Due to his conscious knowledge of the importance of Usul al-Fiqh and his enthusiasm to see Shari'ah laws being upheld in Muslim countries, Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee had come up with a comprehensive book offering a broad introduction to Islamic legal theories. His aim is to provide clear and concise theoretical foundations on the subject for students and beginners, as well as answering uncertainties, queries and misconceptions which specialists might have pertaining to the topic. He managed to simplify its contents, without sacrificing his high scholarly standards as per his other works, making it a suitable read for people of varying academic levels. He hopes that his readers would be able ...view middle of the document...
Nyazee also made comparisons between jurists of earlier times, stressing their importance and gratitude for their work, with those of the modern era. As an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Shariah and Law in Islamabad, Nyazee often cites examples and refers to the political system being practiced in Pakistan when discussing legal rules in modern society.As an introductory book to Islamic Jurisprudence, Nyazee came up with an outline of the Islamic legal system used in the past and its development in the present. He began by laying out the meanings and terms used in the discipline of Jurisprudence. He then evaluated the formats used by the Westerners and those used by Islamic jurists. He had chosen Ronald Dworkin's format, the "General Theory of Law", to compare the Western and Islamic jurisprudence and to identify a specific format for the study and development of Usul al-fiqh in the modern era.In order to study Islamic law, he states that one must begin by knowing and understanding the definition of Usul al-fiqh. This would enable him to identify the roles and functions of the different specialists operating within the Islamic legal system, and enlightens him about the nature of rules of Islamic law and its sources. To understand this definition, it is crucial to first comprehend the exact meanings of key terms used, as given by the jurists, to facilitate the learning of the Islamic law. By understanding the true meanings, only then will one be able to distinguish the distinctions between terms that are often used interchangeably - words like shari'ah and fiqh, mujtahid and faqih, ijtihad and taqlid, muqallid and faqih. When these definitions are clear, one can then proceed to understand the reasons for the variety and different levels of definitions of Usul al-Fiqh, and the scope of its focus. With this, he came up with three categories of Islamic jurisprudence. These comprises of the formal structure of Islamic law, the sources of Islamic law and the methodology of the mujtahid and the methodology of the Faqih and his sources.With the introductory topics covered, he segregated the rest of the book into four separate sections. The first section covers the concept and structure of Islamic law. Here, Nyazee covers the various Hukm; the first of which is the Hukm Shar'i which is used to understand the conceptual part of Islamic law. The study of Hukm Shar'i provides readers with the framework to understand the meaning of Islamic law, the nature of its rules and the operation of the legal system. It also explains the types of legal obligation created by the rule, whereby no rules may enforce an obligation and some are laid down by the Lawgiver (the Hakim) to facilitate the operation of other rules. To better understand the meanings of these rules, a classification of the various types of rules available is drawn.The second hukm is Hukm Taklifi, the obligation-creating rule. Nyazee has listed the five categories derived from this rule,...
