The Kutty 'Islamic Law' Flowchart

Abstract

Those teaching in the area of “Islamic law” (however imprecise that term is) can appreciate the difficulty in conveying information on sources and major principles. People unfamiliar with the Arabic language have enough struggles with the new lingo and could benefit from an overview of the main sources, principles and methodologies in pictorial form. This flowchart is a very basic representation or big picture of “Islamic law.” It is best viewed as a digital document where you can adjust the size. It is only an attempt to give some perspective to the introductory student in this area, but nevertheless a caveat is in order at the outset. Any endeavor that attempts to provide a simple overview of a complex system always runs the risk of oversimplification. Clearly, it is an impossible task to set out detailed discussions of the Islamic system’s principles, institutions and their interactions and permutations in such a static fashion.

The paper "The Myth and Reality of 'Shari'a' Courts in Canada: A Delayed Opportunity for the Indigenization of Islamic Legal Rulings" to which this Flow Chart applies is available at the following URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1749046

Keywords: Islamic law, Shariah, Sharia, Fiqh, Hanafi, Shafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Jafari, Ismaili, Qur’an, Sunnah, Ijma, Qiyas, Ijtihad, Istihsan, Maslahal al-Mursalat, Urf, Naskh, Darrurah, Istishab, Qiyas al-Hafiyi, Qiyas al-Jalyii, Seerah, Hadith, Qudsi, Nabvi, Qawl, F’al, Iqrir, Isnad, Matn, Mutawatir, Mashh