The Evolution Of Fiqh by Bilal Philips

This period starts with the beginning of the prophet hood in Makkah and ends with the Prophets Hijrah (migration) to the city of Madeenah. The revelations of this period were mainly concerned with building the ideological foundation of Islaam, Eemaan (faith), in order to prepare the early band of converts for the difficult task of practically establishing the social order of Islaam. Consequently the following basic topics of the Makkan revelations all reflect one aspect. Or another of principles designed to build faith in God.

Most of the people of Makkan believed in a Supreme Being known by the name “Allaah” from the most ancient of times. However, they had added a host of gods who shared some of Allaah’s powers or acted as intermediaries.

Accordingly, Makkan revelations declared Allaah’s unique unity and pointed out that gods besides Allaah are no benefit.

Some of the early verses presented logical arguments proving the existence of God for the few Makkans who actually denied it.

Since there was no way for human beings to know about the next life, the Makkan revelations vividly described its wonders, its mysteries and its horrors.

The Makkan verses often mentioned historical examples of earlier civilizations which were destroyed when they denied their obligation to God, like the ‘Aad and the Thamood, in order to warn those who rejected the message of Islaam and to teach the believers about the greatness of Allaah.

Because of the critical relationship between Salaah and Tawheed, Salaah was the only other pillar of Islaam to be legislated in Makkah, besides the declaration of faith (Tawheed).

In order to prove to the pagan Makkans that the Qur’aan was from God, some of the Makkan verses challenged the Arabs to imitate the style of the Qur’aan. 21

The Hijrah marks the beginning of this period and the death of the Prophet (s.w.) in 632 CE marks the end. After the Prophet’s migration to Madeenah and the spread of Islaam there, he was appointed as the rular, and the Muslim community became a fledgling state. Thus, revelation was concerned primarily with the organization of the Muslim State. And it was during this period that the majority of the social and economic laws of the Sharee’ah were revealed.

Revelations during this period also strengthened the foundations of Eemaan and Tawheed, which were established during the Makkan period. However, most of the following basic topics of the Madeenan revelations concentrate on the laws necessary for the development of an Islamic nation.

It was during the Madeenan period that the last three pillars of Islaam were revealed, as well as the prohibition of intoxicants, pork, gambling, and the punishments for adultery; murder and theft were fixed.

During the Makkan period, Muslim were forbidden to take up arms against the Makkans who were oppressing them, in order to avoid their decimation and to develop their patience. The right to fight against the enemy as well as the rules of war was revealed in Madeenah after the numbers of Muslims had dramatically increased.

In Madeenah, Muslims came in contact with Jews for the first time and with Christians on a large scale. Thus, a number of Madeenan verses tackled questions, which were raised by the Jews in order to befuddle the Prophet (s.w.) and discredit Islaam. The verses also outlined laws concerning political alliances with Christians and Jews, as well as laws permitting marriage with them.

For the first time since the beginning of the final message, people began to enter the fold of Islaam without really believing in it. Some entered Islaam to try to destroy it from within because Muslims were strong and they could not openly oppose them, while others entered and exited shortly thereafter in order to shake the faith of the believers. Consequently, some Madeenan verses exposed their plots and warned against them, while others laid the foundations for the laws concerning apostates.22

The body of information contained in the Qur’aan, as a whole, may be grouped under three headings with regards to

the fields of study to which they are related:

First: Information related to Belief in God, His angels, His scriptures His prophets, and the affairs of the next life. These topics are covered within the field of study known as theology (‘Ilm al-Kalaam of al-‘Aqeedah)

Second: Information related to deeds of the heart and soul, and moral principles and rules of conduct aimed at the development of nobility of character. These areas represent the field of moral science known as ethics (‘Ilm al-Akhlaq).

Third: Information related to deeds of the limbs and contained within a body of commandments, prohibitions and choices. This group represents the field of law. (23)