Introduction

The existing writings on media fiqh can be counted on one hand. One of these books is Media Fiqh, which is the result of the advanced jurisprudence lessons of Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Mehdi Taeb. Below is a brief report on the content presented in this book.

Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Mehdi Taeb is one of the instructors of advanced jurisprudence lessons on media fiqh at the Qom Seminary. The outcomes of his advanced lessons on media fiqh have been published in a two-volume book titled Media Fiqh. These lessons were delivered from 14/7/1387 (October 5, 2008) to 11/11/1388 (February 1, 2010) at Beit al-Taeb, the Hosseiniyeh of Martyr Haj Hossein Taeb.

The book Media Fiqh consists of three chapters, with each chapter containing 2 to 9 discourses. Since the second volume of this book is not available, the content of the first volume is summarized below.

Chapter One: Establishment, Management, and Planning of Media

In the first chapter of the book, the establishment, management, and planning of media are addressed from a jurisprudential perspective. This chapter discusses the ruling on establishing media, who should jurisprudentially manage media, and the conditions that media personnel must meet.

Discourses of Chapter One

Discourse One: Reasons for the Obligation of Establishing Media

In the first discourse, the author discusses whether there is evidence in Sharia for the obligation of establishing media.

Discourse Two: Media Management

The second discourse seeks to answer whether media management is necessary at all. If the answer is affirmative, the subsequent question arises: who is responsible for appointing the manager, and what are their duties and authorities?

Chapter Two: Ruling on Media Content

In this chapter, the author aims to address questions such as: What is impermissible in media content? What are the limiting factors regarding the content of communication tools? According to the author, the first limitation in media is lying. He then discusses the differences between lying and similar concepts such as exaggeration, equivocation, and slander.

Discourses of Chapter Two

Discourse One: Lying

This discourse addresses various definitions of lying and distinguishes it from equivocation and dubious news.

Discourse Two: Exaggeration

Exaggeration is a common issue in media. In this discourse, the author discusses the difference between exaggeration and lying.

Discourse Three: Equivocation

This discourse discusses the difference between lying and equivocation and examines equivocation in verses and narrations.

Discourse Four: Slander

The fourth discourse addresses the difference between lying and slander and examines the jurisprudential ruling on slander in verses and narrations.

Chapter Three: Use of Women in Media

In this chapter, questions regarding the jurisprudential ruling on the use of women in media are addressed, such as whether media outlets have the right to use women’s images, and if so, what are the Sharia conditions? At the end of this chapter, the status of women in Western philosophical thought is discussed.

Discourse One: The Status of Women from the Perspective of Islam

In this discourse, the author, citing verses, narrations, and the conduct of the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.), seeks to elucidate the status of women from an Islamic perspective.

Discourse Two: Testimony of Women

Since one of the significant misconceptions about women’s rights is the perceived lesser value of their testimony compared to men’s, the author raises this question and provides responses.

Discourse Three: Women’s Inheritance

The third discourse addresses the issue of men’s inheritance share being double that of women. The author cites narrations from Sheikh Tusi’s Tahdhib and, after examining their authenticity, discusses them from a semantic perspective.

Discourse Four: Women Attending Mosques

The fourth discourse addresses the issue of the undesirability or lesser preference of women’s presence in mosques, examining the evidence for this ruling.

Discourse Five: Women’s Blood Money

To address why there is a difference between the blood money of women and men, the author first presents a rational argument and then provides an extensive discussion on narrations related to this Sharia ruling.

Discourse Six: The Ruling on Hijab in Islam

The author begins by stating that the obligation of hijab for women is an indisputable principle in Islam, then discusses the ruling on mandating hijab for women in public spaces, citing various verses and narrations, particularly from Kitab al-Kafi.

Discourse Seven: The Ruling on Makeup

This discourse is dedicated to examining the jurisprudential ruling on women’s makeup for mahram and non-mahram men.

Discourse Eight: Women’s Presence in Transactions

The eighth discourse raises the issue of the undesirability of women’s presence in transactions and the lesser preference for transacting with them, discussing the customary and jurisprudential reasons for this.

Discourse Nine: The Ruling on Hearing Women’s Voices

One of the most significant topics in this book is the ruling on hearing women’s voices in media, discussed in two sections: choral singing and solo singing.