In the modern day, you might find a lot of discussions around ‘Fiqh’ online. The term is used to denote legalistic rulings based on islam, but historically and quranically, this is not what Fiqh meant, this is a historical phenomenon that departs from the true meaning of the word and how the early muslims understood it, and not rectifying this misconception can be a major cause for over emphasizing legal rulings in Islam, something that is neither encouraged scripturally, nor historically by early muslims.

How the quran and hadith use the word ‘fiqh’

The Quran

Fiqh is explicitly is 20 times in the quran, none of which denote ‘legal jurisprudence’ but 3 main verses prove this point the best in my opinion. (Mustafa Khattab translation used)

Case 1

O Prophet! Motivate the believers to fight. If there are twenty steadfast among you, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are one hundred of you, they will overcome one thousand of the disbelievers, for they are a people who do not comprehend. (la yafqahūn)

8:65

Surah al-anfal is about the battle of badr. The word is obviously used as a critique against the Quraysh who violently opposed the early muslims, not just having wrong legal opinions.

Case 2

‘However,’ it is not necessary for the believers to march forth all at once. Only a party from each group should march forth, leaving the rest to gain religious knowledge (li-yatafaqqahū fī al-dīn) then enlighten their people when they return to them, so that they "too’ may beware 'of evil

9:122

The context of the verse emphasis that gaining religious knowledge is as important as protecting muslims from harm. This would include understanding the practical elements of islam as a part of it, sure, but unless one claims that fiqhi questions that are often trivial like “Is it halal to marry an Al chatbot” as important as protecting muslims from harm, it would be a stretch to say this refers to Fiqh as legal concept the way many muslims today understand it. There is just no evidence in this verse that supports the legalistic understanding of Figh.

Case 3

The seven heavens, the earth, and all those in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not glorify His praises-but you ‘simply’ cannot comprehend (tafqahūna) their glorification. He is indeed Most Forbearing, All-Forgiving.

17:44

Its abunduntly clear the quran here is using fiqh as a deep understanding of the universe and of gods nature, not legal rulings.

The Hadith

There are tons of hadith that mention the word, but they mainly use it the same way the quran does. For brevity i wont bring it up but ill bring up one that very clearly showcases fiqh is not a legal concept:

*“Whomever Allah wants good for, He gives him deep understanding (figh) in religion.”

[Şahīh al-Bukhārī 71; Şahīh Muslim 1037]*

To me its clear that this hadith implies a deep spiritual understanding of islam is a great reward, not a deep understanding of islamic legalistic jurisprudence. Why would a deep reward be me understanding if nail polish invalidates wudu or the exact length of cloth that makes something too revealing? The former view is far more compatible with how the quran understands the word ‘fiqh’, the latter departs from this view.

How ‘Fiqh’ became a legal term

It can be tricky to explain this topic with brevity, and i prefer not to risk oversimplifying islamic history just for the sake of simplicity. I recommend watching Maulana Wahiddudan Khan’s video on this topic if you are interested in more detail. The really short story is “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”, and if you’re a scholar who specializes in understanding islam legally, then you will do precisely that with islamic scripture.

Conclusion

To share opinion of Al-Ghazali:

Indeed those who immerse themselves excessively in legal subtleties have gone astray; they continue digging into details like a fire consuming knowledge that does not benefit their character, nor does their knowledge benefit them… The scholars went astray by training themselves in subsidiary details and forgot about their proper scale; it is as if they have abandoned the essential mission in favor of minutiae…

Ihya Ulum al-Din.

Its clear that the use of the word Figh is a misunderstanding of what figh truly means. There is hardly any basis for an obsession with legalism that we see present today. God of course wants us to follow islam clearly, but to imply that god demands strict adherance to a legalistic system just lacks any basis, and is a later development. He wants us to develop a deep understanding of the spiritual message of the religion, not an obsession with law.

I highly recommend checking out Maulana Khan’s video that i linked earlier. He was the main source of my writing and he goes into great detail on how figh historically came to be the way it is.

(Side note, making effort posts here again feels really weird since i havent done it in like over a year and i never really expected to come back. Hoping ill get back into a rhythm again.)