سد الذرائع حقيقته ونماذج من تطبيقاته المعاصرة

Today’s world is a global village. Societies affect each other far deeper and faster than ever. New problems are sprouting with every coming day. We feel that the cultural issues are the most significant ones in this context. The question is how we should deal with these problems. To us, the solution lies in the concept of Sadd al-Dharā’i‘(prevention), one of the instruments of Sharī‘ah (Islamic Law). Such is its importance as all the four schools of thought are of the same opinion about its scope. A cultural change if drives Muslims away from the objectives of Sharī‘ah, it will have to be stopped or altered to suit the objectives, but if it leads to something good without damaging the objectives of Sharī‘ah, it will be accepted. New problems are multifarious. We need to bring ijtihād into practice and solve such problems. This research article discusses the concept of Sadd al-Dharā’i‘(prevention.), its meaning, definition, and scope. It also discusses different opinions of scholars. The author of this paper, then, deliberates its use for its applications to solve the new problems being faced by the Muslims across the world.

Implementing Discussion As an Instructional Strategy to Facilitate Students Learning in a Social Studies Classroom in Pakistan

The national curriculum for social studies (2002) states that like most countries of the world, the purpose of teaching social studies in Pakistan is citizenship education. It also recommends teachers to use innovative ways of teaching such as, activity-based approach, question-answer strategy, discussion and others; which could enable students to be active and democratic citizens of Pakistan. However, in real practice most of the social studies classes are based on the teacher's lecturing or dictating notes. These strategies serve transmission and learning of the content, but do not facilitate development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for democratic citizenship. This small scale action research is an attempt to improve my practices of the strategies of discussion in order to facilitate students in their learning of social studies. In this study, I played the dual role of a teacher and an action researcher. The data was collected through observation, reflective journals and informal talks with the principal, with the teacher and the students. The findings suggested that it takes time for a teacher to become proficient in conducting effective discussions. It indicated that lack of discussion skills and lack of sufficient background knowledge of the topics discussed could affect students' participation in discussion. Teacher's questioning and creating a nonthreatening environment are facets that further improve students' participation. Furthermore, it was found that discussion develops students' thinking, communication skills such as, active listening and agreeing or disagreeing in a constructive manner. On the basis of these findings, recommendations are drawn to suggest teachers and schools to effectively implement the discussion strategy in their classrooms.