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Islamic Fiqh Academy (India)

Ateeque Ahmad Bastawi, Ubaidullah Asadi, Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, and Abdullah Maroofi (from right to left) at the 34th Fiqhi Seminar of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (India), held in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, in 2025
Ateeque Ahmad Bastawi, Ubaidullah Asadi, Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, and Abdullah Maroofi (from right to left) at the 34th Fiqhi Seminar of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (India), held in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, in 2025 Image: Wikimedia Commons. Khaatir / CC BY 4.0

The Islamic Fiqh Academy (India) (IFA), commonly referred to as Islamic Fiqh Academy India, is an institution devoted to the study, research and interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). It functions as a scholarly body that examines contemporary issues facing Muslims through the framework of classical Islamic legal sources, and issues collective opinions of scholars on matters referred to it.

Key Facts
Name Islamic Fiqh Academy (India)
Abbreviation IFA
Type Academy for the study of Islamic jurisprudence
Country India
Field Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Islamic legal research

Overview

The Academy brings together ulama (Islamic scholars) and specialists to deliberate on questions arising from modern life that require a jurisprudential response. Its work spans areas such as commercial transactions, finance, family law, medical ethics and social practice, examined in light of the Qur'an, Sunnah and the established schools of Islamic law.

Activities

The Academy's principal activities are scholarly rather than political or administrative. They typically include:

  • Convening seminars and juristic conferences (fiqhi seminars) at which scholars present and debate research papers on assigned themes.
  • Issuing collective resolutions and recommendations representing the consensus or majority view of participating scholars.
  • Publishing research papers, proceedings and reference works in Urdu, Arabic and English.
  • Engaging with questions referred by individuals, institutions and the wider Muslim community.

Significance

The Academy occupies a notable place among Indian Muslim scholarly institutions because it focuses specifically on collective ijtihad — the joint deliberation of scholars on new questions — rather than on general religious instruction. Its resolutions are consultative in nature and are referred to by religious bodies, researchers and individuals seeking guidance on contemporary matters of Islamic law in the Indian context.

References