بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين أما بعد،،،
Allah created the human being and sent the prophets to guide them to the true path. He sent down the Kutub (books) as a source of Islamic principles and values. Prophet Muhammad r is the last prophet and Quran is the last book. Quran is the book of Allah in which all the rulings of Islam are covered. Hadith is the explanation of Quran. Aqeeda (علم العقِيدة/creed), Ibadaat (العبَادَات/ worships/ Fiqh/ Jurisprudence) and Akhlaq ( الأخْلاَق /moral ethics) are the three major branches of knowledge interpreted from Quran and Hadith.
This book in your hand deals with one of the significant branches of Islamic knowledge namely Fiqh. What is Fiqh? Fiqh is the one which says whether an act is Halal (permissible) or Haram (not permissible). Fiqh tells us methods, terms and conditions of Ibadaat (worship). Fiqh shapes a Muslim’s practical life from the cradle to the grave. So Fiqh is one of the most important aspects of a believer’s life.
Why a Muslim needs to study Fiqh? Why he can’t find rulings directly from Quran or Hadith? That is the fundamental question needs to be answered. The simple answer is that Quran doesn’t explicitly tell us the ruling of each and every action. The sacred texts of Quran don’t tell that – for example- Takbeeratul Ihram in Salaat is obligatory (Fard) or optional (Sunnah). We can’t find its exact ruling even from the sayings of the Prophet r (Hadith). The exact rulings are discussed in Fiqh.
Scholars of first, second and third centuries offered a big service to this Ummah by exerting the huge efforts to find out rulings from Quran and Sunnah. Later on, those efforts led to the formation of the four schools of thoughts (Madha’hib) in Fiqh, namely Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali. Thus, a systematic documented approach was introduced in the field of legislation. That was a unique legal legislation system. All the scholars who came after formation of Madh’hab respected and followed this system.
Among these four Madha’hib, this book follows Madh’hab of Imam Shafi (767 — 820 AD/ 150 — 204 AH) known as Shafi Madh’hab. It is well known Madh’hab in Muslim world and is followed by millions across all countries. Many prominent scholars are emerged in this Madh’hab. Sheikh Zainuddin bin Muhammad Al Malabari t (الشيخ زَيْن الدين بن محمد المليباري) (937-991 H) is one of the famous Shafi scholar from Kerala, India. His Fiqh book ‘Fat’hul Mu’een Bi Sharhi Quratil Ain Bi Muhimmati Deen’(فَتْحُ المُعِين بشرح قرة العين بمُهِمَّات الدِّين ) is his masterpiece and is considered to be one of the most authenticated and precise sources of Shafi Madh’hab.
I can assure that all the issues (مَسَائِل) mentioned in this book are from famous Kutub (كُتُب) of Shafi Madh’hab, so I didn’t mention any source. However, I would like to say that above said ‘Fat’hul Mu’een’ is used as the primary source for writing this book. Also, I used the book خُلاَصَة الفِقْه الإسلامي على مَذْهَبِ الإمَام الشَافِعِي (Khulasatul Fiqh Al Islamic Ala Madh’habil Imam Shafie) which is compiled by an eminent Islamic scholar from Kerala Kodambuzha Bava Musliyar as a reference. The book خلاصة الفقْه is widely taught in Madrasas and Islamic academies across Kerala.
I express my deep thanks and gratitude to scholars of Fiqh for their immense service to Ummah. Special thanks go to Ustad Kodambuzha Bava Musliyar, the author of above said خلاصة الفقه. Let Allah accept our Ulema’s service and give us the chance to serve this Ummah.
Fiqh mainly discusses four topics namely Ibadaat (عِبَادَات/worships), Muaamalaat (مُعَامَلات/Financial dealings), Munakahaat (مُنَاكَحَات/Matrimonial) and Jinayaat (جِنَايَات/Civil and criminal matters). Ibadaat includes four major chapters namely Salaat (Five times prayer), Zakat (Compulsory charity), Sawm (Ramadan fasting) and Haj (Pilgrimage to Makah). This book ‘Salaat (Brief rulings of Prayer in Shafi Madh’hab)’ contains only the first part of Fiqh, namely Salaat (Prayer).
Many books about Salaat are available in the libraries. What makes this book a special one? This book is characterized by some unique features that may be summarized as follows:
- Contains authenticated and precise rulings about Salaat.
- Arabic words related to the topic normally used in the traditional Arabic Fiqh books are given in beginning of each lesson. By finishing the study of this book, one can understand about 500 Arabic words used in Fiqh books.
- Objectives of the lesson are provided in beginning of each lesson.
This is excerpts from the book Salaat (Brief rulings of Prayer in Shafi Madh’hab) by Abdu Shaheed Azhary. To download the full chapter click the below link. To support us, please consider acquiring the digital copy of the book from Amazon