An Analytical Study on the Classification of Rights in Islamic Law

Abstract

There are intensive discussions on the concept of right that is one of the most basic concepts of today's judicial systems and rights are subjected to detailed classifications from different angles. In the Continental European judicial system, rights are first placed in a dual distinction as public and private, and a general and common understanding is adopted that public rights emerge from public law and private rights from private law. Although it is one of the important central concepts of Islamic law, this concept has not been dealt with regularly and in a holistic manner under separate titles in classical fiqh works. It has been handled in different areas of fiqh, in proportion to its relevance to the issue and in a scattered manner. Also, in these works, all types and sub-types of the concept of right have not been subject to general classifications by stating the relations among them. It is seen that the few qualified studies carried out in this regard in the contemporary period are not at a level to fill the gap in this field. The aim of this study is to make a general and holistic classification of the types of rights, which are dealt with in a scattered way in the classical and contemporary literature, as well as revealing the relations and connections between them as much as possible. In addition, in this study, some determinations and suggestions about where modern human rights can be included in the general rights classification, which have not been emphasized in the classical literature but have become very important today.