Category Archives: Islamic Law
Is Every Suicide a Transgression? – Suicide in Islamic Thought Part 4
When is Killing Transgressive? When is an act of killing considered oppressive or transgressive? Certainly when that the killing is intentional and malicious. Under Islamic law, there are three categories of killing that are crimes that may be sentenced in court: 1. Intentional malicious killing of another person (al-qatl al-ʿamd al-ʿudwān) 2. pseudo-intentional killing (shibh […]
The Kavanaugh Hearings, Morality, and the Appointment of Judges under Islamic Law
So with all this appalling #KavanaghHearing news, I figured I’d comment on the inherent virtue jurisprudence of Islamic law in it’s appointment and regulation of judicial appointees. So first, what does a judge do? A judge’s (Arabic: Qāḍī’) basic function is to resolve disputes and allocate rights to litigants. The Qāḍī retains not only the […]
Religious Studies versus Islamic Theology/Law – Religion For Breakfast
If you are unfamiliar with the “Religion for Breakfast” YouTube channel, please give it a look and subscribe. It’s one of my favorite channels. Andrew Mark Henry does a wonderful job of making complex topics on religion accessible. In the video below, he touches on the general difference between religious studies & theology. You can […]
What Effect does Sin Have On Faith? Suicide in Islamic Thought part 3
Introduction and Recap In previous entries, we covered the primacy of God’s oneness as a core tenant of Islamic belief inculcates in a believer self-accountability. Our acts, therefore, are not without repercussions. We will be judged for our actions, especially those that we perpetrate against others and ourselves, but also those we perpetrate against God. […]
Can a donation made without intention, that turned out to be Zakat eligible, count toward Zakat?
My friend Chris Blauvelt over at Launchgood asks a great question on twitter: ” If you made a donation without intending zakat, but later learned it was zakat eligible, can it count toward zakat? @FarazRabbani @hwmaqbul @joewbradford. Guessing Hanafis/Shafis split like do you have wudu if you accidentally fall in a pool without intention.” Taking […]
Suicide in Islamic Thought – Part 01
New Article Series: Suicide in Islamic Thought. Through this series of articles, we’ll explore the theology, law, and treatment of suicide ideation. The goals of this article series are stated below, and I’ll be releasing one article a week until the series is finished. I hope to hear your feedback. Denial is the worst kind of […]
Question: Can we buy and sell gift cards for more or less than face value?
A questioner writes asking: “What is the Islamic legal characterization (fiqhi takyeef) of a gift card? Do the rulings (Ahkam) of currency exchange apply to a gift card? Ex: Can i sell 100 dollar gift card for 90? Would that be impermissible because of inequality?” This is a great question. To understand the answer, we […]
I Drink Your Milkshake: A Note on Charging for Religious acts
In this Article: – Categorizing Acts related to Religious Practice – Demanding a Wage vs. Receiving Compensation – Where are modern “Islamic Institutes” positioned in this debate? – I Drink Your Milkshake In a previous article, I cover the question “Is it OK for an Imam to have a salary?” Here I’d like to follow […]
Two Men Enter: Arbitration, Reconciliation, and What Can Be Kept Out of Court
In this article we explore two forms of dispute resolution, arbitration and reconciliation, under Islamic law. This is a follow up to two previous articles where we discussed defamation as a case brought to court, as well as how Islamic courts operate. There will be two more followups to this article, inshallah that you can read […]
Two in Hell, One in Heaven: Dispute Resolution in Islamic Law
In this Article: – Who has the authority to resolve disputes – A Judge’s Skills and Qualification – Which Issues does a judge decide? – What is a court case? – Evidence and how we identify it – Conflicts of Interest – Why this stuff is important Two in Hell, One in Heaven: Assuming the […]