Abstract
“The Concept of Haq in Islamic and Western Law” Haq (the Right) is a widely used word, however, the definition and its nature has been a point of in-depth discussion in the academia discourse. The early Muslim jurists did not engage with defining the term or its philosophical nature in such a depth, because of which the contemporary Muslim scholars have attempted to do so. Since the concept of Haq as philosophically understood by the western scholars and jurists has taken quite a hold, therefore, the academic discourse in the western world has immensely contributed to the technical and philosophical understanding of Haq. In light of which, I felt there is an immense need to present the discussions from the Islamic juristic tradition and to take a comparative study with the western discourse. In this article, I will be presenting the definition(s) of Haq, the understanding of the four major juristic Imams and experts of Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence). Then I will mention what the contemporary Muslim scholars and western jurists have penned on the matter, followed by a comparative study of the Islamic law and the Western law in light of the discussion on the definition and nature of Haq (the Right).
