About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

52 Phil. L.J. 374 (1977)
The General Nature of Islamic Law and Its Application in the Philippines

handle is hein.journals/philplj52 and id is 386 raw text is: THE GENERAL NATURE OF ISLAMIC LAW AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE PHILIPPINES * CESAR ADIB MAJUL ** First of all, I would like to thank Director Froilan M. Bacufigan of the U.P. Law Center and the Planning Committee of the Commission on Bar Integration of the Supreme Court, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the U.P. Law Center for this singular honor of addressing you as the eighth lecturer in honor of former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. I do not believe that I can be equal to the occasion for the reason that I am neither a lawyer nor an expert in Islamic jurisprudence. Probably, I was invited to address you because I happened to be appointed as Chair- man of the Presidential Commission which drafted the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines. This work, with minor amendments in its administrative provisions, was signed into law by President Marcos on February 4, 1977 as Presidential Decree No. 1083. It is probable, likewise, that the President appointed me Chairman of that Commission because I am the Dean of the Institute of Islamic Studies, Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, University of the Philippines, and because I have written a great deal on the history and institutions of the Muslims in the Philippines. Moreover, in my own way, as a student of Islam and its institutions for the last so many years, I have gained an acquaintance, albeit modest, with the nature and genesis of Islamic law. Every student of Islamics, by the nature of the courses he has to study, cannot but be exposed to the basic elements of Islamic law and jurisprudence. Every Muslim child, even in the elemen- tary level of the Islamic school or madrasah, is likewise exposed to these elements. And the faithful is similarly exposed, as nearly every sermon (khutbah) delivered in the Friday congregational prayers touches on aspects of the law and jurisprudence of Islam. The reason is that the Shari'a or Islamic Holy Law, unlike law in the Western sense, covers practically every aspect of the life of the Muslim individual as well as that of his community. It is no exaggeration to say that a person cannot truly understand Islam unless he has a good background in Islamic law. Islamic law covers all actions a Muslim is obliged to do, obliged to refrain from, and recommended or not recommended to do. It also provides for those actions, called • Delivered by the author as the eighth lecturer (Ricardo Paras Lecturer) in P series jointly sponsored by the Commission on Bar Integration of the Supreme Court. the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the U.P. Law Center in honor of former Chief Justices of the Philippines on September 24, 1977. • * Dean, Institute of Islamic Studies, Philippine Center for Advanced Studies. University of the Philippines and Chairman of the Presidential Commission which drafted the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most