Islamic Revival

Due to the intellectual decline that has affected Muslims throughout the last few centuries many concepts of Usul ul Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) have become vague in the minds of some and misconceptions have creped in. Regarding the important subject of Qiyas the following are some of the key misconceptions that exist today: a) Qiyas has no evidence for it and therefore is not a source of Shari’ah. b) Qiyas is a human endeavor, it is only a personal reasoning and therefore the outcome of it isn’t a shari’ah rule. c) Qiyas can be applied on everything. d) The Illah (reason) behind a rule can be from the mind and doesn’t have to be in the shari’ah texts. e) Customs and traditions can be the Illah for some rules. f) Material benefit is the Illah for all the shari’ah rules. g) There is no difference between the hikmah (wisdom) behind a rule and the Illah. h) Applying a known shari’ah rule to a situation is the same as Qiyas. Although the subject may sound complex to some

Today it is unfortunate that the Islamic concepts, definitions and terminologies which were well known by the Muslims in the past have become vague at the least and distorted or totally absent at the worst. One such issue is the subject of Dar al-Kufr (land of disbelief) and Dar al-Islam (land of Islam). Understanding the distinction between the two is vital when it comes to judging the countries in the Muslim world. Sadly, some judge the Muslim countries from emotional point of view rather than seeing whether they match the definition of Dar al-Islam contained in the Shariah. So when Hassan al-Turabi came to power in Sudan, some exclaimed that it was an Islamic state even though Sudan was still a nation state or when the Iranian revolution took place and Ayatollah Khomeni became the leader of Iran, some jumped with joy believing that he has transferred it from Dar al-Kufr into Dar al-Islam even though the constitution completely contradicted Islam. Even many leading personalities am