The Relationship between Fiqh and Spiritual Affairs

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Professor of Kharij Fiqh and Usul in Islamic Seminary (Mashhad), assistant professor of Akhund Khorasani Specialized Center (affiliated to Baqir al-Olum University

10.22081/jsr.2023.65700.1037

Abstract

Spirituality is benefitting from an inner and sacred thing that can be perceived by the heart or mind in humans, and in recent decades, its study has become important and the relationship between spirituality and other phenomena, including sciences, has been questioned and explored. Studying the contribution of spirituality in the richest knowledge in Islamic sciences – Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) - which regulates the practical life of Muslims, can show how much fiqh and the religious rulings derived from it contributes to the provision and guarantee of spirituality - in the sense of spiritual affairs - in the life of a Muslim. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method and based on the information contained in books of fiqh and the views of jurists, shows that from a fiqh point of view, a set of spiritual considerations is a criterion and a condition of correctness or acceptance for many religious behaviors, from rituals to transactions and the goal of observing the mandatory and status rules is to strengthen faith and achieve closeness to God, which is considered the highest spiritual level. The author has concluded that fiqh, by drawing and prescribing a system of ethical and legal behaviors, establishes a continuous and stable two-way relationship between the spiritual matter and human life, and following religious rulings leads to the health and spiritual advancement of the individual and society.

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