Islam has ordered some things and refrained from others. The basis of this has some purpose and Islamic laws are not imposed without any reason. For example, foods and drinks, the lawful relations and other things, all have some benefit or harm hidden in them. Whether the laws about these are made or not, there is no difference of their effects. If you ponder on the things, which are forbidden, you will come to know that the things, which are intoxicating like alcohol etc, are themselves harmful. Interest is just acquiring wealth of the people and it is like a trap. Therefore, wine and interest are forbidden because of their innate harmful effects. On the other side when you look at things, which are obligatory you will feel that all the worship acts for example, Prayer and Zakah are obligatory because of the benefits that people acquire from them. In short, the Islamic laws are based on benefits or harms or on their goodness or evil. Many things can be understood from science and experience. This type of research or to know the logic behind any Islamic law or to ask any questions regarding it is not disallowed. The curiosity of a human being leads to finding of truth and his real spiritual want and also it opens the door for progress. It is a lively sign for man that he tries to acquire knowledge of the things, which are unknown and hidden to him. This is the reason that people who do not question about things lag behind and do not prosper. In the view of Islam, the benefits of “Questioning” bring progress and perfection. Islam provides complete code for human progress and not only gives its followers the right to question the different topics but also the true guides of Islam have invited people to ask questions. The world must have not forgotten the famous sentence of the great preacher Ali (a.s.)[1] who said, “Ask me whatever you want to ask.” The progeny of the Holy Prophet (a.s.) has answered the questions of their followers. Not only those followers got satisfactory answers that increased their thinking power but also today, those in search for truth can use this valuable treasure of knowledge from the progeny of the Holy Prophet (a.s.).

The Islamic Seminary, which is serving Islam and is trying to spread this knowledge, is presenting an independent book based on a comprehensive philosophy of Islamic Laws.

In this book the exegesis of the Quran, jurisprudence and other topics are discussed. We expect that our presentation will benefit those people who want to understand the Islamic laws according to reason and traditions.

Organization

Footnotes:

[1] For maintaining readability, (a.s.) which is an acronym for “Alayhum Salaam” is used throughout the book to denote "May God bless him, her or them”. When used for the Prophet, his Household is included. When used for others, it only refers to that person.