al-Fiqh al-Aqadi lil-Nawazil
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- al-Fiqh al-Aqadi lil-Nawazil
al-Fiqh al-Aqadi lil-Nawazil (The Creedal Jurisprudence of Emergent Issues) is a contemporary work based on a series of educational lectures by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Rahim al-Sulami, subtitled al-Fiqh al-Aqadi lil-Nawazil wa-Tatbiqatuh (Creedal Jurisprudence of Emergent Issues and Its Applications) . The work establishes a theoretical and methodological framework for evaluating modern unprecedented circumstances and developments (al-nawazil) from the standpoint of Islamic theology and creed (aqida), rather than limiting their analysis solely to standard legal and transactional jurisprudence (fiqh) .
Concept and Historical Background
The work defines nawazil (singular: nazila) as novel occurrences and issues that arise with changing times and places and require a Sharia ruling, adopting Misfer al-Qahtani's definition of them as "new events in which there is no prior text or legal reasoning (ijtihad)" . Al-Sulami notes that classical scholars addressed emergent cases under terms such as al-waqa'i', al-hawadith, al-fatawa, al-su'alat, and al-masail, with the specific designation of al-nawazil being especially prominent within the Maliki school of jurisprudence .
The origin of dealing with nawazil began during the prophetic era with the gradual descent of Quranic revelation in response to questions and events, and continued after the Prophet’s ﷺ death when the Companions and subsequent jurists derived rulings for newly arisen matters using general scriptural texts, analogy (qiyas), general legal principles, and the higher objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-shari'a) . Al-Sulami affirms that despite the finite nature of textual passages, Islamic law encompasses rulings for all emergent issues through broad linguistic meanings and established principles of derivation .
Methodological Rules
The work outlines core rules (qawa'id) that must guide any examination of emergent issues in theology:
- Adherence to Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jama'a: The creedal methodology of Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jama'a is the sole valid framework for source reception, textual deduction, and addressing emergent problems .
- Permanence and Comprehensiveness: Islamic creed is fixed until the Day of Resurrection, and Islam is comprehensive across all eras, places, and human affairs without conflicting with genuine human interests .
- Divine Revelation as the Sole Source: Rulings on emergent matters must derive strictly from divine revelation (the Quran and Sunnah) and what it indicates, including consensus (ijma'), analogy, presumption of original freedom from liability (istishab al-bara'a al-asliyya), and public interests (al-masalih al-amma) aimed at safeguarding the core necessities of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and honor .
- Invalidity of Contradictory Determinations: Any ruling that leads to the nullification of an established theological foundation is inherently invalid .
- Scholarly Qualifications: Anyone who examines nawazil must possess the requisite scholarly criteria and interpretive competencies .
Contemporary Applications
The work addresses several major modern phenomena that carry critical theological and creedal implications:
- Governance and Man-Made Laws: The substitution of Islamic law with imported civil and man-made legal codes (al-qawanin al-wad'iyya) in the majority of Muslim countries, and the ensuing questions regarding the status of the state (as dar al-Islam or dar al-kufr), attending such courts, state employment, joining government armies, studying in state schools, and rebellion against governing authorities .
- Interfaith Dialogue: Modern initiatives where Muslim scholars meet with Christian priests and other religious leaders to collaborate exclusively on shared societal concerns (such as poverty, moral corruption, and countering atheism) while sidelining doctrinal disagreements .
- Acquiring Citizenship from Non-Muslim States: The theological ruling on Muslims seeking nationality (al-tajannus) in non-Muslim countries, including the variations between occupying and non-occupying foreign powers and the conditions imposed by these states .
- International Relations and Loyalty: Modern interaction with global institutions, the United Nations, and non-Muslim entities, and their relationship to the doctrine of loyalty and disavowal (al-wala' wa-l-bara') .
- Military, Political, and Economic Challenges: Issues surrounding foreign occupation of Muslim lands, collaboration with invading foreign militaries, treaties of coexistence, globalization, interest-based banking systems for purchasing homes in Western countries, and deviations arising from improper notions of religious renewal (tajdid) .
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