Shari'Ah in the 21st Century

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Shari'ah in the 21st Century

Written by Shabina KhanMonday, 20 July 2009 16:12

Mainly viewed as another synonym for brutal oppression' and backwardness', the termShari'ah' is one of the most widely used and abused terms in the current western discourse onthe Muslim world. This notion of Shari'ah currently prevails across the world mainly due to theintense focus it has been given by the western governments and the media. It is even echoedby the media and the ruling elite in the Muslim lands. This is all happening at a time when thenumber of Muslims yearning for the implementation of Shari'ah in their lands is on the increase.This desire to live under Shari'ah reflects the Muslim Ummah's growing understanding of the

obligation to have every aspect of their lives governed by the laws of their Creator. It is thereforeimperative to have a clear understanding of the nature of Shari'ah and how it is to beimplemented.

Shari'ah and its Applicability for all Times

Linguistically, the word Shari'ah means a never-ending source of water from which peoplequench their thirst. This meaning is of great significance to the term Shari'ah in the context ofIslam where it refers to the body of rules derived from the legislative sources of Islam (i.e. theQur'an and the Sunnah) that covers every action performed by an individual or a society. Henceit deals with the relationship between Man and Allah , Man and HMan and Man. It therefore covers every aspect of human life be it related to morality,

cleanliness, ritual worships, economics or politics. Just as water is vital for life, the Shari'ah isessential for guiding humanity.

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Unlike man-made systems devised by human beings who are limited in their abilities and arevery much influenced by their own needs and the prevailing situations of their time, the Islamic

Shari'ah is from the Creator of mankind who is without any such limitations. For this reason, thesystem of life given by Him addresses human beings in accordance with their natural makeuptaking into account their instincts and organic needs. Whatever the time and place, the nature ofa human being remains the same in this respect. His innate needs, such as the need for food,clothing, shelter or the instinctual need for survival, justice and security remain constantthroughout time. Also, regardless of whether a human being is living in the 7th century, 14thcentury or the 21st century, the relationships he/she formulates will fall under the threecategories previously mentioned (i.e. Man and Creator , Man and Man and Man). Since the Shari'ah covers these three aspects of life, it treats the affairs ofhuman beings in their entirety without leaving anything to conjecture. Allah

says,

"And (remember) the Day when We shall raise up from every nation a witness against them from amongst themselves. And We shall bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these. And We have sent down to you the Book as an exposition of everything, a

guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves." (An-Nahl,16:89)

This is very different to philosophies of life that emanate from minds of human beings. Anexample is that of John Stuart Mill, the famous nineteenth century champion of freedom, whocalled for experiments of living'. He wrote,

As it is useful that while mankind are imperfect there should be different opinions, so is it that there should be different experiments of living; that free scope should be given to varieties of character, short of injury to others; and that the worth of different modes of life should be proved practically, when any one thinks fit to try them.' On Liberty (1859).

The idea here, being that people need to experiment with different modes of living in order tofind out how to improve human lives. In Islam, there is no such need for a trial and error

approach since the mode of living is prescribed by the Creator of Mankind who is All Knowing,All Hearing. His Shari'ah is applicable for all time since, unlike His creation, His knowledge is

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neither restricted to a set period in time, nor is it influenced by political, social or economicconditions of a certain time.

Moreover, the legislative sources from which Shari'ah rules are derived possess certaincharacteristics such as the following that give them relevancy for all time.

1. The Qu'ran and Sunnah combined are viewed as a legal text that allows the Mujtahid toderive rules for issues not mentioned directly in the text based upon a valid methodology. Forexample, Allah says,

"Then if they suckle (children) for you, give them their recompense" (at-Talaaq, 65:6)

This ayah states that payment should be made for breastfeeding. However, from the text thefollowing rules or principles can be derived: Payment is extended to any hired employee suchas a government employee or a labourer in a factory. Also, the wage had to be defined in the

contract and employees should receive their wage without any delay upon fulfilling contractualobligations.

2. The text in many cases provides an illah (legal reason) that make it possible for the Mujtahidto extract rules for other cases that share the same illah. An example is the ayah,

"O you who believe, when the call is proclaimed for the prayer on Friday, come to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you if you did but know." (Jumu'a, 62:9)

This ayah is telling the believers that trade is forbidden when the adhan is called for the ju'mah

prayer. The illah here is distraction from prayer'. In accordance with the illah, any activity thatacts as an obstacle to a person praying the ju'mah prayer is forbidden. There exist however,

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specific guidelines for recognizing the illah mentioned in the text implicitly or explicitly.

3. The text sometimes includes specific phrases which make the text relevant for all times. Allah,says

"And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride as an adornment. And He creates things of which you have no knowledge." (An-Nahl, 16:8)

The ayah lists some animals as being halal to use as a means for transportation and as objectsof adornment. However, the meaning of the ayah includes any means of transportation thatcould be developed and this understanding is taken from the last part of the ayah.

Shari'ah: A Value Based System

The aim of the Shari'ah rules is to achieve the protection of human life, mind, human dignity,private property, religion, security and state. It does this by establishing a set of values forMuslims to live in accordance with. These values (along with the rules and punishments thatprotect these values in society) have the ability to deal with all kinds of societal problems suchas crime, family breakdown, oppression of women and so on. To highlight this point further, abrief comparison will be made with the current values that are put forward by many as the onlyway forward for humanity, namely the liberal concept of freedom and the values of individualismthat emanate from it.

In the western liberal societies, priority is given to the individual at the expense of the widersociety. This has lead to the formation of a culture obsessed with individual freedom where theself-indulging mindset has been the cause of various social ills in society such as familybreakdown or fatherless families' as termed by some. Rebecca O'Neill (2002) in her study onfatherless families writes,

In the 1970s and 1980s many people argued that the traditional family - based upon a married

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biological father and mother and their children - was outdated. Under the guise of freedom of choice', self-fulfillment', and equal respect for all kinds of families', feminists and social rebels led a campaign to experiment with different family structures. Sometimes it was claimed that women and children did not need men, and were, in fact, often better off without them. On

occasion it was said that families were not breaking down, they were just changing; that the most important thing for children was their parents' happiness and self-fulfillment; and that children were resilient and would suffer few negative effects of divorce and family disruption....As the idea that mothers and children did not need fathers took hold, many social and legal supports for marriage weakened. Some mothers and children were simply abandoned. Some fathers were pushed away.'

Justice Coleridge, the judge in charge of family courts across South West England depicted the

following dismal picture of family life in the UK in a speech given to family lawyers from theorganisation "Resolution",

A large number of families now consist of children being brought up by mothers who have children by a number of different fathers, none of whom take any part in their lives or support or upbringing...These are not isolated one-off cases. They are part of the stock-in-trade of the family courts...Almost all society's ills can be traced directly to the collapse of family life.' (2008)

The collapse of family life is the product of a culture in which the values of freedom of choice'and individualism' become the sole values of a society. Marriage becomes a burden laden withresponsibility, commitment and loyalty which naturally curb on a person's freedom. Variousstudies conducted in the UK such as the annual study by management consultants GrantThornton show that extra-marital affairs topped the list on the main causes for divorce. Insteadof finding happiness and self-fulfillment,' surveys have shown that when compared to twoparent families, lone mothers were poorer, more likely to suffer from stress, depression andother psychological problems, have more health problems and may have more problems

interacting with their children. The impact on children has been far from a few negative effects'.

As Justice Coleridge said in his speech, "... I am not saying every broken family produces dysfunctional children but I am saying that almost every dysfunctional child is the product of a broken family." Quite understandably, a report by social policy charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation stated that, "People are concerned about the way our society has become more individualistic, greedy and selfish, seemingly at a cost to our sense of community." (2008).

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In Islam, individualism is replaced with the mentality of responsibility towards others. TheProphet said,

"Beware! Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible and answerable forhis flock. The leader and the ruler is a shepherd over the people and shall be questionedabout his subjects (as to how he conducted their affairs); a man is a guardian over hisfamily and shall be questioned about them (as to how he looked after their physical andmoral well-being); a woman is the guardian over the household of her husband and hischildren and shall be questioned about them (as to how she managed the household andbrought up the children); a servant is the shepherd of his master's property and shall bequestioned about it (as to how he safeguarded his trust). Beware! Every one of you is aguardian and every one of you shall be questioned with regards to his trust." (Bukhari

and Muslim).

Hence, once applied at societal level, the Shari'ah promotes the idea of "strong marriages","motherhood", "fatherhood", "rights and responsibilities of parents" and "rights andresponsibilities of children". It does this by building a mindset of accountability towards theCreator from which values such as chastity, loyalty in marriage, and a sense of responsibilitytowards others and for one's actions arise. These values along with the Shari'ah rules regardingthe dress codes for men and women, segregation of the sexes and the prohibition and

punishments for fornication, adultery and slander against the reputation of an individual, aim toensure the formation of a harmonious environment where children and their parents alike aresecure in their knowledge of their rights and responsibilities towards each other. This in turnleads to development of trust and respect between them. Unlike a society based on the conceptof freedom and individualism where individuals are given preference over the community, theShari'ah promotes a society in which harmony, safety and respect for the community at largeare of utmost importance. It does this by promoting and protecting values that are in sharpcontrast to the western liberal values.

Partial Implementation of Shari'ah

The ever increasing call by Muslims for the implementation of Shari'ah baffles those in thenon-Muslim world who are constantly fed with images by the media of barbaric acts of tortureand cruelty committed in its name. The current situation in Muslim countries where Shari'ah ispartially implemented no doubt provides plenty of food for the media. Numerous examples arequoted of how in Nigeria unmarried girls and widows or divorced women who get pregnant even

by rape, are flogged or sentenced to death by stoning.

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In Pakistan hundreds of women are jailed under adultery and blasphemy laws. Recently, in theMalakand Division and Kohistan District of Pakistan some changes have been made to the

judicial system which has publicly been reported as implementation of Shari'ah in the region.The makeshift Shari'ah courts are shown to swiftly order lashes and death sentences for thoseseen to be violating the law.

Ziba Mir Hosseini, author of Islam and Gender, said in an interview given toWomenagainstShari'ah.com, "We do not have in modern times any state which has introduced Shari'ah and has been able to respect women's rights."

What people like Hosseini fail to understand is that it is the selective implementation of Shari'ahas well as lack of knowledge of how and when to apply a rule that causes oppression not justfor women but for the society at large. Contrary to the present situation, the Shari'ah leaves noroom for false conviction or unjustified punishment due to the heavy burden of proof that isrequired for the execution of punishments. This is because the role of the punishments isprimarily to act as a deterrent. Therefore, any shred of evidence that is doubtful will prevent thepunishment.

It is narrated in the Seerah (life) of Prophet Muhammad exert himself to avert the punishment when individuals asked for the punishment to beimplemented upon them.

Aiesha narrates that the Messenger of Allah sa"Avert thepunishments from the Muslims as much as you can, so if the accused has any way out

let him go free, because it is better for the Imam to make a mistake in forgiving than tomake a mistake in imposing the punishment."

As a result of partial implementation of Shari'ah, there is a clear discrepancy in the Muslimcountries between the values of the society and its rules and punishments. For instance, we seethe value of chastity constantly undermined by public display of promiscuous material under theguise of entertainment', free-mixing of the sexes in private space, disregard for the Islamicdress code, a lack of understanding and respect for Islamic rules such lowering of the gaze . In

such a situation, implementation of the Islamic punishments for adultery/fornication goesagainst the rules implemented in that society that do not aim to protect the value of chastity. The

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nature of the Shari'ah is such that the both the rules and the punishments are supposed toprotect the values of the society. The purpose of the Shari'ah is to block the avenues that leadto crime; it is not to tempt people to commit the crime only to severely punish them afterwards.

The Islamic system therefore is inter-connected where one part helps the implementation of theother part. It can be seen how the implementation of the Islamic punishment foradultery/fornication necessitates the implementation of for instance the Islamic Social System(that organizes all the relationships and interactions between men and women) and the IslamicEducation System (the purpose of which will be to develop Islamic personality in thought andbehavior). Similarly, there is a general principle in Islam that a thief's hand should be cut off.However, if the individual steals food while hungry then this general principle is not applied inthis particular situation. A misapplication of the Shari'ah is applying this punishment while at the

same time implementing an economic system based on capitalism which thrives on exploitingthe masses in order to fill the pockets of a handful of capitalists. All the Islamic rules laws mustbe in place for the Islamic punishments to be executed.

Moreover, Islam has categorically stated that it is haram for the Muslims to accept or implementthe Shari'ah partially:

"Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment." (Baqara, 2:85)

Gradual Implementation of Islam

Similarly, in Islam there is no place for believing that although all the Shari'ah rules must beapplied in a society, it can be done gradually. As mentioned previously, the Islamic rules areinter-connected where the application of one part depends on the application of other parts.Gradual implementation naturally involves selecting certain rules to be applied at one time whileleaving the others to be applied at a later time.

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Allah tells us in the Qur'an,

"This day I have perfected your Deen for you, I have completed my favour upon you and have chosen Islam for you as your Deen." (Al-Maaida, 5:3)

After the revelation of this ayah, the Muslims became solely obliged to apply and execute all ofthe Islamic rulings without any exception. Allah has also states,

"And judge between them with what Allah has revealed and do not follow their desires and beware that they do not divert you from any of what Allah has revealed." (Al-Maaida,5:49)

This is a decisive order from Allah to the Prophet after him, of the necessity of ruling with all the rules which He haexpression what (ma) which is mentioned in this verse of the Qur'an implies generality andtherefore includes all the revealed rulings.

In another verses, Allah tells us,

"Those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed, then they are the Kafiroon." (Al-Maaida, 5:47)

We find that the Prophet never applied the rulesapplied as soon as it was revealed. There was no concept of people not being ready for it or thesituation not being ripe for the implementation of all of the rules. A clear example is that of the

Prophet not accepting the request of Banu ThaqAl-Lat for three years or accepting their request to be excused from praying salah as a condition

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for entering Islam. Instead he insisted on destroying the idol immediately and did not allow themto leave salah. Likewise, when the Khulafah ar-Rashideen implemented the rules of Islam onthe conquered countries, they implemented the rules all together, without any delay. They neverallowed haram actions to take place along with the halal actions as is the case with gradual

implementation.

The Shari'ah rules can never be implemented comprehensively by attempting to apply themunder the ruling regimes that take a creed other than the creed of Islam as their premise. Wecan see today that the regimes in the Muslim world are capitalist in their nature and are builtupon a secular creed which advocates the separation of religion from life's affairs. Any attemptto apply the Shari'ah comprehensively under such circumstances will inevitably lead tocompromise due to fundamental contradiction between the Islamic creed and its values and the

secular creed and its values that are currently made to prevail in the Muslim countries. In reality,Shari'ah can only be applied immediately and comprehensively by replacing the current systemwith a state that will take the Islamic Aqeedah (creed) as its foundation from which will emanatethe Islamic values along with the rules related to every aspect of life (be it social, economic,

judicial, educational, related to foreign policy, etc). The Islamic state will also be responsible forspreading the message of Islam to the world. This is how the Shari'ah was applied in the pastand this is how it must be applied now.

Application of Shari'ah and Progress

The misconception that application of Shari'ah in society will lead to backwardness in terms ofmaterial progress and advancement has no base when considering the Islamic history which isan open testament to the vast array of achievements that were made in all spheres of life underthe shade of Shari'ah. We can see how as early as the Prophet's time, Muslims utilised theexisting technology and advancements made by other nations of that time. For instance, theMuslims acquired the know-how of building a trench from Salman Al-Farsi during the Battle of

the Trench. This technology was an invention of the Persians, the second superpower of thattime. Also Prophet Muhammad sent some of hislearn how to make swords. It is narrated that the Prophet to cross pollinating the date palm, "You are more knowledgeable about the matters of yourworld."

We see how the sciences flourished under Shari'ah. The Muslims became the most advancedin the world in various fields such as mathematics, geometry, medicine, natural sciences, etc. In

medicine for instance, Muslims demonstrated circulation of the blood, developed the theory ofoptics, and published the first clinical account of smallpox. Two medieval Muslim physicians, Ibn

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Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes), were the ultimate authorities on medicine untilrecent times. The Muslims also excelled in other fields such as agriculture. In the 8th and 9thcentury, Iraq under Shari'ah had a population of 30 million, 80% of whom were farmers, withmodern irrigation systems, from the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The ration of yield of seed for

wheat in the Muslim world was 10:1 compared to 2.5:1 in Europe. In Islam, technology of anykind that leads to material progress is allowed to be taken as long as it does not contradict Islamand as long as there is no specific evidence prohibiting it.

Thus for example, the Muslim learned about making paper and gunpowder which were ofChinese origin and developed them further. It can be seen that the Muslims did not take on thebeliefs and values of other nations, but rather made use of the sciences, inventions, etc, and thethoughts related to them that did not stem from a particular creed. Volumes can be written on

the scientific achievements made by Muslims and non-Muslims alike under the Shari'ah. This isin sharp contrast to the number of scientific advances made by Muslims today who findthemselves living under the Capitalist system where they are forced to utilize all their energieson securing basic necessities for themselves and their families. Therefore, to say that Shari'ahwill lead to backwardness goes against reality of the situation and can only be viewed as merepropaganda against the growing call for the application of the Shari'ah and its relevancy intoday's day and age.

Conclusion

The rules of Shari'ah are a mercy from Allah that came to liberatebeings from the oppressive man-made systems such as capitalism that has lead to misery anddeprivation of majority of the world population. The application of Shari'ah will bring about

justice and security for all who live under its shade. However, the Shari'ah rules must be appliedcomprehensively as there is no concept of partial or gradual implementation of Shari'ah inIslam. The implementation of Shari'ah therefore necessitates replacing the current regimes in

the Muslim world with the Khilafah system that will take the Islamic Aqeedah as its creed andwill ensure complete and comprehensive implementation of Shari'ah. Indeed, the return of theKhilafah is something that has been foretold by the Prophet

Imam Ahmed in his Musnad narrated from al-Nu'man Ibn Bashir (ra) as saying that the Prophet,stated had Prophethood will last with you for as long as Allah wants"

it to last. Then He will end it if He wishes to end it. Then there will be Khilafah accordingto the method of Prophethood, and things will be as Allah wishes them to be. Then He

will end it if He wishes to end it. Then there will be hereditary rule, and things will be asAllah wishes them to be. Then He will end it if He wishes to end it. Then there will be an

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oppressive rule, and things will be as Allah wishes them to be. Then He will end it if Hewishes to end it. Then there will be a Khilafah according to the method of Prophethood."Then he fell silent."

The increased propaganda and oppression that is spearheaded by the west and fully supportedby the rulers of the Muslim countries against those calling for the rule of Allah a clear indication of the imminent return of the Khilafah. And for those who believe and strive tomake the Shari'ah of Allah supreme, Allah victory:

"Allah has promised those amongst you who believe and work righteous deeds, that he will, indeed, grant them inheritance of power in the earth, as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their Deen which He has chosen for them, and that He will change their state, after the fear in which they lived in, to one of security and peace. They will worship me alone and not associate aught with Me, and those who do

reject faith after this, they would be the rebellious and the wicked." (An-Nur, 24:55)

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Shari'Ah in the 21st Century