BBC - Religion & Ethics - Sharia: The philosophy of Sharia
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 Sharia.
Divine guidance
The Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria ©
In
Arabic, Sharia 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 Sharia
reverberates in its technical usage: just as water is vital to human
life so the clarity and uprightness of Sharia 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 Sharia 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 himself was told that, “We have only sent you are a
mercy for all creation.” (Qur’an, 21:179)
Legal rulings
The
Sharia 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. The opposite is forbidden action. Recommended action is that
which should be done and the opposite is disliked action. 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, who
said, “Actions are by intentions, and one shall only get that which one
intended.”
Life under the Sharia
The
Sharia covers all aspects of human life. Classical Sharia 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 Sharia is to
promote human welfare. This is evident in the Qur’an, and teachings of
the Prophet.
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 Sharia protects these necessities in two ways: firstly by ensuring their establishment and then by preserving them.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Sharia 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 human happiness, within the spirit of Divine Guidance, is permitted in the Sharia.
Sources of the Sharia
A girl studying the Qur’an ©
The primary sources of the Sharia are the Qur’an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Qur’an
The
Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet 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 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 Sharia: 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 when dealing
with ever-changing human situations and allows for new rulings to be
applied most suitably and consistently.
Beyond ritualism
Hassan II Mosque, Morocco ©
The
ultimate aim of those who submit to the Sharia is to express their
slavehood to their Creator. But the Sharia does bring benefit in this
world too.
This way has been indicated in a Divine statement conveyed by the Prophet.
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.Prophet Muhammad, reported by Bukhari
If
the legal dimension of the Sharia 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 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
Sharia 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 Sharia.
And those who believe are overflowing in their love of God.Qur’an 2:165
Blogged with Flock
