SHARED WORDS, DIFFERENT WORLDS: DEFINITIONAL DRIFT IN CONTEMPORARY ISLAMIC LAW

Abstract

This paper introduces the concept of definitional drift—a form of semantic misalignment in which scholars and lay Muslims use the same jurisprudential terms but imagine different objects. Whereas classical fiqh assumed semantic stability and employed principles such as ʿurf (custom) and zaman (temporal context) to preserve relevance, contemporary conditions reveal simultaneous, competing definitions within a single community. This study makes three contributions. First, it formally distinguishes definitional drift from classical ʿurf, framing it as a synchronic divergence rather than a diachronic adaptation. Second, it empirically demonstrates this phenomenon through a small exploratory survey of 60 Muslims, which probes their perceptions of music and nasheed. The results show that lay classifications are guided not by traditional fiqh categories but by cultural aesthetics, sonic form, and performer identity, leading to rulings that are formally sound yet porous in practice. Third, it proposes a methodological response: revitalizing ʿurf through empirical tools, adopting function-based rather than form-based definitions, and institutionalizing semantic diligence within fatwā bodies. By naming and theorizing definitional drift, the paper provides an original framework for understanding why certain rulings fail to bind and outlines concrete pathways for re-anchoring contemporary fiqh in the lived semantic realities of Muslims.