Fiqh al-Nawazil lil-Aqalliyat al-Muslima
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- Dar al-Yusr
Fiqh al-Nawazil lil-Aqalliyat al-Muslima: Ta'silan wa-Tatbiqan (The Jurisprudence of Unprecedented Issues for Muslim Minorities: Theoretical Grounding and Practical Application) is a two-volume contemporary work of Islamic jurisprudence by Muhammad Yusri Ibrahim . The book establishes legal principles and examines applied rulings for Muslim communities residing outside Muslim-majority lands .
Composition and Publication
The work originated as a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Department of Islamic Jurisprudence at the Faculty of Sharia and Law of Al-Azhar University in Cairo . The thesis was successively supervised by three former heads of the department: Muhammad Abd al-Sattar al-Jibali, Ali Ali Mansur, and Muhammad Rashid Abi Zayd, under whom the project was completed . It was awarded first-class honors with a recommendation for publication . A two-volume edition was published in 1434 AH / 2013 CE by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs of Qatar through its Department of Islamic Affairs, printed by Dar al-Yusr in Cairo .
Purpose and Scope
The author defines fiqh al-nawazil as the branch of jurisprudence dealing with newly arisen circumstances and contemporary occurrences for which no explicit textual scriptural rulings or prior juristic consensus exist . Correspondingly, the jurisprudence of minority issues focuses on unprecedented legal questions confronting Muslim groups living among non-Muslim majorities . The book seeks to integrate foundational principles of legal theory (usul al-fiqh), legal maxims (al-qawa'id al-fiqhiyya), and the higher objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-shari'a) to construct a systematic methodology for addressing the evolving social, financial, and legal realities of Muslim minorities without relying merely on ad hoc rulings .
Structure and Contents
The book consists of an introduction, three main parts (abwab), and a conclusion :
- Part One: The Concept of Unprecedented Issues for Muslim Minorities (Mafhum Nawazil al-Aqalliyat al-Muslima): Divided into two chapters, this part defines the discipline and its importance, followed by an overview of the historical emergence, statistical demographics, characteristics, and practical challenges of Muslim minority populations worldwide .
- Part Two: Theoretical Grounding for Minority Jurisprudence (al-Ta'sil li-Fiqh al-Nawazil lil-Aqalliyat al-Muslima): Structured in four chapters, it investigates the balance between fixed and variable legal rulings (al-thabat wa-l-taghayyur), the objectives and necessity of theoretical grounding, governing legal maxims across nine areas (including hardship, necessity, consequences of actions [ma'alat], custom [urf], and governance), and the derivation methods (istinbat) of the four Sunni legal schools .
- Part Three: Rulings on Specific Minority Cases (Min Ahkam Nawazil al-Aqalliyat): Contains five practical chapters covering specific applied issues :
- Acts of Worship (Ibadat): Chemical transformation (istihala) in purification, determining prayer times in polar and northern regions, and disbursing zakat to non-Muslims in minority settings .
- Financial Transactions (Mu'amalat): Conventional bank financing for home purchases in Western countries and commercial insurance contracts abroad .
- Marriage (Nikah): Marrying non-Muslim women in non-Muslim lands, fictitious or paper marriages arranged solely for residency or citizenship, and the marital status of a woman whose husband remains non-Muslim after her conversion .
- Divorce (Talaq): The legal validity of civil divorces issued by non-Muslim judges and the jurisdiction of local Islamic centers to dissolve marriages .
- Public Policy and Governance (al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya): Naturalization and acquiring citizenship in non-Muslim states, as well as political participation in their electoral and legislative systems .
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