THE TYPICAL UNDERSTANDING OF SHARI’AH
Whenever we mention Shari’ah, the average Non-Muslim or even the average Muslim will think of chopping off of heads and hands. They would think about death penalty and the death of all civil liberties. They equate it to a reign of terror where masked executioners wielding long, curved swords are the superstars of a spectacle that is unequaled in horror and gore. A form of entertainment that makes an unruly crowd cheer for every head that rolls off the ground as if each one is a victory against evil.
They see Shari’ah as an anti-western ideology. They see it as the antonym of democracy, progress, morality and human rights. They see Shari’ah as the government of the Grim Reaper itself.
Others may even elaborate on defining the Shari’ah as forcing women to wear all-black clothes running from head to toe. They see Shari’ah as the way Muslims explain away their evil treatment of women by enslaving them and keeping them uneducated and of very low importance. Shari’ah makes women sex slaves and servants to their husbands and forces young women to marry old men. They would even believe that Shari’ah makes it lawful for a man to physically abuse his wife, make slaves out of other people and wage war against non-believers.
They thought Shari’ah is the murder of Non-married lovers by stoning them to death or flogging them in public. Thus, they believe that Shari’ah is the enemy of true love and an agent of forced marriages and a loveless society.
So, if you knew Shari’ah to be this way, especially if you are a Non-Muslim – you’d surely love to hate this ungodly, evil law Muslims call the Shari’ah. And if you’re a gamer or a movie lover or if you love CNN of FOX News, you’d surely love to see the Muslims getting bombed and killed so that Shari’ah – the religion of terrorism will not spread to the free world.
But let me ask you, where did you get your definition of Shari’ah? Who told you what Shari’ah is and what Shari’ah is not?
Did you bother asking, a knowledgeable Muslim – not your ordinary hip-hop Muslim, but a properly educated Muslim leader about what is Shari’ah? I bet you didn’t. And you are free to admit that your knowledge and definition of the Shari’ah is what the action movie, video game or your warmongering news program told you.
But let’s go back to basics. Whenever you want to ask someone about baking, you’d never ask a carpenter, right? You’d ask a baker to be precise. Any attempt to ask another person who is not properly knowledgeable will only lead you to half-truths, opinions or worst, wrong information.
So what is Shari’ah according to Islam itself?
WHAT IS SHARI’AH?
Shari’ah is the religious law that is derived from the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad according to the proper understanding of Islamic Scholars particularly that of the early generations of Muslims. Shari’ah is compiled and interpreted by the Fuqaha’ or Islamic Jurists who in turn become laws enacted upon by Muslims everywhere and by chief scholars in different areas known as Muftis or Judges known as Qadis if legal and social issues are involved such as the criminal law, hereditary law, and others.
Shari’ah literally means ‘the path’. It is the path towards the performance of deeds that please Allah such as acts of worship and the avoidance of what He has prohibited such as sins. So technically, when a Muslim is giving alms, feeding the poor, donating blood and doing other good deeds – he is following the Shari’ah. And when a Muslim stay away from intoxicating drinks, illicit sex, gossip, murder, theft and other bad deeds – he too is following the Shari’ah.
In Shari’ah, laws are not made to oppress the people. They are enforced in order to liberate them from that which will affect them negatively. They are enforced so that their well-being is protected.
THE GOAL OF SHARI’AH?
Simply put, the goal of the Shariah is the protection of religion, life, property, intellect & honor of Muslims and Non-Muslim under a Muslim government.
WHAT THE SHARIAH IS NOT?
It is ironic that what people know of the Shari’ah is the last thing that Shari’ah is or could ever be. Technically the first half of this article is about what Shari’ah is not which happened to be what people think about Shari’ah. But let me elaborate further.
Shari’ah isn’t about the degradation of women. Women are prescribed to be covered in the Shari’ah in order to protect her but she is perfectly free in every other part of her life as a sister, a wife, a mother and a member of the Muslim society as a whole. Shari’ah protects women from being forcefully married to someone she doesn’t like. Shari’ah enjoins women to be educated and be a productive and active member of the society to become professionals, businesswomen, leaders etc. within the limits of the Shari’ah to protect her dignity.
Shari’ah is not about death and killing, rather, capital punishment is enforced by the Shari’ah in order to preserve life so that corruption, vice, murder or theft would not be taken lightly by the people. So that peace and order are preserved. But if a Muslim is living in a Non-Muslim country, with its own criminal law, the Muslim cannot simply enforce capital punishments according to the Shari’ah. Capital punishment in the Shari’ah shall only be implemented under a Muslim rule. Otherwise, a Muslim is enjoined by the Shari’ah to be a responsible citizen in whatever country or government he may belong to.
Shari’ah is anti-democracy. In fact, Shari’ah makes a country more democratic than any democratic country could ever be by letting the people have access to their leaders to have their grievances addressed. Shari’ah is not anti-western. All these are enacted to the people in order for them to live a healthy lifestyle, being away from morally corrupting external influences and others.
What the Shari’ah is preventing, is not western education or technology. Rather, the Shari’ah is stopping decadence to reach the people that are under its protection wherever it may be coming from, even if it is coming from Muslim lands too. Shari’ah is protecting its people from drugs, moral corruption, pornography and others while allowing the free flowing of beneficial information between the West and Muslim states in medicine, science, and technology.
This is our article for today. If you want to know more about Islam, watch Mensahe TV via Cignal channel 184 or visit www.mensahetv.com. If you have questions feel free to email me at mujahidnavarra@gmail.com.
Have a nice day.
