Lecture 1 · Block 1–3
01 The three roots of the term
TransactionsThe lawful rules regulating financial dealings carried out between people.
FinanceFrom "money" — anything with material value among people, whose use is permitted, given ease and free choice.
ContemporaryThe recent, modern age. A one-line definition — do not overthink it.
Mnemonic — T.F.C.
"Trading Follows Custom." Transactions (the rules) + Finance (the value) + Contemporary (the era). If you can say what each word contributes alone, you can rebuild the full definition from scratch.Transactions split into four categories
B
Bargains
Sale and leasing.D
Donations
Grants, will, and endowment (waqf).D
Dropping
Ending an obligation — e.g. abolishing a debt.D
Documentation
Mortgage, bail (warranty), draft (transfer of debt).Mnemonic — B.D.D.D.
Buy it, Donate it, Drop it, Document it.Common mistake
Dropping ends a right (nothing is exchanged). Documentation protects a right (the obligation still stands). Waqf is a gift with no return, so it is a Donation, never a Bargain.Lecture 1 · Block 4–5
02 The full definition and its four cases
"They are financial cases which emerged in the contemporary age — cases that changed in their rules because of progress or changed circumstances, and cases that bear new names, or consist of many old forms."Definition of Current Financial Transactions
Mnemonic
NEW · CHANGED · RENAMED · COMBINED — four words, and you have the definition without memorising it verbatim.| # | Case | What changed | Textbook example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cases unknown in earlier ages | The transaction itself is new | Corporate companies, banknotes |
| 2 | Rules updated due to progress | The procedure | Handing over the key to transfer property is no longer required now that Property Registry Offices exist |
| 3 | New names, same old ruling | Only the label | Bank "interest" is still riba |
| 4 | Formulated from several old forms | Classical contracts combined | Murabaha; leasing contracts merging selling and renting |
Mnemonic — N.U.R.C.
New → Updated procedure → Renamed → Combined.Common mistake
Cases 2 and 3 get swapped constantly. Ask one question: did the process change (case 2, key → registry), or just the name (case 3, interest → riba)?"People among my Ummah will drink Khamr, calling it by another name."The Prophet ﷺ
Lecture 1 · Block 6
03 Relevant terms
Four near-synonyms jurisprudents use for "a newly emerged issue that needs a ruling." Recognise them as one set; you are not asked to split hairs between them.
Emerged cases
Occurrences
Incidences
Fatwa
Mnemonic — E.O.I.F.
Emerged, Occurrences, Incidences, Fatwa.Lecture 1 · Block 7–11
04 Four characteristics of transactions in Islamic jurisprudence
Mnemonic — "Please Permit Reasonable Flexibility"
Principles (general, not detailed) → Permissibility (the default ruling) → Reasoning (benefit-driven) → Flexible-yet-fixed.1 — Based on general bases and principles
Same divine source as worship (Qur'an + Sunnah), but legislated as broad principles and integrity rules rather than exhaustive detail — deliberately leaving room for ijtihad on newly introduced forms.
Evidence
a. An-Nisaa 4:29 — do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, but only in lawful business by mutual consent.b. Al-Baqarah 2:275 — "Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest (riba)."
c. Hadith (Ibn Omar) — the Prophet ﷺ prohibited the gharar sale: no guarantee the seller can deliver (a runaway slave, fish still in the sea, an unborn camel).
Mnemonic
"Mutual Consent, No Riba, No Gharar" — the three evidences map to three red flags.2 — The original rule is permissibility (al-ibāḥah)
| Acts of worship | Transactions / contracts | |
|---|---|---|
| Default | Restricted | Permitted |
| Rule | Nothing added unless a text permits it | Nothing forbidden unless a truthful, clear text prohibits it |
| Reason | Avoids inventing new religious practice (bid'ah) | No evidence of prohibition = permissible |
Evidence
"If anyone introduces in our matter something which does not belong to it, it will be rejected." (restriction principle, for worship) — and the Qur'anic subjection of the sea, heavens, and earth to people, so they may seek His bounty.3 — Based on reasons and benefits (ta'līl / maṣlaḥah)
Rulings on transactions are caused and benefit-bearing, which is exactly why they can be extended by analogy to cases the texts never named.
4 — Both flexible and constant
Constant in its fixed principles and prohibitions; flexible in the forms and procedures those principles are applied to.
Lecture 2 · Block 1
05 The nine qualifications of a researcher
Resolving an emerging financial issue depends on ijtihad — the total effort of a qualified jurist (mujtahid) to deduce a ruling from detailed scriptural evidence. Nine requirements gate that.
Q
Qur'an
Comprehensive understanding of it.H
Hadith
Comprehensive understanding of the Sunnah.I
Ijma'
Knowledge of legal consensus, so no ruling contradicts a settled one.A
Arabic
Grammar, rhetoric, vocabulary, linguistic nuance.S
Skill of ijtihad
A jurisprudence talent for understanding fiqh issues.H
Honesty
In word and action — avoiding major sins, not persisting in minor ones.M
Maqasid awareness
Preserving faith, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth.R
Research ability
Eliciting rulings from contemporary scholars' books.U
Understanding reality
Lived circumstances, so rulings apply effectively.Mnemonic — two groups
Knowledge base QHIA (Qur'an, Hadith, Ijma', Arabic), then practical qualities SHMRU (Skill, Honesty, Maqasid, Research, Understanding reality).Common mistake
Listing only the book knowledge and dropping the character items. Honesty, maqasid awareness, and lived reality are graded just as often.Lecture 2 · Block 2
06 The eight steps to a ruling
Sequence matters — questions ask what comes right after a given step.
- Pray to Allah for inspiration and right foresight on the case.
- Understand the subject deeply — what allows a confident judgment.
- Search the legal texts: the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
- Examine the case against the Companions' sayings and arguments.
- Search the jurisprudence of the four imams / schools.
- Search new sources — recent scholars' articles.
- Use his own opinion, if steps 1–6 have not settled it.
- If no legitimate rule can be reached at all: refrain from ruling — no fatwa.
Mnemonic
"Pious Understanding Searches Companions, Imams, Sources, forms an Opinion, or else Refrains."Common mistake
Personal opinion is the second-to-last resort, not an early step. And if opinion cannot produce a legitimate rule, the correct move is to refrain — not to guess.Lecture 2 · Block 3–6
07 The rights hierarchy
"An exclusive entitlement by which the Law (Sharī'ah) establishes an authority or an obligation."Definition of Rights
Two possible shapes: an authority (you are empowered) or an obligation (someone else is bound toward you). Everything below is just: which kind of authority, over what.
- Political rightsOrganise governance and its authorities — the right of election and nomination.
- Civil rightsEstablish the individual's interests directly.
- General rightsInherent personality rights — bodily safety, inviolability of one's residence. Denying them degrades human dignity.
- Private rightsArise from bonds between individuals, under private law.
- Family rightsGoverned by personal-affairs rules — custody, divorce.
- Financial rightsRights that could be evaluated with money.
Mnemonics down the chain
Political = you and the state; Civil = you and your own interests. General = rights you hold just by being human; Private = rights that need a second party. Family = cannot be priced; Financial = can be priced.Lecture 2 · Block 7
08 The three financial rights
P — People
Personal rights
A law relation between two people, like creditor and debtor. Also called "commitments."M — Matter
Material rights
A direct authority given by law over a material thing. Also called "property rights."I — Ideas
Incorporeal rights
The "rights of innovation" — authority over something non-physical, like intellectual creations.Common mistake
Personal and Material get confused because both seem to involve another person. The test: does the right point at a person's obligation (Personal — someone owes you money) or at a thing (Material — you own the land)? If neither a physical thing nor another's debt is involved, it is Incorporeal.Exam radar
09 Highest-yield items for Major 1
| Item | Say it in one line |
|---|---|
| The four cases (N.U.R.C.) | New → Updated procedure → Renamed → Combined, each with its example. |
| Worship vs. transactions | Worship: restricted by default. Transactions: permitted by default. |
| The four categories (B.D.D.D.) | Bargains, Donations, Dropping, Documentation. |
| Step 7 vs. step 8 | Own opinion comes second-to-last; refraining is the true last resort. |
| P.M.I. | Personal = people, Material = matter, Incorporeal = ideas. |
| Gharar examples | Runaway slave, fish in the sea, an unborn camel's fetus. |
Final check
10 Flashcard glossary
Click or press Enter on a card to flip it. If you hesitate on one, go back to the block above it.