Riphah Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization

Justice Beyond Uniformity: Equality, Moral Order, and Feminist Readings of Islamic Family Law

2026-06-22T08:08:09+00:00

Contemporary feminist critiques of Islamic family law frequently employ the concepts of equality and justice, often if justice requires identical rights and equal treatment for men and women. This article argues that such critiques are grounded in a liberal moral framework that equates justice with sameness, while overlooking the distinct ethical foundations of Islamic law. Through an examination of the anthropological and philosophical assumptions underlying feminist critiques, the study demonstrates that Islamic family law is based on a duty-oriented moral order in which justice is understood as proportionality, moral responsibility, and the equitable distribution of rights and obligations rather than uniformity. Focusing on the institutions of marriage (nikāḥ), guardianship (wilāyah), and male responsibility (qiwāmah), the article critically evaluates feminist assessments of these concepts and argues that they often apply external normative standards without engaging the internal moral logic of Islamic jurisprudence. The study concludes that meaningful dialogue on Islamic family law requires recognising the differing conceptions of justice that inform liberal and Islamic legal traditions, rather than assuming that uniformity is the universal standard of justice.

Keywords: Islamic Family Law, Feminist Critique, Gender Justice, Qiwāmah, Islamic Jurisprudence

Tabayyun and Qurʾānic Digital Ethics against Misinformation and Hate Speech in Pakistan

2026-06-22T09:00:10+00:00

This paper discusses how the Qurʾānic principles of tabayyun (responsible verification) can be formulated as a digital ethics framework to address fake news and hate speech in the Pakistani online community. The research will (i) develop an informative Qurʾānic conceptual model of information ethics, (ii) evaluate how prevalent trends of online misinformation and hate speech contravene Qurʾānic norms of communication, and (iii) present ethically relevant suggestions to individuals, religious leadership, and policy makers. The article methodologically uses a thematic Qurʾānic analysis of verses on verification, truthful speech, slander, suspicion and social harmony, with a qualitative content analysis of a few cases of publicly available misinformation and hate speech, originating in Pakistan. The results suggest that the Qurʾān encodes information as a moral trust with a sense of responsibility, forbids reputational damage and identity-based contempt, and requires verification, particularly when a person is most likely to harm others. The research wraps up by recommending a workable “tabayyun protocol” for digital sharing and defining institutional actions to media literacy, khutbah discourse and responsible regulation.

Rereading Peter L. Berger's Social Constructs on the Fragmentation of Digital Religious Authority

2026-06-16T06:00:53+00:00

This paper reviews Peter L. Berger's social construction in the context of the fragmentation of religious authority in digital era. Berger emphasized that social reality is the result of human construction through the process of externalization, objectification, and internalization. Externalization in which humans express themselves and create a social world through daily activities. Objectivity is a social product of human beings to be an objective reality that is recognized by all, such as norms, laws, religions. Meanwhile, internalization is the process of reabsorbing the objective reality into consciousness, so that it is considered natural and taken for granted. However, in the digital era, this process is disrupted because religious authorities are no longer single and stable, but are fragmented by discourse competition between traditional clerics, the state, academics, and digital actors. This fragmentation shows that the legitimacy of authority is not solely determined by religious institutions, but also by the logic of media, symbolic capital, and virtual interaction. This paper proposes a critique that the social construction of religious authority in Indonesia is not sufficiently understood in a classical framework that presupposes the stability of meaning but needs to be approached through the dynamics of digital contestation and identity politics. This article emphasizes the importance of reconstructing Berger's theory to be relevant to explain the changes in religious authority in an increasingly plural and digitized society.

Religious Believes As A Predictor Of Thinking Preferences Of Muslim Hearing-Impaired Students At College Level

2026-06-04T06:59:01+00:00

Religious belief is presumed as a concomitant of the human tendency to assign mental processes. Religious believers are mostly intuitive thinkers. Reflective thinking has usually been found negatively associated with religious beliefs among normal individuals. The present study was carried out to a special population of hearing impaired Muslim individuals to explore the associations of their thinking preferences with religious beliefs. A sample of 215 hearing impaired adolescents (134 males & 81 females) with a mean age of 20.69 was taken from special education colleges of Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi divisions. To assess religious beliefs and thinking preferences, a forty items questionnaire was developed along with a demographic survey. The tool was translated into Urdu and interpreted in Pakistan sign language. The scale was administered after testing its reliability. Descriptive analysis was used to find frequencies, percentages and means. Inferential analysis was used to test hypothesis of the study. The analysis was done through SPSS 22. Independent samples t test, Pearsons correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression were employed to measure gender differences, associations and variances of religious beliefs along with its intrinsic, extrinsic personal and extrinsic social factors and rational or experiential thinking preferences. The finding revealed that overall, there was no significant difference of religious beliefs and thinking preferences among male and female hearing impaired students but there was a minor difference on extrinsic social factor of religious beliefs of male and female students. Religious belief had no direct relationship with rational thinking. However, there was a weak positive relationship between religious belief and experiential thinking. Religious belief explained less variance in rational thinking but more in experiential thinking.

The Last Universal Islamic Ethical Theory based on Absolute Monotheism: A Comprehensive Model for Ethical Decision-Making

2025-12-22T03:44:37+00:00

This research study systematically and analytically evaluates the six dominant Western ethical and moral theories (Ethos and Mores) against the Islamic ethical philosophies and principles revealed by the Allah in the Holy Qur’an and narrated by the Prophet Mohammad in Sunnah. The paper analytically examines the ‘Absolute Monotheism’ as the foundation and base of the ‘Last Universal Islamic Ethical Theory’. A mix of thematic, qualitative, descriptive, and criteria-based analytical research approaches were employed. The analysis demonstrates that the Western ethical theories are based on the customs and habits of inhabitants of a society, thus lacking uniformity, universality, stability of moral authority, and cross-contextual and conceptual consistency. In contrast, the Islamic ethics - grounded in the ‘Absolute Monotheism’ offer a monotheistic, comprehensive, universal, and timeless and spaceless ethical system applicable across all the universe and domains of life of all species (makhlooq). This research study contributes by refreshing, reminding and retitling Islamic ethics as a coherent analytical ethical theory rather than a purely man-made normative discourse.

Mediated Occidentalism and Muslim Discourse: Al Jazeera's Counter-Narratives to Western Media Hegemony

2026-06-16T06:01:43+00:00

This article examines the evolution of Occidentalism in the twenty-first century by analysing how Al Jazeera, a prominent Muslim-majority media network, constructs counter-narratives that challenge Western media hegemony. While existing scholarship has largely treated Occidentalism as a reactive, elite-driven intellectual discourse, this study demonstrates its transformation into a mass-mediated phenomenon shaped by satellite broadcasting and digital platforms. Employing a qualitative research design that integrates critical discourse analysis and thematic framing, the study examines Al Jazeera's news coverage and social media content across three major event clusters: Western military interventions, Islamophobia in the West, and the Arab Spring uprisings. The findings reveal that Al Jazeera employs systematic framing strategies—foregrounding civilian suffering, prioritising local voices, and critiquing Western moral hypocrisy—that actively construct a mediated Occidentalist discourse. However, these counter-narratives simultaneously risk reinforcing ideological polarisation through echo chambers and selective representation. The study concludes that while alternative media can foster more balanced engagement, strengthening media literacy, responsible journalism, and intercultural dialogue remains essential for reducing ideological divisions. This article contributes to postcolonial media studies by theorising 'mediated Occidentalism' as a distinctive phenomenon of the digital age.

سونا، چاندی اور نقدی کو بطور نصابِ زکوۃ جمع کرنے سے متعلق فقہاء کی آراء کا تجزیاتی مطالعہ An Analytical Study of the Juristic Opinions on Combining Gold, Silver, and Cash for Determining the Niṣāb of Zakāt

2026-06-11T08:55:39+00:00

Zakat is a fundamental pillar of the Islamic economic system and serves as a financial act of worship aimed at promoting social justice, equitable wealth distribution, and economic stability. It ensures the circulation of wealth and contributes to reducing economic disparities within society. Classical Islamic jurisprudence prescribes separate niṣāb (minimum threshold) requirements for different categories of Zakatable assets, including gold, silver, agricultural produce, livestock, and trade goods. However, the emergence of modern financial assets, such as cash, bank deposits, and investment holdings, has raised an important juristic question regarding whether different categories of monetary assets may be combined to determine the niṣāb for Zakat or whether each category must independently attain its prescribed threshold. This study examines the issue through a comparative and analytical analysis of the opinions of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī), together with the views of contemporary jurists. It critically evaluates the textual evidence, juristic reasoning, and legal principles underlying the differing opinions while considering their applicability to contemporary financial realities. The study concludes that gold, silver, and cash share the effective legal cause (ʿillah) of thamāniyyah (monetary value) and may therefore be combined for determining the niṣāb. This approach is more consistent with the objectives of Sharīʿah (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah), facilitates the proper discharge of Zakat obligations, and provides a practical and juristically sound framework for the application of Zakat in the modern financial system.