SHARIAsource

This is a reference to a Sunnī source on the unlawfulness of assassination. Hossein Modarressi draws on this source to show various Muslim legal views (including that of Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and the legal legacy of the House of the Prophet) on the impermissibility of assassination.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This fatwa defines interest (fa'idah) as something additional incurred as part of a financial loan transaction, calculated pursuant to a principal loan without taking into account the principal outcome, purusant to a particular timeframe, calculated definitively in advance, and expressed as a percentage. It defines riba as an additional charge without a dividend that is incurred because of a delay of payment previously agreed to. The fatwa declares the practice of interest as meeting the criteria of riba, as per the time of the Prophet, which is haram (forbidden).

University of Kansas School of Law

Examines the history, doctrine, texts, and role of Islamic law throughout the world. The course focuses on the background and birth of the Arab-Islamic Empire, the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad, the development of Islam, the Moghul and Ottoman Empires, the Qurʾān and Sunna and other sacred texts, the principal schools of Islamic law, the status of women and religious minorities, and basic principles of some of the substantive areas of law, including criminal, family, inheritance, contract, business, and banking law.

Represents important religious sites in the two most religiously significant cities of Islam, Mecca, where the Ḥajj pilgrimage is performed, and Medina, where the Prophet is buried and where Mālik taught the Muwaṭṭa’

This source is part of the Online Companion to the print edition al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, the Royal Moroccan Edition: The Recension of Yaḥyā Ibn Yaḥyā al-Laythī (Harvard Series in Islamic Law), edited and translated by Mohammad Fadel and Connell Monette (PIL/HUP, 2019).

This is a reference to an early definition of Shīʿism by the Kūfan scholar Abān b. Taghlib (d. 141): "The Shīʿa are those who follow the opinion of ʿAlī when reports from the Prophet are contradictory, and the opinion of Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad [al-Ṣādiq] when reports from ʿAlī are contradictory."

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to some individuals and groups who pretended to have affection for and claimed affiliation with the House of the Prophet. Hossein Modarressi uses this reference to argue that some "esoterics" attempted to attempted to acquire social distinction by setting themselves up as devoted supporters of the Shīʿī cause and would often forge materials and ideas and ascribe them to the Imams.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to the extent to which fabricators went to portray the Shīʿī Imams quoting the Sunna of the Prophet from some of his Family's archenemies. Hossein Modarressi cites this reference in his discussion of some of the features of al-Ṣādiq's views on ḥadīth fabrication.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to the legal legacy of the Family of the Prophet being informed primarily by the teachings and practice of ʿAlī, his sons Ḥasan and Ḥusayn, ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, Muḥammad al-Bāqir, and Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq. Hossein Modarressi argues that it was with al-Bāqir that this legacy assumed formal shape as a systematic and well-organized tradition.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to al-Shāfiʿī's report indicating that the Prophet advised his followers to compare the statements attributed to him to the Qurʾān and to accept those that conform to the Qurʾān and reject those that do not. Hossein Modarressi cites this reference to show that the understanding among many early Muslims was that the Qurʾān was the criterion for testing the validity of all other sources.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to ʿAlī's refusal to adopt the practice of anyone beside the Prophet, including the caliphs who preceded him when he was offered the caliphate after the death of ʿUmar. Hossein Modarressi cites this reference to argue that ʿAlī understood the Sunna to be restricted to the Prophet's actions, decisions, and endorsements.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to a collection of multiple reports in connection with mutʿa marriage. Hossein Modarressi cites this source to argue that Sunnī scholars disagreed over whether and when mutʿa was abrogated by the Prophet or, as was commonly believed, proscribed by ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to a report in Muslim's Ṣaḥīḥ collection indicating that mutʿa remained in effect during the lifetime of the Prophet and Abū Bakr. Hossein Modarressi cites this reference to show the complexity of discussions surrounding the meaning and lawfulness of mutʿa in early Islamic discourse.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to a report by Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq that holds the original call to prayer (adhān) to have included a call to "the best of acts" (ḥayya ʿalā khayr al-ʿamal). Hossein Modarressi cites this report as an example of one of the differences between the legal legacy of the House of the Prophet and other legal schools with respect to cases concerning prayer.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This fatwa acknowledges the recent development of a stream of Islamic leadership established by Ahmad Moshaddeq which teaches a creed (syahadat) that differs from traditional Islamic teachings. The fatwa finds that, contrary to Islamic teachings, this new stream of Islam:

1. states: "Asyhadu alla ilaha illa Allah wa asyhadu anna masih al-Mau'ud Rasul Allah" ("I bear witness that there is no God except Allah, and I bear witness that the promised Messiah is the Messenger of God");
2. teaches that there is a new prophet/messenger (nabi/rasul) who came after the Prophet Muhammad SAW; and
3. does not oblige its followers to pray (shalat), fast (puasa) or perform the hajj (haji).

The fatwa declares that followers of this particular stream of Islam are apostates (murtad). It also urges the government to prohibit the dissemination of this interpretation of Islam, to close all places associated with it, and to silence its leadership, pursuant to current legislative provisions.

In this excerpt from his manual on judicial practice, Khaṣṣāf (d. 260–1/874–5) discusses the qualifications that ought to be present in a qāḍīand the procedures that he must follow to issue a valid judgment. “After listing the Quran, the Sunna of the Prophet, consensus, the precedent of the Prophet’s Companions and their followers (tābiʿūn), and personal discernment as valid bases for the qāḍī’s judgments, Khaṣṣāf adds that if jurisconsults are present in the city, the qāḍī might also consult them. If his opinion accords with theirs, he can issue a judgement accordingly; alternatively, he might use his own reasoning if their views do not converge. If his own view disagrees with all of theirs, he may write to other jurisconsultsin other cities and judge accordingly. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Nahed Samour uses this passage to point to the presence of other professional figures in court, such as jurisconsults (muftīs), who, by virtue of their juridical knowledge, compete and cooperate with the qāḍīin judicial consultations.

This source is part of the Online Companion to the book Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, ed. Intisar A. Rabb and Abigail Krasner Balbale(ILSP/HUP 2017)—a collection of primary sources and other material used in and related to the book.

This excerpt from Manṣūr al-Ābī’s book of etiquette quotes a Prophetic ḥadīth, “Anyone who increases in knowledge and at the same time increases in cupidity for the world increases only in distance from God, while God increases in dislike of him.” In her analysis of Islamic mirrors-for-princes literature on judging in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Louise Marlow refers to Pseudo-Māwardī’s use of this ḥadīthin his argument that the ruler should provide the judge with a sufficient allowance so that the latter will not harbor worldly desires.

This source is part of the Online Companion to the book Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, ed. Intisar A. Rabb and Abigail Krasner Balbale(ILSP/HUP 2017)—a collection of primary sources and other material used in and related to the book.

This is a reference to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq's use of term Āl Umayya rather than the more common term Banū Umayya to refer to the Umayyads. Hossein Modarressi draws on this reference to make the case that al-Ṣādiq's advice to his followers to follow that which contradicts the masses had no sectarian implications; rather, it was because the Umayyads had insisted on promoting beliefs and practices that explicitly contradicted the legal legacy of the House of the Prophet. 

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

This is a reference to a report by Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq that indicates the importance of performing each daily prayer in its respective best time. Hossein Modarressi cites this reference to show that, although al-Ṣāḍiq and his father al-Bāqir endorsed the practice of the Prophet that permitted combining prayers (outside of special circumstances), they also emphasized the importance of performing each prayer separately during its time. This is another example of differing legal practices between the Shīʿa and other Muslims.

This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipal Rural Affairs and Housing has issued a draft law forbidding any public firm from using the names of any kings of Saudi Arabia, the crown prince, or heads of states of friendly countries without the government’s permission. The law also forbids naming any public firms using the names of the Three Holy Mosques and most of the 99 Names of Allah. Public facilities may also not be named in contradiction to Islamic law. The draft bill allows for naming public facilities after heads of state of friendly countries who made outstanding contributions to supporting the position of Saudi Arabia, Islamic religious scholars, martyrs on duty, names of battles fought by the Prophet in which Muslims were victorious, and the most eminent early and contemporary Muslim scholars.

Biography of Mālikī jurist and theologian Abū ʿUmar Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Barr (368/978–463/1071), known as Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr.

This source is part of the Online Companion to the print edition al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, the Royal Moroccan Edition: The Recension of Yaḥyā Ibn Yaḥyā al-Laythī (Harvard Series in Islamic Law), edited and translated by Mohammad Fadel and Connell Monette (PIL/HUP, 2019).