{ "title": "The Digital Mujtahid: Product Thinking from First Principles", "subtitle": "10 Fatwas for Building Products That Matter — A Product Lead & Mujtahid Playbook", "author": "Jauhari Che Wan", "style": "Playbook Style — Fatwa-Driven Product Development", "dual_mentors": { "PRODUCT_LEAD": "Senior Product Lead — Marty Cagan style. Voice: 'Discovery over delivery. Outcomes over output. Talk to users. Ship to learn.' Frameworks: Continuous Discovery, Jobs-to-be-Done, OKRs, North Star Metric.", "MUJTAHID": "Classical Mujtahid — Usul al-Fiqh method. Voice: 'What is the hukm? What is the daleel? What is the maqsad?' Frameworks: Usul al-Fiqh (Qiyas, Istihsan, Maslaha, Sad al-Dhara'i), Maqasid al-Shariah (Hifz al-Din, Nafs, Aql, Mal, Nasl)." }, "sources": [ "Marty Cagan — Inspired, Empowered", "Teresa Torres — Continuous Discovery Habits", "Al-Shatibi — Al-Muwafaqat (Maqasid Theory)", "Al-Ghazali — Al-Mustasfa (Usul al-Fiqh)", "Ibn Ashur — Maqasid al-Shariah al-Islamiyyah", "Clayton Christensen — Jobs to Be Done", "Andy Grove — High Output Management", "Classical Usul al-Fiqh texts" ], "playbook_format": "Each chapter = 1 Fatwa (Product Decision) → Discovery → Evidence → Shura → Fatwa → Ship → Measure", "chapters": [ { "id": 1, "title": "Fatwa #1: The Problem Statement — What Problem Are We Solving?", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Aql (Preservation of Mind/Clarity) → Jobs-to-be-Done", "framework": "Problem Quadrant: Symptom vs Root Cause / User Pain vs Business Pain / Known vs Unknown", "discovery_prompt": "How do you distinguish a symptom from a root cause? What questions does a Mujtahid ask before issuing a fatwa? What questions does a Product Lead ask before writing a PRD?", "evidence_prompt": "What evidence does a Mujtahid require? What evidence does a Product Lead require? How do you distinguish anecdote from data?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Problem Statement Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (Ruling), Daleel (Evidence), Maqsad (Purpose), Shart (Conditions)." }, { "id": 2, "title": "Fatwa #2: Evidence Gathering — Continuous Discovery as Istiqsa'", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Mal (Preservation of Wealth/Data) → Continuous Discovery Habits", "framework": "Evidence Quadrant: Quantitative / Qualitative / Behavioral / Attitudinal", "discovery_prompt": "What is Istiqsa' (thorough investigation) in Usul al-Fiqh? How does it map to Continuous Discovery? What constitutes 'sufficient evidence' for a fatwa vs a product decision?", "evidence_prompt": "How do you distinguish signal from noise? What is the minimum viable evidence for a fatwa? For an MVP?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does an 'Evidence Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (We have sufficient evidence), Daleel (Sources), Maqsad (Reduce uncertainty), Shart (Confidence threshold)." }, { "id": 3, "title": "Fatwa #3: Stakeholder Consultation — Shura as Discovery", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Karama (Preservation of Dignity) → Stakeholder Voice", "framework": "Shura Quadrant: Users / Team / Business / Regulators", "discovery_prompt": "What is Shura in Usul al-Fiqh? How does it differ from 'stakeholder interviews'? What makes consultation valid vs performative?", "evidence_prompt": "How do you weight conflicting stakeholder input? What is the 'weight of evidence' in Shura vs Product Council?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Shura Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (We have consulted), Daleel (Who, what they said), Maqsad (Dignity preserved), Shart (Dissent recorded)." }, { "id": 4, "title": "Fatwa #4: The Product Decision — The Fatwa as Definition of Done", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Din (Preservation of Purpose) → Definition of Done = Fatwa", "framework": "Decision Quadrant: Reversible vs Irreversible / High Stakes vs Low Stakes / Data-Rich vs Data-Poor", "discovery_prompt": "What makes a fatwa binding? What makes a product decision 'done'? When is a decision reversible vs irreversible (Type 1 vs Type 2)?", "evidence_prompt": "What evidence threshold for a reversible vs irreversible decision? How does a Mujtahid handle uncertainty? How does a Product Lead?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Product Decision Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (We will build X), Daleel (Evidence summary), Maqsad (Outcome), Shart (Success metrics, rollback plan)." }, { "id": 5, "title": "Fatwa #5: Minimum Viable Fatwa — MVP as Minimum Viable Fatwa", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Mal (Preservation of Wealth) → MVP = Minimum Viable Fatwa", "framework": "MVP Quadrant: Viable / Valuable / Usable / Feasible", "discovery_prompt": "What is the 'minimum viable fatwa' in Usul al-Fiqh? How does a Mujtahid issue a conditional fatwa? How does a Product Lead define MVP?", "evidence_prompt": "What is the minimum evidence for a conditional fatwa? What is the minimum feature set for an MVP?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does an 'MVP Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (Ship X with conditions), Daleel (Minimum evidence), Maqsad (Learn fast), Shart (Rollback trigger, success metrics)." }, { "id": 6, "title": "Fatwa #6: Technical Debt — Israf vs Investment", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Mal (Preservation of Wealth) → Technical Debt as Israf", "framework": "Debt Quadrant: Prudent / Reckless / Deliberate / Inadvertent", "discovery_prompt": "What is Israf (waste) in Islamic finance? How does it map to technical debt? When is debt prudent vs reckless?", "evidence_prompt": "How do you measure technical debt? What is the 'interest rate' on technical debt? When is it halal to take on debt?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Technical Debt Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (Accept/Refute/Restructure debt), Daleel (Cost of delay vs cost of fix), Maqsad (Sustainable pace), Shart (Paydown plan, interest cap)." }, { "id": 7, "title": "Fatwa #7: Pricing — Adl (Justice) in Pricing", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Mal (Preservation of Wealth) → Value-Based Pricing as Adl", "framework": "Pricing Quadrant: Cost-Plus / Value-Based / Dynamic / Freemium", "discovery_prompt": "What is Adl (justice) in pricing? What is Ghabn (exploitation)? How does value-based pricing map to Adl?", "evidence_prompt": "How do you measure 'willingness to pay' without exploitation? What is fair profit margin in Islamic finance?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Pricing Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (Price = X), Daleel (Value delivered, cost structure), Maqsad (Sustainable + Just), Shart (No Ghabn, transparent)." }, { "id": 8, "title": "Fatwa #8: Growth Metrics — Barakah vs Vanity Metrics", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Nasl (Preservation of Lineage/Continuity) → Sustainable Growth", "framework": "Growth Quadrant: Acquisition / Activation / Retention / Referral / Revenue (AARRR) → Barakah Filter", "discovery_prompt": "What is Barakah in growth? How does it differ from 'growth at all costs'? What metrics have Barakah?", "evidence_prompt": "How do you measure retention with Barakah? What is 'churn' in spiritual terms? What metrics survive the Barakah filter?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Growth Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (Target metric = X), Daleel (Leading indicators), Maqsad (Sustainable, compounding), Shart (No dark patterns, Barakah filter)." }, { "id": 9, "title": "Fatwa #9: Team Organization — Shura at Scale", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Nasl (Preservation of Community) → Squad Shura", "framework": "Org Quadrant: Functional / Cross-Functional / Squad / Guild / Chapter", "discovery_prompt": "What is Shura at scale? How did the Prophet organize the Ummah? How does Spotify model map to Shura?", "evidence_prompt": "What makes a squad autonomous? What is the 'fatwa authority' of a Product Lead vs Engineering Lead?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Team Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (Squad structure = X), Daleel (Cognitive load, Conway's Law), Maqsad (Autonomy + Alignment), Shart (Shura cadence, decision rights)." }, { "id": 10, "title": "Fatwa #10: Legacy Product — Sadaqah Jariyah as Compound Impact", "subtitle": "Maqasid: Hifz al-Din (Preservation of Purpose) → Sadaqah Jariyah Product", "framework": "Legacy Loop: Create → Ship → Measure → Compound → Endow → Teach", "discovery_prompt": "What is Sadaqah Jariyah? How does a product become Sadaqah Jariyah? What products outlive their creators?", "evidence_prompt": "What products have compound impact? What is the 'interest rate' on product impact? How do you measure generational impact?", "fatwa_prompt": "What does a 'Legacy Fatwa' look like? Format: Hukm (Build for perpetuity), Daleel (Compound impact evidence), Maqsad (Sadaqah Jariyah), Shart (Open source, teachable, endowable)." } ] }