THE CONCEPT OF IJARA IN ISLAM AND ITS ROLE IN THE REGULATION OF SOCIAL RELATIONS

Abstract

This article examines the issues related to the lease agreement in Islamic social and legal relations. A substantial aspect of studying this topic is the possibility of solving urgent problems associated with social and legal relations concerning rental issues. In the scientific article, the lexical meaning of the word “Ijara” (rent or lease) is considered from the standpoint of semantics. A definition is given from the encyclopedic and linguistic dictionaries and other sources. Based on scientific analysis, the article examines and compares the meanings of the term according to Islamic law based on the opinion of the mujtahids of the Hanafi madhhab and jurists representing other madhhabs of ahl as­sunna wa­l­jama’a. It also provides evidence of the admissibility of a lease under Sharia law. The decisions and arguments of scholars who claim that a lease is unacceptable under Sharia were studied in detail. Purpose. Analysis of information on a lease agreement in Islamic legal sources and scientific substantiation of its legal basis. Methods. We used such methods as an integrated approach, systemic, historical, comparative­criti cal, source study, and general research methods. Results. The research and comparative analysis of explanatory, lexical, encyclopedic dictionaries and legal sources on the lexical meaning of the term “rent” are carried out. We have established that the dictionary meaning of the term “Ijara” (rent or lease) means “wages for a certain action.” We conducted a comparative study of the scientific and terminological meaning of rent based on fiqh sources belonging to the Hanafi school and other madhhabs of ahl as­sunna wa­l­jama’a. Therefore, its scientific and terminological meaning is to give or receive something for temporary use for a certain amount of money and hire a person to do some work for a certain amount of money. The article pays special attention to highlighting the issue of istihsan, even though the lease agreement is fixed in the Sharia, the verses of the Koran, hadith, and the consensus of the ummah (union of scholars). Hanafi jurists widely used the istihsan method in solving problems related to social relations.