Fiqh

In Islamic law

Fiqh means understanding. As a discipline it is the derivation of practical rulings from the Qur'an, the Sunnah, consensus and analogical reasoning by scholars qualified to do it. Because it is human reasoning about revelation rather than revelation itself, fiqh is fallible and plural. It divides conventionally into 'ıbadāt, the acts of worship, and mu'amalat, dealings between people — sale, marriage, debt and inheritance. Everything this Hub covers sits in the second category.

In Canadian law

There is no Canadian equivalent, but the nearest structural parallel is the difference between a statute and the body of case law interpreting it. Canadian courts do not decide questions of fiqh and are explicit about why: in Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem the Supreme Court held that 'the State is in no position to be, nor should it become, the arbiter of religious dogma.' Where a fiqh question does arise in a Canadian proceeding — what a particular mahr obliges, say — it is handled as a question of fact, proved by expert evidence, not decided by the judge as a matter of religion.

Across the madhahib

The four madhahib are four fiqh traditions, not four religions and not four legal systems. They share their sources and most of their conclusions; they differ in method and in the weight given to particular evidence, which is why the differences cluster in narrow questions rather than broad ones.

Canadian legal detail

Treadstone Law, an Ontario firm with a wills and estates practice, covers the Canadian side of this in more depth:

• Expert medical evidence in a will challenge ontario
• Difference between executor and estate trustee ontario