In the last issue, we have discussed the role of the mufti, the ijtihad and istinbat jurists in extracting and determining laws in accordance with the four primary Islamic sources and some other methods.

The purpose of these methods was to facilitate the task of scholars and istinbat officers in analysing problems of shara' law which often arise in the ever developing Islamic world.

The mujtahids therefore need to be experts and in command of al-Qur'an, the sunnah or traditions of the Prophet, the ijma' (juristic consensus), the qiyas (analogical reasoning) and several other methods in enabling them to carry out their task and responsibility in extracting and determining the law in various situations that may arise.

The topic in this issue will discuss the classification of shara' law, that is to say the area of shara' that determines the Islamic ruling in a given situation.

The terminological definition for 'hukm' (system of law) offered by the usul fiqh scholars is:

Meaning: " The commands of Allah relating to the deeds of the mukallaf (responsible persons). These can either be in the form of direct commandments or choices, or by making something the cause, the condition, the hindrance; by making something valid, invalid, concessionary, or unmodified."

From this definition, usul fiqh scholars have concluded that the said hukm should originate from Islamic shara'. When the hukm is not from shara', it is not called hukm. This also means that sources of hukm include Al-Qur'an, sunnah, ijmâ' and qiyâs.

The term 'deeds of the mukallaf' implies that only those who are mukallaf, i.e. those who are competent, of the age of majority, mature (rational) and healthy, are held responsible (for their actions).

Muslim scholars have classified hukm into two main categories, i.e. hukm taklifi and hukm wadh'i .

Hukm taklifi is the command of Allah in connection with the performance of or the abstinence from certain practices. The commandment thus, is divided into five. i.e. wajib (obligatory), sunnah (recommended), haram (forbidden), makruh (reprehensible) and mubah (permissible).

WAJIB (Obligatory)

The majority of scholars have given two definitions for wajib (obligatory) command. They are as follows:

Meaning: "A definite commandment imposed by As-Shari' (Allah and His Prophet) upon the mukallaf (with regard to certain practices)."

Wajib also means:

Meaning: "Something which is rewarded when practised and is sinful when neglected."

The first definition reveals if a practice is obligatory while the second definition deals with the consequences of performing or neglecting obligatory practices. Those who perform them are rewarded and those who neglect them are punished.

The obligatory commandments or wajib are always related to the word fardh. According to the majority of Muslim scholars, wajib and fardh are two words which have similar meanings regardless of whether the evidence is qath'i (definitive) or zhanni (conjectural). For example in the saying of the Prophet:

Meaning: "There is no prayer for those who is not reciting surah Al-Fatihah in his prayer."

(Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

According to As-Shafi'e school of thought and the majority of Muslim scholars, the prayer of someone who does not read Al-Fatihah (in his prayer), is considered invalid because the ruling that it is wajib or a fardh is still in force regardless of whether the evidence is qath'i or zhanni.

It is only in hajj rituals that majority of the scholars have differentiated between wajib and fardh i.e if fardh practices are neglected, the hajj becomes null and invalid, but if wajib practices are neglected, the ritual is still valid but the damm (compensation) has to be paid.

In regulating certain responsibilities, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has employed specific expressions to indicate that the command is wajib. Some of them are:

a. Through amr (instruction) utterances as in His words in Al-Qur'an:

Meaning : " And offer your prayers perfectly and pay your zakat."

(Al-Baqarah: 110)

b. Through the word of instruction (al-amr) itself as in the words of Allah:

Meaning: "Verily, Allah enjoins al-'adl (justice and worshipping none but Allah alone) and al-ihsan (to be patient in performing your duties to Allah, totally for Allah's sake)."

(An-Nahl: 90)

c. Through the utterances of the words wajaba and faradha as in the tradition of the Prophet :

Meaning: "Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam has made zakat fitrah (alms giving in the morning of Shawwal) obligatory."

(Hadits narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

d. Utterances that aim at encouraging the performance of certain practices coupled with the threat of punishment for those who neglect them. As Prophet Muhammad Shallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam says in a hadis:

Meaning:"Whoever is made wealthy by Allah and does not pay the zakat of his wealth, then on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will be made like a bald-headed poisonous male snake with two black spots over the eyes (or two poisonous glands in its mouth). The snake will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks."

(Hadith narrated by al-Imam al-Bukhari)

These expressions are one way of recognising certain commandments to be wajib or obligatory.

SUNAT

Sunnah, also called mandûb, means something that is encouraged and approved. Usul fiqh jurists define sunnah as:

Meaning: That which is only mildly commanded by al-Shari' (Allah and His Prophet)."

Some other scholars have defined sunnah as:

Meaning: "That which is praised when performed and not condemned when neglected."

Among others, the expressions employed to indicate that the command is sunnah are as follow:

a. Through the utterance of the word 'yusannu' (encouraged) or 'yundabu' (motivated) as mentioned in Rasulullah's suggestion to his ummah asking them to perform the Tarawikh prayers in the month of Ramadhan:

Meaning: "It is sunnah for you to perform prayers during the night (of Ramadhan)."

(Hadith narrated by Al-Nasa'i and Ibnu Majah)

b. The utterance of mild command followed by verses of encouragement as mentioned in the words of Allah which say:

Meaning: "O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down."

(Al-Baqarah: 282)

The verses above contain the command of sunnah as the following verses clarify that if they trust each other, it is unnecessary to record the transaction as mentioned in the verse:

Meaning: "Then if one of you entrust the other, let the one who is entrusted discharge his trust (faithfully)."

(Al-Baqarah: 283)

c. Through the practices of the Prophet Sallallahu ' Alaihi Wasallam which were done inconsistently such as the four rakaat prayer before Isya' prayer, fasting every Monday and Thursday and etc.