This collection tackles the four madhhabs of Islam in a thought-provoking way. Together, the four contributions show that recovery of transmitted practice backed by scholarship is a dynamic and liberating way that can lead to a new flowering of the deen in every age.

Why are there four schools of Islamic Law? It is necessary for Muslims to follow them, or should we take Islam direct from the Qur'an and the Sunna.This short work outlines the answer which the great scholars of the Sharia have given to these questions. Basing itself on the realization that it is binding on every Muslim to tallow the Qur'an and the Sunna, it explains the scholars' view that this is best achieved by following a great Mujtahid, and that amateur efforts to derive the Sharia from the revealed sources will lead to distortions of the Revelation.Divided into two sections, one giving the main argument in straightforward terms, and the other providing detailed notes to back up the argument, this book is necessary reading for every Muslim who wishes to follow the Qur'an and the Sunna accurately and completely.

A translation of the first of four volumes, this detailed reference provides the four legal views of Islamic acts of worship according to the interpretations of more recent traditionalists rather than from a medieval perspective. Dealing with the forms of worship, the volume elucidates the laws concerning ritual purity, ritual prayers, fasting, spiritual retreats, and the pilgrimage to Mecca which are discussed in-depth. A comprehensive glossary of Islamic terminology is also included, making this foundational text an ideal selection for academic libraries or individuals interested in an essential manual for the performance of religious duties of Islam.

About The Booklet: The concept of bid'ah has become a means by which the Muslim nation has become divided. There are some who call anything, which did not exist during the time of the Prophet (pbuh), bid'ah and label those who adopt some of those practices as people of innovation (bid'ah) or misguidance (dalaalah). The question that must be asked is: "How have the Muslims been dealing with newly introduced matters starting from the time of the Companions until recent times?" In order to provide an encompassing answer to this question, I gathered the views of the four schools of thought in this booklet (Hanbali, Shafii, Maliki and Hanafi madhhabs). From each Madhab, I include statements of some of the famous scholars regarding the meaning and classification of bid'ah (innovation). Henceforth, I include the magnificent research concerning bid'ah of one of the greatest scholars of 19th century: Al-Imaam Abu Al-Hasaanat Muhammed Abdulhayy Al-Laknawi Al-Hindi. In his research he demonstrated how the first three blessed generations responded to the newly innovated matters which cropped up during their time. He concludes his research by providing advice on how we should deal with bid'ah in our own time. I believe his advice contains therein a cure for the disease of corrupting the term bid'ah, perhaps inadvertently, to divide the Muslim community.

Ibn Rajab's essay Refutation of Those Who Do Not Follow the Four Schools advocates for the necessity of following Islamic scholarship in general, and legal scholarship in particular. A large portion of the essay covers the history of the development of Islamic scholarship and how the Muslim Community came to recognize scholars as the source for authoritative knowledge. Readers of the essay will notice that Ibn Rajab is engaging individuals who saw themselves as equal or superior to prior generations of scholars, free to cast aside scholarship and to reinterpret without any need for requisite skills and knowledge. Although written seven centuries ago, it might as well have written with today's reformers in mind.

Mufid al-'Ibad, of which this book is a translation, is a summation of all the previous commentaries on the work of Ibn 'Ashir on Ash'ari 'aqida, Maliki fiqh and Junaydi tasawwuf and is augmented not infrequently by the author's own subtle understanding of the finer aspects of the 'amal of the people of Madina. Shaykh Ahmad bin al-Bashir al-Qalawi ash-Shinqiti (1216 AH/1802 CE- 1276 AH/1853 CE), whose lineage can be traced to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, came from a family and tribe in present day Mauritania renowned for its knowledge and active implementation of the deen. Although he himself refrained from any sufic commentary on Ibn Ashir's work, he was recognised as a wali by the men of this science around him. Dr Yate (Cantab.) has translated works from Arabic, Persian, German and French, and, in collaboration with others, from Turkish. He teaches Arabic and Fiqh at the Weimar Institute, is a Founding fellow of The Muslim Faculty of Advanced Studies, and is active on the shariat board of the World Islamic Mint.

This volume contains ground-breaking studies on such matters as the early development of legal theory in Islam, the emergence of "us l al-fiqh," theory vis-a-vis practice, various controversies among Muslim theorists, the construction of juristic authority, reformist concepts, and the role of "qaw cid."