Publisher's Synopsis
The Muslim world and its ummah are in dire need of an ideational paradigm change towards reform and renewal. The conception of the Shariah as being doctrinaire, legalistic and one-dimensional needs to be deconstructed. This book attempts to bring clarity to the subject and determine its province. The institution of the madhhab with the doctrines of ijtihad, taqlid and ikhtilaf is examined to shed greater light on the Shariah as divine guidance to the ummah as well as canonical law. This also warrants a study of fiqh, 'ilm al-fiqh and usul al-fiqh which tend to be erroneously interchanged with Shariah, which in turn blurs the distinction between divine law and juristic.
