INTRODUCTION
Muslim legal system was imposed on the Muslim people in India. The Muslim legal system was known as ‘Sharia’. The Muslim law was codified with the help of its sources in the Indian legal system. Muslim law was derived from the principles of the Holy Quran and the teaching of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and made the set of legal principles the governing body. Muslim law was personnel law solely for the Muslim community and all matters concerned with Dower, Marriage, Divorce, Inheritance and Guardianship were governed in the courts by this personnel law. For a better understanding of the concept of Muslim law, first, we have to know about what are the sources of Muslim law. The sources of Muslim law were categorised into two groups Primary and Secondary. But are blog was made highly focused on primary sources of Muslim law. The primary sources of Muslim law are of four kinds: Holy Quran, Sunnat, Ijma and Qiyas. The Muslim law was highly governed by the holy Quran and Sunnat. The holy Quran was the direct command of Allah and Sunnat was the practices and teaching of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)[1].
PRIMARY SOURCES OF MUSLIM LAW AND THEIR KINDS
The following are the primary sources of Muslim law:
1. Holy Quran:[2] The Holy Quran was the revelation by God on the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) by the Angel Gabriel in the fragmentary form and is considered the first and most proficient source of Muslim law. The Holy Quran was the first source of Muslim law then as well as in its importance. The Holy Quran consists of 114 chapters and approximately 6666 verses which were inserted in the Holy Quran by the personal direction of the holy prophet. The Verses of the Holy Quran were known as ‘Ayat’ and the chapters of the Holy Quran were known as ‘Sura’. The Holy Quran was first time made in its original form in the period of the first caliph Abu Bakar almost sixteen years, the death of the Holy Prophet in the period of the third caliph Usman the second revision of the Holy Quran was made and its present in that very form. There was no change in the Holy Quran from that time. The Holy Quran includes the teachings of secularism and, the spiritual and social life of Muslims.
Legislative functions of the Holy Quran:
- When the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) faces any kind of legal issue his companions go to the teaching of the Holy Quran and it helps to build the sound and strong behaviour pattern of the Muslim Legal system.
- The Holy Quran consists of Non-Legal Texts which talk about moral exhortations, and divine promises and have been constructed by reasoning to make legal principles.
- The Holy Quran neglected the previous revelation of god and stated it was corrupted.
- The holy Quran also changes the societal changes and reforms in the Arab society as the command of the god.
2. Sunnat and Tradition (Ahadis)
Sunnat and Traditions was the teaching of the holy prophet (peace be upon him) and it is considered as the second source of Muslim law. When the Holy Quran was silent on some topics Sunnat and Tradition provided the legal principles and helped them to solve the legal issues. The Sunnat and Traditions was the internal(batin) revelation by the Holy Prophet[3].
Kinds of Sunnat:[4] There are three kinds of Sunnat:
- Sunnat-Ul-Fail (which the Holy Prophet did by himself)
- Sunnat-Ul-Kaul (which the Holy Prophet urged by words)
- Sunnat-Ul-Tuqrir (things done in his presence without his disapproval).
Kinds of Traditions (Ahadis): There are three kinds of Ahadis:
- Ahadis-e-mutawatir (these were authentic and categorized by the public);
- Ahadis-e-Mashoor (these were highly recognized by the majority but didn’t consist of universal authority);
- Ahadis-e-Wahid (these were solely dependent upon a single individual)[5].
3. Ijma (Consensus of Opinion)
Ijma was categorized as the agreement among the jurists on a particular point in time on the particular question of law. After the death of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) there was no chance of any further revelation and Sunnat. The question arises on various legal issues and problems. These legal issues were dealt with by various jurists which helped them to introduce the institution of Ijma. The prominence of Ijma was also found in the saying of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet. The law was a dynamic concept and its requirements were changing from time to time to correct the social and legal issues which were prevailing in the world. Different schools of Muslim law agreed on the same. The main purpose of the law is to fulfill the needs of the society and Ijma helped them to do so. Supreme authority and legislators gave this power to the most prominent Jurists i.e. Mujtahids[6].
Essential Ingredients of Valid Ijma
- The consensus – For the valid Ijma this condition was an essential requirement. The Ijma must be by unanimity and the opinion of the jurist must be by the majority.
- The Jurists – For the validity of Ijma, the essential requirement was that Ijma must be given by the Jurists, who possess extensive knowledge and are experts in their field.
- Jurists of a particular period – Ijma of one age may be reversed by the Ijma of another age.
- Jurists to be the Muslims – For valid Ijma the jurists must be the Muslim and the opinion of the non-Muslims was not admissible.
- Consensus must be on religious matters – The Ijma must be on point of fact and not on point of law.
Kinds of Ijma:[7] The kinds are as follows:
- Ijma of the companions of the holy Prophet.
- Ijma by Jurists.
- Ijma of the people.
4. Qiyas (Analogical Deduction)
Qiyas was the last primary source of Muslim law. Qiyas means analogical deduction. When there was nothing present on the point of law the qiyas were used. Qiyas also means applying reasoning on the abovementioned three sources of Muslim law i.e. Holy Quran, Sunnat and Traditions, and Ijma. The Qiyas should used on the point of law and not to determine the text of any of these things. This should be applied to those texts that were capable of extension and analogy should not be inconsistent with the text of the Holy Quran.
Conditions of the valid Qiyas:
- The source from which Qiyas was deduced must be capable of extension.
- The text must not be of such a nature that deteriorates human intelligence.
- The original meaning of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet must not be abrogated.
- Qiyas should be used to determine the point of law and not the meaning of words used.
- The analogical deduction must not be such as to change in the already established law of the text[8].
CONCLUSION
These four sources of Muslim law provided a new dimension and Muslim law was generally based on the Holy Quran and Sunnat. Muslim legal system was an integral part of the part of the Indian legal system. The evolution of Muslim law through its sources was one of the best for the development of personnel laws in the Indian legal system. The sources of Muslim law provide the effective working of the Muslim law and show on which principle the Muslim laws are based. These sources of Muslim law provide how Muslim law should work further and on which principle it was based regardless of any doubt and give authentic reasons for it. The Muslim law (SHARIAT) contains all the fundamentals of extraneous and German law. The sources of Muslim law eradicate the principles of social evils and provide a good human society.
Author(s) Name: Ibra Khan (Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh)
Reference(s):
[1] Kirti Pamar, ‘Sources of Muslim Law’(Legal Service India)<https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-1876-sources-of-muslim-law.html#:~:text=These%20four%20sources%20namely%20Quran,the%20primary%20sources%20of%20law.> accessed on 17 July 2024
[2] Aqil Ahmad, Mohammedan Law (27th edn, CLA 2022)
[3] Sunidhi, ‘Sources of Muslim Law’ (iPleaders, 14 June 2022)<https://blog.ipleaders.in/preliminary-sources-muslim-law> accessed 17 July 2024
[4] Aqil Ahmad, Mohammedan Law (27th edn, Central Law Agency 2022)
[5] Ibid
[6] Sunidhi, ‘Sources of Muslim Law’ (iPleaders, 14 June 2022)<https://blog.ipleaders.in/preliminary-sources-muslim-law> accessed 17 July 2024
[7] Aqil Ahmad, Mohammedan Law (27th edn, Central Law Agency 2022)
[8] Aqil Ahmad, Mohammedan Law (27th edn, Central Law Agency 2022)
