Determining the Period of Rule of the Ruler in Islamic Fiqh: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The current research aims to study the matter of determining the period of rule of the ruler in Islamic Fiqh as one of the contemporary issues subject to study and research by the Jurists of Fiqh, which requires introducing students and researchers and others interested in political affairs to its judgment by collecting the opinions of the contemporary Jurists of Fiqh and their evidence, then discussing and analyzing them in an attempt to arrive at a clear juristic conclusion. The current study, as such, is comprised of five sections followed by a conclusion. The first section highlights the essence of the relationship between the ruler and those ruled in Islamic Fiqh. Section two sheds light on the Jurists who oppose determining a period of rule for the ruler and their evidence. The third section, contrastively, projects light on the Jurists who support determining a period of rule and their evidence. However, the fourth section highlights the Jurists that require determining the period of rule for the ruler and their evidence. The fifth section, in consequence, offers a discussion for the sake of preponderance. Then, finally, a conclusion is offered at the end, presenting the results of the study. Nonetheless, for the sake of achieving the study’s objectives, the researchers adopted the descriptive approach while employing both the deductive and inductive methods as being suitable methods for studying and researching such topics. The study arrived at a number of results, most important of which is that the essence in the relationship between the ruler and those ruled is the contract of homage, which is based on the satisfaction of both parties, as other contracts are, where the parties have the right to include whatever conditions they deem suitable -as long as such conditions do not contradict the contract itself or stand in the way of achieving interests.