Islaamic Law & Its
Opponents!
By:
Shahid Bin Waheed شاهد بن
وحيد
بسم الله
الرحمن
الرحيم
الحمدلله
رب العالمين
والصلوة
والسلام على اشرف
الانبياء
وسيدالمرسلين
نبينا محمد صل
ا لله عليه
وعلى آله
واصحابه
وازواجه
اجمعين -
امابعد
All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Sustainer of the Universe, and blessing and salutation to be the most distinguish of the Messengers and foremost among the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allaah be on him and on his wives, children and Companions.
Is Islaamic Law
Out of Harmony with Contemporary Conditions?
On the basis
of my study of the Islaamic law and modern law, I
believe that the view declaring Islaamic law as
incompatible with the demands of modern age is untenable, as it is not the
result of research or logical reasoning. In fact academic research and
logical argument lead to the conclusion that Islaamic
law is specifically different from all human laws and is applicable to the
conditions of every age.
There are two distinct groups of people who hold the view that the
legal system of Islaam is out of tune with the Zeitgeist. Of these the one has
no knowledge of either the Islaamic law or the modern
law, while the other is acquainted with the modern law but knows nothing
about the law of Islaam. In other words both groups are incompetent to make
any comments on the Islaamic law as they (both)
are absolutely ignorant of it. One cannot obviously pass judgment on
something, which one is absolutely ignorant of.
In fact, the view that the Islaamic law
cannot meet the requirements of modern age is an erroneous assumption rather
than the result of academic research. What the students/people are thought
today is, that there is no relationship between modern
legal system and the laws that were in force till the end of the nineteenth
century and that the contents of modern legal system consist in philosophic
doctrines and accepted canons of humanism and social life, of which the old
laws are absolutely devoid. Comparisons between the two legal systems have led
them to believe that old laws are inapplicable in modern conditions. So far as
the man-made laws are concerned, this is, of course true. But they err
in their judgment when they draw an analogy between the Islaamic
law and the man-made law, i.e. when they think that inasmuch as all the laws
which were in force till the end of 18th century are out of tune
with the Zeitgeist, the legal system of Islaam too must be regarded as out-dated
since it was enforced during the middle ages and some of its elements remained
effective down to the beginning of the 19th century. This line of
argument involves a grievous fallacy that cannot escape the notice of a man of
insight.
The Fallacy of analogy Between the Islaamic Law and the Man-made Law.
The springs of the errors involved in this tenor of argument lie
in the inability of the above groups of people to distinguish between human and
the Divine laws. They visualize the heaven in the image of the earth and the
Creator/Maker of the man in the image of man. Evidently, no sensible person
would consider it right to compare himself with the Creator of the universe and
would draw an analogy between earth and the heaven. To sum up, these people do
not differentiate between the Divine law and the human law, which are
specifically different. However, the distinction between the two kinds of laws
and their scopes will come into full relief as we consider the way they have
evolved and discuss their respective nature and characteristics.
If it is true, then, that the human and Islaamic laws are specifically and essentially different
from each other, it will be a false syllogism according to the rules of
logic, to draw a conclusion from premises denoting two unequal things of
different orders. The view that the Islaamic law
is outdated has originated from fallacious thinking. It has been assumed
that the old man-made laws are not in harmony with the Zeitgeist. But since the
Islaamic and human laws are not of the same order,
the syllogism is false. False propositions proceed from false propositions.
It From Other Laws
Islaamic law is
different and superior to other laws in respect of three qualities,
which are as follows:
(a)
Perfection
The Islaamic Shariah is superior to other laws by virtue of its perfection. It contains all the rules, principles and doctrines required by law to be complete and comprehensive. It is rich with all such rules and principles that may be of use to the fulfillment of human needs both in the near and remote future.
(b)
Sublimity
The principles of Islaamic
Shariah always remain at a higher level than social standards. Whatever the
degree to which the standards of human life may rise, the Shariah contains such
principles and doctrines that will maintain its superiority over them and its
standard will always be loftier than human standard.
(c)
Permanence
The Islaamic Shariah is immutable and everlasting and is
characterized by permanence. Time does not effect its invariable provisions
and yet it is suited to the conditions of all ages. The fundamental
characteristics of the Shariah mentioned above, notwithstanding their
plurality and diversity, have emanated from one and the same source, and
that is Divine Revelation. Had Allaah not revealed the Shariah, it would
never have possessed the qualities of perfection, sublimity, and permanence. As
opposed to the Divine creation, man’s work is devoid of the qualities.
One of the example/proof of above
qualities in Islaamic Shariah is “The Doctrine of Equality.” The Islaamic Shariah contained, at the time of revelation, explicit
injunctions that declared the principle of equality as mandatory. The
mandate is, expressed in the following Ayah (verse) of the Glorious Qur’aan.
يَا
أَيُّهَا
النَّاسُ
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ
مِنْ ذَكَرٍ
وَأُنْثَى
وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ
شُعُوبًا
وَقَبَائِلَ
لِتَعَارَفُوا
إِنَّ
أَكْرَمَكُمْ
عِنْدَ اللَّهِ
أَتْقَاكُمْ
إِنَّ
اللَّهَ
عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
Transliteration
YAA
'AYYUHAA AN- NAAS 'IN(NA) -NAA KHALAQNAA -KUM MIN DHAKAR WA- 'UNTHAA WA- JAcALNAA -KUM SHUcOB(AN) WA- QABAA'IL LI- TAcAARAFO 'INNA AKRAM -KUM cINDA
'ALLAAH ATQAA -KUM 'INNA 'ALLAAH cALEM KHABER
O mankind! We have created you from a
male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one
another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allâh
is that (believer) who has At-Taqwâ (i.e. he is one
of the Muttaqûn (the pious. See V.2: 2)). Verily, Allâh is All-Knowing, All-Aware.
O ihr Menschen, Wir haben
euch aus Mann und Frau erschaffen und euch
zu Völkern und Stämmen gemacht, auf daß ihr einander
erkennen möget. Wahrlich, vor Allah ist von euch
der Angesehenste, welcher der Gottesfürchtigste
ist. Wahrlich, Allah ist Allwissend,
Allkundig.
¡Hombres! Os hemos
creado a partir de un varón y de una
hembra y os hemos hecho pueblos y tribus distintos para que os
reconocierais unos a otros. Y en verdad que el más noble de vosotros ante Allah es el que más Le teme.
Allah es Conocedor
y está perfectamente informado.
Ô hommes! Nous vous avons
créés d'un mâle et d'une femelle,
et Nous avons fait de vous des nations et des tribus,
pour que vous vous entre-connaissiez. Le plus
noble d'entre vous, auprès d'Allah, est le plus pieux.
Allah est certes Omniscient
et Grand Connaisseur.
Ey insanlar!
Doğrusu biz sizi bir erkekle bir dişiden
yarattık. Ve birbirinizle
tanışmanız için
sizi kavimlere ve kabilelere ayırdık.
Muhakkak ki Allah yanında en değerli olanınız, O'ndan en çok korkanınızdır.
Şüphesiz Allah bilendir, her şeyden
haberdardır.
Hai manusia, sesungguhnya Kami menciptakan kamu dari seorang
laki-laki dan seorang perempuan dan menjadikan kamu berbangsa-bangsa dan bersuku-suku supaya kamu saling
kenal mengenal. Sesungguhnya orang
yang paling mulia di antara kamu di
sisi Allah ialah orang yang paling bertakwa di antara kamu.
Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui
lagi Maha Mengenal.
Wahai umat manusia! Sesungguhnya
Kami telah menciptakan kamu dari lelaki dan
perempuan dan Kami telah menjadikan
kamu berbagai bangsa dan bersuku
puak, supaya kamu berkenal-kenalan (dan beramah mesra
antara satu dengan yang lain). Sesungguhnya semulia-mulia kamu
di sisi Allah ialah orang yang lebih takwanya di antara kamu,
(bukan yang lebih keturunan atau bangsanya). Sesungguhnya
Allah Maha Mengetahui, lagi Maha Mendalam
PengetahuanNya (akan
keadaan dan amalan kamu).
The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is reported to have said the same in the following words.
“ All men are equal
like the teeth of comb. The Arab is not superior to Non-Arab except in
righteousness.” He enjoins the same thing in another Tradition. “ Allaah has eradicated through Islaam the
arrogance of the days of Jahiliyyah (ignorance) and
has put an end to their (the Quraish’ s) custom of
taking pride in their ancestry: for all human beings are decedents of
Adam and Adam came into being from dust. Only the righteous person is superior
among human beings.”
Notice that the kind of equality
enjoined by the above injunctions is unconditional and unqualified that admits
of no justification to discriminate in favor of one individual against another
individual, one group against another group, one gender/sex against another
gender/sex, one race and/or color against another race and/or color, a
chieftain against a commoner and the ruler against the ruled.
The doctrine
of equality, which Islaam presented over fourteen hundred years ago, was
accessible to the man-made and/or modern laws only as late as the end of 18th
and the early part of 19th century, but not with its entirety. Inequality in all forms is still a serious problem in the
West.
In
conclusion, Islaamic Shariah preceded the modern law
by fourteen centuries. The latter, obviously, has by its reaffirmation of the
doctrine of equality, not discovered or devised any new principle. It has
actually followed and benefited from the Islaamic
Shariah. One cannot resist noticing in
the sequel that the modern law provides for a very limited scope of the
application of this doctrine, whereas
according to Islaamic Shariah there is no limit to
its application.
Wednesday,
February 02, 2005