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Husam al-Din Afana

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Husam al-Din Afana (b. 1374 AH / 1955 CE) is a Palestinian Islamic jurist and professor of Islamic jurisprudence and legal theory (usul al-fiqh) at Al-Quds University, best known for his contemporary legal responsa series Yasalunak ("They Ask You") .

Lineage and Education

He is Husam al-Din ibn Musa Muhammad ibn Afana . He was born in Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, in 1374 AH (1955 CE) .

He pursued higher religious education in Saudi Arabia, earning a bachelor's degree in Sharia with honors from the Islamic University of Madinah in 1978 . He then completed graduate studies at Umm al-Qura University in Makkah, obtaining a master's degree in Islamic jurisprudence and legal theory in 1982 with a thesis on literal and figurative meaning in the Quran and Sunnah (al-Haqiqa wa-l-Majaz fi al-Kitab wa-l-Sunna), followed by a doctorate in the same field in 1985 with a dissertation on legal theory (Bayan Maani al-Badi fi Usul al-Fiqh) .

Academic and Advisory Career

Afana began his academic career as an assistant professor at the College of Dawah and Usul al-Din at Al-Quds University from 1985 to 1987, after which he served as an assistant professor in the Department of Islamic Culture at King Saud University in Riyadh between 1988 and 1991 . He returned to Al-Quds University in 1991, where he was promoted to associate professor in 1997 and to full professor of jurisprudence and legal theory in 2004 . At Al-Quds University, he served as head of the Department of Fiqh and Legislation, coordinator of its graduate programs, and a member of its Academic Council from 1995 to 1999 .

He also delivered graduate lectures at An-Najah National University in Nablus, taught at the College of Dawah and Islamic Studies in Umm al-Fahm from 1991 to 1994, and taught legal research and personal status law to master's students at the High Judicial Institute at Hebron University between 1997 and 1999 . In institutional finance, he chaired the Sharia supervisory board of the Palestinian Arab House of Money Company from 1994 until it ceased operations in 2004, and became head of the Sharia supervisory board of Al-Aqsa Islamic Bank in 1998 . He joined the editorial board of the journal Huda al-Islam in 1986 .

Legal Methodology

Afana's legal activity gained broad public reach through a regular Friday responsa column titled Yasalunak in the Jerusalem newspaper al-Quds, which began in 1993 and was subsequently compiled into a multi-volume legal reference work and an electronic archive .

His stated method in issuing rulings relies directly on legal proofs and the traditions transmitted from the Companions and Successors, maintaining that juristic inquiry is not restricted to a single traditional school of law, since the founders of the major schools themselves based their rulings on these early reports . He emphasizes that novel contemporary questions—particularly in Islamic banking, commerce, and modern bioethics—must be evaluated according to established classical legal maxims while encouraging collective scholarly deliberation over individual legal verdicts .

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List of Works

  • Ittiba la Ibtida - Qawaid wa Usus fi al-Sunnah wa al-Bidah

    This treatise examines the legal definition, foundational principles, and contemporary manifestations of religious innovation (bid‘ah) in Islamic law. It addresses customary and ritual practices lacking textual support, outlining the fundamental rules governing adherence (ittiba‘) in acts of worship.

  • Yasalunaka an al-Muamalat al-Maliyya al-Muasira

    This Islamic jurisprudence work is dedicated to legal rulings (fatwas) and analyses concerning modern financial and banking transactions. Part of the broader Yasalunaka series, it addresses questions regarding contemporary economic matters by applying jurisprudential principles to modern contracts and financial mechanisms.

  • Yasalunaka an al-Zakat

    This contemporary jurisprudence work examines the legal rulings of obligatory almsgiving (zakat). Formatted as a series of questions and reasoned answers, it addresses classical requirements alongside contemporary socio-economic challenges.

  • Ahkam al-Aqiqa

    This legal treatise, also published in an expanded edition as al-Mufassal fi Ahkam al-Aqiqa, examines the Islamic practice of sacrificial slaughter for a newborn (aqiqa). Drawing on classical legal schools and prophetic traditions, it elucidates the legal status, conditions, and practical application of the rite.

  • Mukhtasar Kitab Jilbab al-Mar'a al-Muslima

    This legal treatise is an abridgment of Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani's Jilbab al-Mar'a al-Muslima fi al-Kitab wa-l-Sunna. It presents the rulings and practical requirements of women's Islamic dress in a concise format, detailing the conditions for legal outdoor attire.