour killings are a result of culture, not religion, and ended by hoping Islamaphobia will reduce, not only here at York, but across the country. ^[10]

References[link]

• 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

External links[link]

• Darul Iftaa
• * Sunni Path
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