Appreciating the Process of Deriving Islamic Rulings

  • Before any ruling is made, the Qur’an must first be referred to, followed by the sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w., and then finally the explanations and independent legal reasoning’sor ijtihad of scholars.
  • The process of deriving Islamic rulings is not as easy as referring to the literal meanings of Quranic verses and hadiths, or by merely reading its translations. The knowledge and expertise of other fields such as the Arabic language, hadith, Quranic exegesis, principles of Islamic jurisprudence are also essential requirements. The verses of the Quran and hadith can only be understood through proper application these sciences.
  • By taking the literal meanings of these religious text without once considering the wisdom and reason behind every Quranic revelation and hadith narration, one may find himself led astray.