The issues in Fiqh are classified and placed under certain categories in both Sunni and Shi'ah Muslim schools of Fiqh. Such classification brought, in its wake, significant changes in Fiqh. Some of them are as follows:

The Classification of Sunni Fiqh'

The most popular and oldest classification in Sunni Fiqh is the classification of the issues of Fiqh into worship ('ibadat) and contracts and social obligation (Mu'amilat).

In his 'ihya' al- 'ulum, Ghazzali, in reconstructing the old classification of the issues of Fiqh, established a new foundation, which, later on, greatly impacted the study of Fiqh.

Ghazzali divided all the issues of Fiqh into four groups. (a) Acts of worship ('ibadat), acts that bring salvation munjiyyat, the acts that cause destruction Mahlikat, and those that are certain means, adat.

He further classified them on the basis of this classification as follows: worship, social obligations, matrimonial (munakihat) and crimes (jinayat).

The following assumption is basis for this classification. The issues of Fiqh related to the celestial world fall under the category of worship. If they are related to the temporal world and concerns human relations, they fall under the category of social obligations, and if they concern the protection of humanity they are of matrimonial. If they affect the welfare of individuals and society they fall under crimes. 52

There are two trends in classification of the issues of Fiqh among the contemporary Sunni scholars of Fiqh.

A) Return to the traditional classification of Fiqh that does not require any further classification. It covers the rules for individual, social and governmental issues. The civil issues, fundamental rights, international issues, etc., all of them fall under the category of social obligations (Mu'amilat). 53

B) Reconstruction of the issues of Fiqh in the light of the following legal classifications such as, family laws, civil laws, criminal laws, fundamental rights, finance and economic laws, and international laws. 54