Terminologies: Fiqh (????????): The word Fiqh linguistically means 'to comprehend'. In Islamic context it is used to refer to the studies of Islamic jurisprudence. The field of knowledge that deals with the 'what' and 'how' of all matters with guidance from the Quran and Sunnah. If a Muslim needs to know what the verdict for him is concerning a specific matter and how he is expected to execute that verdict, then the subject of Fiqh defines that for him. It informs him what to do and how to do it. Hukm (?????????): 'A verdict' is the singular of Ahkam (????????????). Each hukm is one of 5 verdicts passed on a specific matter as it relates to the action of the Mukallaf (responsible party, defined later). The five Ahkaam are: 1.Wajib - ??????? (Obligatory) 2.Mustahab - ??????????? (Recommended) 3.Mubah - ??????? (Permissible) 4.Makrouh - ????????? (Disliked) 5.Haram ??????? (Forbidden). Every verdict concerning every matter as it relates to the Mukallaf must be one of these five. There are no other verdicts relative to the Mukallaf beyond these. Definitions: There are varying definitions of each of these five verdicts. Here are the most popular and intuitive. Wajib: It is what Allah ? has made obligatory, where the one who does it for the pleasure of Allah ? and according to the Sunnah of The Messenger of Allah ? is rewarded and the one who neglects it deserves to be punished. Mustahab: This is something that it is recommended for a person to do. If he does it, he is rewarded but if he does not do it, he deserves no punishment. Mubah: This is something that is permissible. It is the same whether the person does it or not. There are no rewards or punishment attached to this verdict. Makrouh: This is something that is discouraged. If the person leaves it off for the pleasure of Allah ?, he is rewarded but if he does it, he does not deserve to be punished. However, if a person persists in doing things that are Makrouh, the verdict with respect to him may change to Haram. Haram: It is what Allah ? had forbidden, where the one who avoids it for the sake of Allah ? is rewarded and the one who does it deserves to be punished. I say, 'deserves to be punished' and not that he will be punished because it is possible that Allah ? may forgive the person and hence, he will not be punished. Here I listed five verdicts. This is the opinion of most scholars. I follow this opinion in this discourse. Correctness and invalidity (?????????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????): Two other verdicts are: correctness and invalidity. We say that something is correct (????????) or invalid (??????? - ???????). The difference between these two verdicts and the previous 5 are that these are with respect to the action whereas the previous 5 are with respect to the Mukallaf (The responsible person). I will demonstrate the difference with an example: If one does Salah knowingly without wudu (ablution), assuming that one had the ability and means to perform wudu, then his Salah is invalid (?????????). The verdict is passed against his Salah, the action not him. The verdict with respect to him is that it was Wajib (obligatory) upon him to do Salah with wudu and forbidden for him to do Salah without wudu. AlMukallaf (????????????): 'The one responsible and accountable' is derived from the word: ??????? - ????????? - ??????????? - ?????????????? ????? ????????????? He made (s\o) responsible/accountable - he makes (s\o) responsible/accountable - responsibility/accountability - and Mukallaf is the name of the object of the verb, the one made responsible and accountable. So, AlMukallaf is the person upon whom the verdict is passed. When it is said that something is obligatory that is not a precise statement. What is really meant is that the action of the Mukallaf in association with the thing is obligatory. The thing itself cannot be and is not obligatory. For example: If it is said that Salah is obligatory, what is meant is that doing Salah is obligatory upon a specific person (AlMukallaf). This is the same if it is said that something is forbidden. For example: if it is said that pork is forbidden, what it meant is that the consumption of pork is forbidden on a specific person (AlMukallaf). Pork is not forbidden. Consumption of pork is forbidden. Salah is not obligatory. Doing Salah is obligatory. Just like this are the other 3 Ahkaam. The target of the verdict (hukm) then is not the thing, rather, it is the action of the Mukallaf in association to the thing. The requirements for responsibility/accountability (???????? ?????????????): Islam - The person must be a Muslim. Age - The person must have reached the age of responsibility. Mind - The person must be of sane mind. Awareness - The person must be informed of the rule. Ability - The person must have the ability to execute the verdict. Absence of obstacles - There must be no obstacles that exempt the person from the verdict. For example: menses for a woman from Salah or sickness for a person from fasting. This is briefly the requirements for a person to be Mukallaf. In the absence of all or any of these requirements the verdict is lifted with respect to that individual. Qawa'id (????????????) is the plural of Qa'idah (????????????) which literally means a base or foundation. In this context, it is used to mean a rule of Fiqh that applies to many categories (????????) of Fiqh and not only to a specific category. It is a general or foundational rule. A rule that applies to a specific category of Fiqh is called a Dabit (?????????? - A guideline). The categories of Fiqh (????????? ?????????): This is a very subjective study about Fiqh. There is no consensus on this matter. Many scholars have suggested various categorizations of the Chapters of Fiqh. Here, I will share the categorization according to Al-Imam AshShatibi in 'AlMuwafaqaat'. He mentions four major categories of Fiqh: 1.Al'Ibaadaat (????????????) Acts of worships: 2.AlMu'aamalaat...
