Tracing the Shari`a foundation of the Concept of Citizenship and its Influence on the Inference of Rulings

Abstract

Dealing with the issues of homeland is often considered as something new in the reality of local people, and many view it as one of the contemporary issues arising from the concept of modern state. However, the in-depth study of such issues shows that the concept of homeland and citizenship is an authentic concept in Islamic thought, as it is supported by textual evidence from Quran and Sunnah, as well as the general purposes of the glorious Shari`a.

The current study aims at clarifying the concept of citizenship from Shari`a perspective, showing the Shari`a roots of this concept through Shari`a sources agreed upon among the nation' scholars and then building on the purpose vision in Islamic legislation. It also aims at contributing to the consolidation of the meaning of belonging to the homeland that cares for and protects a person while alive, and embraces him dead under its soil.