Preface

The Shari'ah

How to Live by the Shari'ah?

Taqlid, Following The Expert

The Tendency of Rationalizing The Shari’ah Laws

The System of Ijtihad

A Look into the Future of Ijtihad

In this text, Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi has outlined the fundamentals of
Shari'ah and how to live by the teachings and laws of Islam. He
discusses Taqlid, understanding of the laws and the reasoning behind
them, and even the concept of Ijtihad.


An Introduction to The Islamic Shari’ah

Preface
=======

The present work attempts to familiarize the readers with the
*shari'ah*, the Islamic legal system. Chapters One and Two define the
need for the *shari'ah* and explain how a Muslim can live by following
the *shari'ah*. Chapter Three is on *taqlid:* a process in which the lay
Shi'ahs follow the legal opinions of a living mujtahid (the expert of
*shari'ah*). Chapter Four deals with trend of rational­izing every
*shari' ah* law. Finally, Chapter Five, brings the reader closer to the
system which a mujtahid uses in reaching to his opinions.

The first chapter is presented here for the first time. Chapter Two is a
revised version of what I had written as an introduction to my book
“*The Ritual* & *Spiritual Purity* (1989)”. Chapters Three to Five are
revised editions of booklets printed in the early- and mid-eighties in
*"The Laws of Shari'ah"* series in Vancouver, BC. This series was very
well received by the readers in various parts of the world. Imam Mahdi
Association of Bombay has translated three booklets (which now form the
last three chapters of this book) in Urdu and is using them as text for
its study circle programs.

I pray to Allah (S.W.T.) to make this work even more useful than the
previous editions.

Rabi'u 'l-Awwal 1413  
 September 1992

S.M. Rizvi  
 Toronto, Canada


