Journal of Islamic Studies > Volume 28, No. 1, 2016

Settlement Condition Impact on Jurisprudential Issues / Yasir Rashid Al-Doussary

The research studies jurisprudential issues related to settlement conditions, namely the impact of settlement on: the Friday prayer; the Eed prayer; zakaah transfer to other countries; sacrifice atonements and alternatives; commercial agent wages; allocating endowments to poor expatriates; marriage contract deputization; and child custody. The research seeks to show the difference between iqaamah (residence) and settlement in order to identify the issues related to the settlement condition, to elaborate  scholars' disagreements on establishing the settlement condition, and to show the flexibility of Islamic jurisprudence foundations and branches. The research applies comparative jurisprudential methodological procedures: it defines the jurisprudential issues concerned and identifies points of disagreement; it limits the inquiry scope to credible jurisprudential schools; it consults original sources in documentation; it gives due consideration to recent related issues; and it does proper documentation and weighing of Hadiths and other sources. The following are the research findings: there is a difference between residence and settlement; settlement involves residence, but residence does not involve settlement; some settlement-related issues are typical only of certain schools of thought, e. g. endowment is associated with the Shafi'y school; and the study of foundational conditions contributes to the standardization of jurisprudence. The research makes the following recommendations: due attention should be given to basic research into conditions covering multi-dimensional jurisprudential issues; efforts should be made to set up an encyclopedia for jurisprudential material (conditions); it is important to examine jurisprudential issues from all aspects; and graduate students should be involved in conducting such types of jurisprudential studies.