An exploration of students’ knowledge and understanding of Istihalah

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of understanding of Muslim students about Istihalah. It compares the understanding of students of various departments about Istihalah and changes in their knowledge after a workshop. Design/methodology/approach The study is conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a comparison is made between students of three departments: Islamic studies, business studies and food sciences. These departments were selected using purposive sampling. In the second phase, students with a lack of awareness about Istihalah were given a one-day training workshop on the concept of Istihalah. Data were collected through a personally administrated questionnaire. Findings The results of the first phase revealed that students from business studies and food sciences were not familiar with the concept and application of Istihalah, whereas students from Islamic studies were well-aware of it. The findings of the second phase revealed that after the provision of training (workshop), students were at par with the students of Islamic studies. All the students were further willing to know about Istihalah and its implications in their personal and professional lives. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is to highlight the area where information about Islamic concepts should be disseminated and applied.