We at Islam: My Ultimate Decision, would try to define Shariah in very simple terms, since the overall concept requires books to really understand its actual meaning and scope.
There is no denying the fact that no community or comity of people can function smoothly and peacefully without a justice system to enforce laws to be abided by to ensure peaceful coexistence and smooth functioning. Communities, where men take law in their hands and interpret laws according to their own wishes and mindset, chaos is ultimately the end result. Therefore every civilized country has constituted justice system based on set of laws to administer governments and affairs of the people.
Since Islam is not merely a religion, but a complete code of conduct, called Deen, the Qur'an while guiding believers how to live a life as dictated by Allah, it also lays down laws for the smooth conduct of affairs of Muslims. These laws have been further elaborated through Sunnah (practical manifestation of Divine commandments and laws) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. These laws are plainly called Shariah. Thus the term Shariah refers to the values, code of conduct, and religious commandments or Divine Laws which provide the Muslims with the guidance in every aspect of their lives. Shariah is often translated as the Islamic Law, but in Arabic and Islamic understanding, Islamic Law is called Fiqh - practical application of sharia in a sense, elaborated over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists.
Shariah is not a new concept. Other Divine religions too have sacred laws as well. For examples, Jews have Halakhah, which is similar to Shariah in method and content. Christian Catholics have teaching authority, called Magisterium, which deals with aspects like marriage, social justice or even business ethics.
Shariah represents how practicing Muslims can best lead their daily lives in accordance with God's divine guidance. It may be generally defined as the Islamic law revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad. That divine law was then interpreted by Muslim scholars over the centuries.
In the Quran the term “Shariah” occurs in Surah al-Jathiah (Quran 45: 18): “And now, We have set you (O Muhammad, and sent you) to help establish a way of religion (complete) constituting rules of religion; so you follow that way and do not yield to the desires of those who are ignorant (of the truth).”
Since the interpretation of Islamic Laws is very complex and intricate, as is any laws the interpretation which is not possible without expert lawyers, Shariah too is not be left to the ordinary imams or prayer leaders and scholars with inadequate religious knowledge for any wrong and inaccurate interpretation may lead to chaos and misunderstandings. Therefore, the interpretation of Sharia remains the domain of well read and qualified scholars who base their interoperation by qiyas (reasoning by analogy) and Ijma (scholarly consensus). More often than not they also base their decisions on precedent.
Shariah is the whole divine law and values as given by Allah i Qur'an. Fiqh is the laws extracted by Muslim jurists from the sources of Islamic law.
The applicability of Islamic laws to various situations and various areas differs to conform to conform to the culture and traditions of a particular people. However, the interpretation of Shariah sometimes differs from scholar to scholar, and to arrive at a consensus, many central bodies function around the world so as not to allow application of laws which are tangent to the spirit of Islam.
Generally, the application of Shariah is divided into two main areas, given herein under:
- Laws and guidance related to Worship (عبادات Ibadaat), both at personal and collective level.
- Guidance in worldly matters (معاملات Mu'amalat). This is the main stay of Islamic Shariah and caters for a very large number of areas just like the public laws anywhere in the world. These include matters related to marriages, inheritance, investments, business and justice.
The guiding Shariah rule: Sharia law is a religious law that lays down governing principles for spiritual, mental, and physical behavior that must be followed by Muslims. It categorizes all man's acts into five distinct categories: obligatory, recommended, permitted, discouraged, and forbidden.
Presently, there are two Muslim countries, Iran and Afghanistan, where Shariah is enforced in its true form. In many other Islamic countries, Shariah is implemented mostly in private domain as Islamic laws are generally follow the general laws prevailing in the world.
However, clashes do arise when Muslims living in non Muslim countries observe Shariah directions in their public life. One of the most glaring example is that of wearing Hijab which is mostly banned in some of the non Muslim countries and more often than not untoward incidents are noticed and wearers of Hijab fined for violating local laws. However, despite bans and restrictions, Muslims are pushing their way forward to at least allow them observing Shariah laws that are applicable at personal and individual level.
More will be added to this post.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Photo | references: | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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