Islamic Law, Theology, and Religious Thought
This domain tests how Muslims derived law (fiqh) and formulated theology (kalam), and how those traditions developed.
Sources and method
- Qur'an, Sunna, ijma (consensus) and qiyas (analogy); usul al-fiqh is the methodology governing them.
- Four Sunni schools: Hanafi (Abu Hanifa), Maliki (Malik ibn Anas, al-Muwatta), Shafi'i (al-Shafi'i, al-Risala), Hanbali (Ahmad ibn Hanbal).
- Ijtihad versus taqlid; maslaha in Maliki and later thought.
Theology
- Mu'tazila: five principles, including divine unity, justice, and the created Qur'an; the mihna tested this doctrine.
- Ash'ari and Maturidi schools reconciled reason and revelation; Athari traditionalism rejected kalam.
- Sufism: from zuhd to tariqa; al-Ghazali's Ihya' integrated Sufi practice with Sunni law.
Worked example
Question: Use qiyas to rule on a new intoxicant. Reasoning: the Qur'an bans khamr; the effective cause ('illa) is intoxication; a new substance sharing that cause takes the same ruling. State the text, the cause and the analogy - not personal opinion. This shows the difference between qiyas and arbitrary reasoning.
Traps
- Defining sharia as identical to fiqh; fiqh is human interpretation.
- Saying qiyas means any reasoning at all.
- Placing the mihna under the Umayyads; it belongs to al-Ma'mun and later Abbasids.