Baber Johansen

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his theoretical approach is entirely based on his analysis of the forms of
the norms that regulate the cult.
Bousquet names two criteria that, according to his approach, distinguish
Islamic ÝibÁdÁt from the cult of other religions: 1. Other religions are not
concerned solely, or even principally, with carrying out the divine will; 50
2. The cult of other religions serves the purpose of bringing the believer
closer to God, whereas, it seems, Islamic ÝibÁdÁt are not able to do that
because they insist too much on the commands of God.
There is little doubt that fiqh construes acts of worship as one-sided
obligations. 51 But—much as in other monotheistic religions—the
performance of these obligations by the believers is meant "to bring the
believers closer to the divine and in contact with it." While the Muslim
believers aim at "carrying out the divine will" they strive through their
acts of worship to come closer to God and to be rewarded by Him. The
jurists explicitly and over centuries teach that human "acts of nearness
with God" (qurba) and "acts of approaching" (taqarrub) God will bring
the actors closer to God. This tenet has its origin in the QurÞÁn, Sura 9
(al-Tawba), verse 99:
Yet some Arabs of the desert believe in God and the Last
Day, and regard what they give as a means of bringing them
closer to God (qurubÁtin ‘inda llÁhi) and the blessings of
the Prophet. This is certainly a means of achieving nearness
for them (qurbatun lahum) (to God), and God will admit
them to His mercy, for God is forgiving and kind.
Legal methodologies (uÒÙl al-fiqh) and the positive law (furÙÝ al-fiqh) of
all four Sunnī law schools of the eleventh century integrate the discussion
of qurba and taqarrub into the divine command theory of the law. Three
of the Sunnī law schools hold that acts which fulfill the criteria of qurba
and taqarrub distinguish those acts of the Prophet that are considered
obligatory commands for the believers from other acts of the Prophet.