Dr.
Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
[About
the author of the Foreword:
"Dr.
Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi, the author of the Foreword, is a pioneering
Islamic economist of our time. He received his PhD in economics from
Aligarh Muslim University in 1966. Trained and educated in both modern and
religious tradition, among the positions he held are: Chairman, Department of
Islamic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
1977-78; Professor of Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, 1978 - 2000; Fellow, Center for Near Eastern Studies, University
of California, Los Angeles, 2001; Distinguished
University Professor at the International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2006; President, International Association for Islamic Economics -
2001-2003.
He has been one of the most prolific
and important contributors to the field of Islamic economics and finance. For
more information, please visit http://www.siddiqi.com/mns.]"
Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq has spoken out. The
result, the book before you, may not please some. But its dispassionate read,
especially in the perspective of the above hadith, can be quite rewarding. The
author is no scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, the subject of this book. He does
not pretend to be one. But his concern about many rulings currently pronounced
in the name of Islamic law running counter to the objectives of that law, the maqasid
al-Shariah, is genuine and widely shared.
Things must change. Pointing out the anomalous
rulings and inviting their reconsideration is one step toward that change.
Their discussions need not remain confined to experts in traditional fiqh.
Many of the issues involved call for expertise outside the domain of the madrasah-educated
scholars, especially of social scientists like our author. A wider
participation should not be frowned upon. In fact it should be welcome. There
is a tendency to disqualify all non-Arabic knowing and non-specialist people
from such discourse. This is not acceptable. It is quite contrary to our lofty
traditions in the past. According to an eminent authority:
When ijtihad
relates to inferring from Text, a knowledge of Arabic would be essential. But
if the focus is not the purport of the text but a conceptualization of the masalih
and mafasid involved, a knowledge of Arabic may not be essential. Same
applies to cases in which the masalih and mafasid involved are
fully recognized by one competent to make ijtihad on the basis of text.
An understanding of the objectives of Shariah from (study of) the Shariah, in
summary as well as in detail, will be sufficient in such cases. …
Whosoever has come
to understand what are the purposes of giving rulings in Shariah and is so
advanced in this understanding that he could be regarded as knowing what the
objectives of Shariah are, (for him) it makes no difference at all if he
acquired that knowledge through translations in some of the non-Arab tongues.
He and the one who acquired the understanding from Arabic readings are at par.[2]
I quote Al-Shatibi [d. 1288 AD] not as an
apology for the author, who does not need one, but to encourage the readers
actively to participate in the discourse the author seeks to initiate by
publishing this book. To me the initiative is what matters, though not to
underestimate the substance of his work. You do not have to agree with many of
the author’s opinions. Nor do I. The message of the book is: think, study the
current situation in the light of the objectives of Shariah, and speak out.
Some of the chapters make a very painful
reading indeed. But that is what is out there in reality. The author is only
holding a mirror to our face. That is what comes out of a methodology that
neglects the maqasid al-shariah, relying exclusively on fiqh
rulings given hundreds of years ago in a different social milieu. Some
stocktaking is seriously overdue.
Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
Aligarh, 27 June 2007
