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Shariah:  The Clear Path

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�For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had God willed, He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He has given you. So vie one with another in good works. Unto God you will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ.� (Qur�an, 5: 48)

For Muslims, life did not begin at birth, but a long time before that. Before even the creation of the first man. It began when God created the souls of everyone who would ever exist and asked them, �Am I not your Lord?� They all replied, �Yea.�

God decreed for each soul a time on earth so that He might try them. Then, after the completion of their appointed terms, He would judge them and send them to their eternal destinations: either one of endless bliss, or one of everlasting grief.

This life, then, is a journey that presents to its wayfarers many paths. Only one of these paths is clear and straight. This path is the Shariah.

Divine Guidance

In Arabic, Shariah means the clear, well-trodden path to water. Islamically, it is used to refer to the matters of religion that God has legislated for His servants. The linguistic meaning of Shariah reverberates in its technical usage: just as water is vital to human life so the clarity and uprightness of Shariah is the means of life for souls and minds.

Throughout history, God has sent messengers to people all over the world, to guide them to the straight path that would lead them to happiness in this world and the one to follow. All messengers taught the same message about belief (the Qur�an teaches that all messengers called people to the worship of the One God), but the specific prescriptions of the divine laws regulating people�s lives varied according to the needs of his people and time.

The Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was the final messenger and his Shariah represents the ultimate manifestation of the divine mercy. �Today I have perfected your way of life (din) for you, and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your way of life.� (Qur�an, 5: 3) The Prophet (pbuh) himself was told that, �We have only sent you are a mercy for all creation.� (Qur�an, 21: 179)

Legal Rulings

The Shariah regulates all human actions and puts them into five categories: obligatory, recommended, permitted, disliked or forbidden.

Obligatory actions must be performed and when performed with good intentions are rewarded. Its opposite is the forbidden. Recommended action is that which should be done. Its opposite is the disliked. Permitted action is that which is neither encouraged nor discouraged. Most human actions fall in this last category.

The ultimate worth of actions is based on intention and sincerity, as mentioned by the Prophet (pbuh), who said, �Actions are by intentions, and one shall only get that which one intended.�

Life under the Shariah

The Shariah covers all aspects of human life. Classical Shariah manuals are often divided into four parts: laws relating to personal acts of worship, laws relating to commercial dealings, laws relating to marriage and divorce, and penal laws.

Legal Philosophy

God sent prophets and books to humanity to show them the way to happiness in this life, and success in the hereafter. This is encapsulated in the believer�s prayer, stated in the Qur�an, �Our Lord, give us good in this life and good in the next, and save us from the punishment of the Fire.� (2: 201)

The legal philosophers of Islam, such as Ghazali, Shatibi, and Shah Wali Allah explain that the aim of Shariah is to promote human welfare. This is evident in the Qur�an, and teachings of the Prophet (pbuh).

The scholars explain that the welfare of humans is based on the fulfillment of necessities, needs, and comforts.

Necessities

Necessities are matters that worldly and religious life depend upon. Their omission leads to unbearable hardship in this life, or punishment in the next. There are five necessities: preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth. These ensure individual and social welfare in this life and the hereafter.

The Shariah protects these necessities in two ways: firstly by ensuring their establishment and then by preserving them.

1. Religion: To ensure the establishment of religion, God Most High has made belief and worship obligatory. To ensure its preservation, the rulings relating to the obligation of learning and conveying the religion were legislated.
    
2. Life: To ensure the preservation of human life, God Most high legislated for marriage, healthy eating and living, and forbid the taking of life and laid down punishments for doing so.
    
3. Intellect: God has permitted that sound intellect and knowledge be promoted, and forbidden that which corrupts or weakens it, such as alcohol and drugs. He has also imposed preventative punishments in order that people stay away from them, because a sound intellect is the basis of the moral responsibility that humans were given.
    
4. Lineage: marriage was legislated for the preservation of lineage, and sex outside marriage was forbidden. Punitive laws were put in placed in order to ensure the preservation of lineage and the continuation of human life.
    
5. Wealth: God has made it obligatory to support oneself and those one is responsible for, and placed laws to regulate the commerce and transactions between people, in order to ensure fair dealing, economic justice, and to prevent oppression and dispute.

Needs and Comforts

Needs and comforts are things people seek in order to ensure a good life, and avoid hardship, even though they are not essential. The spirit of the Shariah with regards to needs and comforts is summed up in the Qur�an, �He has not placed any hardship for you in religion,� (22: 87) And, �God does not seek to place a burden on you, but that He purify you and perfect His grace upon you, that you may give thanks.� (5: 6)

Therefore, everything that ensures the human happiness, within the spirit of Divine Guidance, is permitted in the Shariah.

The Sources of the Shariah

The primary sources of the Shariah are the Qur�an and example of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The Qur�an

The Qur�an was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) gradually, over 23 years. The essence of its message is to establish the oneness of God and the spiritual and moral need of man for God. This need is fulfilled through worship and submission, and has ultimate consequences in the Hereafter.

The Qur�an is the word of God. Because of its inimitable style and eloquence, and, above all, the guidance and legal provisions it came with, it ensures the worldly and next-worldly welfare of humanity.

God Most High said, �Verily, this Qur�an guides to that which is best, and gives glad tidings to the believers who do good that theirs will be a great reward.� (Qur�an, 17: 9) And, �There has come unto you light from God and a clear Book, whereby God guides those who seek His good pleasure unto paths of peace. He brings them out of darkness unto light by His decree, and guides them unto a straight path.� (Qur�an, 5: 15)

The Prophetic Example (Sunna)

The Prophet�s role was expounded in the Qur�an, �We have revealed the Remembrance [Qur�an] to you that you may explain to people that which was revealed for them.� (16: 44)

This explanation was through the Prophet�s words, actions, and example. Following the guidance and the example of the Prophet was made obligatory, �O you who believe, obey God and obey the Messenger,� (4: 59) and, �Verily, in the Messenger of God you have a beautiful example for those who seek God and the Last Day, and remember God much.� The Prophet (pbuh) himself instructed, �I have left two things with you which if you hold on to, you shall not be misguided: the Book of God and my example.� [Reported by Hakim and Malik]

Derived Sources

There are two agreed upon derived sources of Shariah: scholarly consensus (ijma`) and legal analogy (qiyas)

Scholarly consensus

The basis for scholarly consensus being a source of law is the Qur�anic command to resolve matters by consultation, as God stated, �Those who answer the call of their Lord, established prayer, and whose affairs are by consultation.� (42: 38) Scholarly consensus is defined as being the agreement of all Muslim scholars at the level of juristic reasoning (ijtihad) in one age on a given legal ruling. Given the condition that all such scholars have to agree to the ruling, its scope is limited to matters that are clear according to the Qur�an and Prophetic example, upon which such consensus must necessarily be based. When established, though, scholarly consensus is decisive proof.

Legal Analogy (Qiyas)

Legal analogy is a powerful tool to derive rulings for new matters. For example, drugs have been deemed impermissible, through legal analogy from the prohibition of alcohol that is established in the Qur�an. Such a ruling is based on the common underlying effective cause of intoxication.

Legal analogy and its various tools enables the jurists to understand the underlying reasons and causes for the rulings of the Qur�an and Prophetic example (sunna). This helps in dealing with the ever-changing human situations and allows for new rulings to be applied most suitably and consistently.

Beyond Ritualism

Although the Shariah brings benefit in this world, the ultimate aim of those who submit to it is to express their slavehood to their Creator.

This way has been indicated in a Divine statement conveyed by the Prophet (pbuh), �My servant approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My servant keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him.� [Reported by Bukhari]

If the legal dimension of the Shariah gives Islam its form, the spiritual dimension is its substance. The spiritual life of Islam, and its goal, was outlined in the Divine statement (mentioned above). The Prophet (pbuh) explained spiritual excellence as being, �To worship God as though you see Him, and if you see Him not, [know that] He nevertheless sees you.�

The spiritual life of Islam is a means to a realization of faith and a perfection of practice. It is to seek the water that the Shariah is the clear path to, water that gives life to minds and souls longing for meaning.

It is this spiritual life, at its various levels, that attracts Muslims to their religion, its way of life, and to the rulings of the Shariah.

�And those who believe are overflowing in their love of God.� (Qur�an, 2: 165)

Faraz Rabbani,
Amman, Jordan.

Sources:

• Al-Madkhal li Dirasat al-Shariah al-Islamiyya (Abd al-Karim Zaydan)
• Usul al-Fiqh al-Islami (Wahba Zuhayli)
• Al-Muwafaqat (Shatibi)
• Al-Mustasfa (Ghazali)
• Hujjat Allah al-Baligha (Wali Allah al-Dahlawi)
• Reliance of the Traveller (tr. Nuh Keller)
• Al-Tahrir (Ibn al-Humam)

Please note:  the sharia rulings are divided into 8 by the Hanafis, which are actually subdividions of the five essential rulings of other madhabs and not an introdution of anything from outside of the these five.

From: The Absolute Essentials of Hanafi Fiqh, draft work � Faraz Rabbani, 2003.

The actions of those morally responsible take one of eight rulings:

1. The Obligatory (fard) is a firm command established by a decisively-established text^[1] whose meaning is decisive and not open to the possibility of interpretation.

One is bound to believe in and act on the obligatory. The one who denies it could well fall into disbelief, and the one who leaves it is sinful.

2. The Necessary (wajib) is a firm command affirmed by a text that allows the possibility of interpretation.

Denying something necessary is corruption (fisq) but not disbelief. Leaving it is sinful.

The ruling of necessary aspects of the prayer is that the prayer is not invalidated by their omission; however, it becomes necessary to repeat it if they were left out intentionally. If left out forgetfully, a forgetfulness prostration is necessary at the end of the prayer; if this too is left out, then it is necessary (wajib) to repeat the prayer.

3. The Confirmed Sunna (sunna mu�akkada) is that which our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) or the Companions did most of the time (and was not of worldly habits)

One who leaves it without excuse deserves reproach, not punishment. Leaving it habitually is sinful, though, because it entails �turning away� from the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), whom we have been commanded to follow.

4. The Recommended (mustahabb) is that which our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) did sometimes.

The one who performs it is rewarded, and one who does not is not worthy of reproach.

5. The Permissible (mubah) entails neither reward nor punishment. Such acts are rewarded, however, if accompanied by a good intention.^[2]

6. The Somewhat Disliked (makruh tanzihan) is that which we have been lightly commanded to leave, though it is not sinful or blameworthy to do. There is reward in leaving it.

7. The Prohibitively Disliked (makruh tahriman) is that which we have firmly commanded to leave, through a text open to the possibility of interpretation.

Denying such a command entails misguidance but not disbelief. Performing such an action is sinful.

8. The Forbidden (haram) is that which we have been firmly commanded to leave, through a decisively-established text.

The obligatory and necessary must be performed. The prohibitively disliked and forbidden must be left. It is strongly emphasized to perform the confirmed sunnas, and blameworthy to leave them without excuse. The recommended should be performed, and the somewhat disliked should be left. The permitted should be conjoined with good intentions, to be worthy of reward, and one should avoid wastefulness.

The way of love and slavehood entails doing everything one�s Lord commanded, whether firmly or lightly, and avoiding everything one�s Lord interdicted, whether firmly or lightly. The way to operationalize this, however, is best through a gradual and steady manner.^[3]

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[1] Decisively established texts are the entire Qur�an, and those hadiths related by multiple contiguous chains (mutawatir).

[2] Being wasteful in using the permitted is blameworthy and can even become sinful if excessive.

[3] Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) related that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, �Verily, this religion is easy, and no one makes their religion excessively difficult except that it overcomes them. So be moderate, do your best, and be of glad tidings�� [Bukhari (39), Muslim (2816)]

Nusheen sister, beautiful. I will print this out and will read it in peace :)

God bless u.

Great information sister Nausheen!  Now, here is my questions:

1. Can Muslims living in non-Muslim lands be fully following Islam without sharia laws in effect?

2.  Whose interpretation of sharia is correct?  (Look what happened in Africa with the woman who was raped and sentenced to death by stoning!)

Peace, ummziba.

As Salamu Alaikum  

Masha Allah a very informative article.

You said that the sharia rulings are divided into 8 by the Hanafis,

Did the other Imams also divide the rulings.

Jazakallahu Khairan  

Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah wa barkatuhu,

ummziba wrote: Great information sister Nausheen!  Now, here is my questions: 1. Can Muslims living in non-Muslim lands be fully following Islam without sharia laws in effect?

Sharia is the islamic guidance which every muslim should be following at all times. In Islamic countries, it becomes a state law, and with this comes the legal rulings levied on a person from outside. However as someone has said, man should appoint himself as a vicergent of God, overlooking his nafs at all times.

Our Nafs, shaitan and this Duniya have us fallen into that which causes the displeasure of Allah. When the intentions are pure and one is on guard against these elements, he is actually applying the guidance of Allah on himself .... and this guidance is sharia, its root purpose is - that it is implimented by an individual upon himself.

To make the answer simple, take for an example the hijab. It is a law to cover one's head in some countries, still in non-muslim lands where one is not supposed to do this as a law, still covering the head remains an obligation.

ummziba wrote: 2.  Whose interpretation of sharia is correct?  (Look what happened in Africa with the woman who was raped and sentenced to death by stoning!)

I dont know what exactly would be the answer. To the best of my knowledge, that which agrees with the Quran and sunnah is the correct position, rest is a misinterpretation.

It is not easy to determine the correct position without adequate knowledge of Usul al Fiqh, thus a person well qualified in the science should be relied upon in this matter.

Maa salaama,

Nausheen 

Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barkatuhu,

Alwardah wrote: As Salamu Alaikum   Masha Allah a very informative article. You said that the sharia rulings are divided into 8 by the Hanafis, Did the other Imams also divide the rulings.   Jazakallahu Khairan

The rulings are primarily divided  into five:

Fard (obligatory), Mandub(recomended), Mubah(Permissible), Makruh(disliked) and Haram (forbidden).

The hanafis have two sunnah rulings, the sunnah muakkada, and the recommended sunnah - these come before the permissible.  The disliked (Makruh) was further classified as somewhat disliked and prohibitably disliked.

As Salamu Alaikum

Jazakallahu Khairan for the explanation.