In pursuit of strengthening the study of religious Islamic laws, the kin of Pangcoga from Tugaya town in Lanao del Sur province has built sturdy ties with the National Book Development Board-Philippines (NBDBP) and some publishers such as the Xavier University (XU) Press to lead the launch of the first-ever Islamic Law Dictionary in the country during the Philippine Book Festival kickoff in Davao City.
A book was written to include a glossary of legal terms deemed beneficial in the appropriate dissection of the provisions of Shari’ah. The primary author of this work was the late Haron Pangcoga, a Shari'ah lawyer and professor at the Mindanao State University (MSU) Main Campus in Marawi City.
Tugaya Municipal Tourism Officer (MTO) Walid Pangcoga, the writer’s son, emphasized that the dictionary would be a valuable asset for individuals who are into Shari’ah studies as the book outlines clear definitions and explanations of complex terms using Arabic and English languages, making the subject intelligible.
He said it would also aid the students, scholars, and practitioners in understanding the relevant details and their applications.
With the noble contents of the dictionary, MTO Pangcoga believed that this would significantly address the crucial need for legal resources.
He recalled that as a professor from the MSU-Main Campus, his father used to have a strong desire to teach and provide an accessible understanding of legal terms by bridging the gap between traditional Islamic laws and contemporary legal discussions.
MTO Pangcoga revealed that they considered compiling this first book a significant challenge given the need to balance rigorous research, cultural sensitivity, and authorial skill with language accuracy and legal precision.
“Kailangan din ng dedication (Dedication is also needed) in maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and relevance of this book,” he said.
This was identified by the dictionary's consultant and editor, Ustad Nor Jamal Batugan, who revealed that the manuscript had to go through four stages to achieve their goal of improving the dictionary's readability and integrity, such as entry validation, retransliteration of Arabic terms, bias mitigation of definitions, and re-organization so that everything would eventually fit into its proper and legitimate space.
Accordingly, a few notable terms highlighted by the book include the fatwa, which refers to a religious ruling, and ijma, which stands for consensus in Islamic jurisprudence.
Following the successful unveiling of their father’s work, daughter Rohaida Pangcoga-Gunting, who is a researcher under the MSU-Main Campus Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, Extension, and Development (OCVRED), expressed her overwhelming excitement and sense of gratitude, seeing that the author could continue teaching despite not existing already in this material world.
“Writing a book and seeing it come to life is a dream come true for any author. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. I hope this book brings joy and enlightenment to all who read it,” she said.
NBDBP Executive Director Charisse Aquino Tugade was also elated as she emphasized that this is pivotal only to the remaining Pangcoga family and to the community and Shari’ah practitioners.
She looked forward to having more manuscripts, saying that they need to see the representation of Muslims everywhere since not the entire populace around the country knows about them.
“We want to make sure that your culture is highlighted because it is the only culture in the Philippines that is still intact. That is exciting for me,” said Tugade.
J&F Publication President Jovita De Jesus, on the other hand, was delighted to tell the public of the timeliness of the launching of the first-ever Islamic Law Dictionary, anticipating that a Manila International Book Fair, which is the largest book fair in the Philippines, will also happen on September 14 to 17 this year.
She promised to promote the recently introduced book during the said event.
For now, the first-ever Islamic Law Dictionary can be availed from the XU Press official website www.xu.edu.ph/xu-press, or through the physical store of NZP Invitations located at H&H Arcade in Brgy. Basak Malutlut in Marawi City. (CRG/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)
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