“The word ‘fiqh’, when used in Arabic in the form of ‘faqiha yafqahu’, that is, in the fourth category, means ’to know, to understand’. When it is used in the fifth category, it means ‘to know, to understand Islam’. A scholar in ’ilm al-fiqh is called Faqîh. ’Ilm al-fiqh deals with the actions which people should do and those which they should not do. The knowledge of Fiqh is obtained from the Qur’ân al-kerîm, from hadîth-i-sherîfs, from Ijmâ’, and from Qiyâs. The consensus of the as-Sahâbat al-kirâm, and the mujtahids who came after them, is called ijmâ’ al-Umma. The Islamic teachings derived from the Qur’ân al-kerîm, from hadîth-i-sherîfs, and from the ijmâ’ al-Umma, are called Qiyâs al-fuqahâ. If it could not be understood from the Qur’ân al-kerîm or from hadîth-i-sherîfs whether a certain act was halâl (permitted) or harâm (forbidden), then that act was compared to another act which was known. This comparison was called qiyâs (analogy). Applying qiyâs required the latter act to involve the same factor which made the former act permitted or forbidden. And this could be judged only by those profound scholars who had attained the grade of ijtihâd.

According to historians, the Prophet entered the cave at the Sawr Mountain towards evening on Thursday, 27th of Safar, 622 A. C. , on his emigration from al-Makkat al-Mukarrama to al-Madînat al-Munawwara. He left the cave on Monday night and entered Qubâ, a quarter near Medina, on Monday, 8th of Rabî’al-awwal (20th of September, 622). The beginning of the Hijrî Shamsî calendar adopted by the Shî’ites is six months before this. That is, the Nawruz festival of the Mejûsî disbelievers (fire worshippers) begins on March 20th. This happy day became the beginning of Muslims’ Hijrî shamsî calendar. On Thursday, day and night were equal, and he left Qubâ and entered Medina on Friday. The outset of the month of Muharram in the same year (Friday, 16th of June) was accepted as the beginning of Hijrî qamarî calendar. The Hijrî shamsî year coinciding with any Western new year’s day is 622 years less than that Western new year. And the Western year coinciding with any Hijrî shamsî year’s day is 621 more than that Hijrî shamsî new year.