Introduction to Usul al-Fiqh by Imam al-Juwayni (الورقات)

Instructor: Shaykh Dr Tarek Elgawhary

Written by Imam al-Juwayni, the teacher of Imam al-Ghazali, this work is an introductory work to the science of jurisprudence. It introduces all the main subject headings of jurisprudence as well as provides a brief commentary and explanation. This is a unique work as it has no shortage of commentaries ranging from the short to the lengthy and is an indispensable text for the student of Islamic law.

Objectives and learning outcomes of the course

In these lectures students will learn about:

  • The Categories of Rulings in Sharia as well as Definitions of Other Essential Legal Terms
  • Categories of Phrases
  • Commands and Prohibitions
  • Universal and Particular Applicability
  • Ambiguity and Clarification
  • Evident Statements
  • Actions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)
  • The Abrogating and the Abrogated
  • Scholarly Consensus
  • Declarative Statements and Reports
  • Analogical Reasoning
  • Prohibition and Permissibility
  • The Order of Precedence in which evidence is cited
  • The Attributes of those Who Give Legal Edicts and their Petitioners
  • Rulings Pertaining to Personal Reasoning

Course Contents

Course Instructor

Shaykh Dr Tarek Elgawhary

Dr Tarek Elgawhary is an entrepreneur, teacher, and scholar of comparative religions and Islamic studies. He is currently the US representative of Egypt’s National Fatwa Office (Dar al-Iftā’ al-Misriyya), the scholar-in-residence of the Islamic Community Center of Potomac (ICCP), and the founder of the Making Sense of Islam platform. In these various capacities he teaches, lectures, and writes about normative Sunni Islam and how it is expressed and practiced in the modern world.

Tarek’s educational background is a bit unorthodox and eclectic. He spent his western education in the space of comparative religions, having earned a BA in comparative religions with a focus on Jewish studies, and an MA in a specialized program focusing on Islam and Hinduism (both from the George Washington University). Tarek’s graduate studies culminated with his PhD, from Princeton University in Islamic law. Tarek was also trained at the al-Azhar Seminary in Cairo, Egypt between 2003-2007 where he studied and was licensed in the traditional Islamic sciences.

Tarek is also the President and Founder of Coexist Research International LLC (est. 2007) through which he advises non-profit organizations, corporations, and governments throughout the world on challenges that intersect faith, culture, and politics, especially the growing problem of extremism.