How to follow the shari'ah today
Question:
Sir you wrote in your article:
“All the above is for Muslims. Non-Muslims are not bound to convert to Islam and follow the shari‘ah of Islam, whether it is the original form of the shari‘ah or the evolved form of the shari‘ah. They are only expected by the Almighty to follow the obvious rules of morality (akhlaq) which includes believing in one God.”
My question is that how Muslims are bound to follow the shariah (original/evolved) while Quran is a local book as you wrote:
"The overall localised and specific tone and arguments of the Qur’an are so dominating in the book that relating the Qur’an to nations other than the Arabs of the time (Ummi’in) and time other than 1400 years ago, is today one of the challenges of the scholars of Islam."
Answer:
In the terminology that I have adopted in my article, I have used two terms: the shari'ah and the form of the shari'ah:
The shari'ah is that religious path that the Almighty has prescribed for each of His chosen communities. This, in my understanding, is also how this term is being used in the Qur'an. The shari'ah for every chosen community is different to match their own culture and norms, but for each community it is permanent. While it is possible to have a deeper understanding and interpretation of shari'ah, it is not accurate to say shari'ah evolves.
Then I have used the term 'form of the shari'ah'. By this term I refer to formulation of the above permanent shari'ah into rituals and regulations that suited the time and the location. Yes, the form of the shari'ah was never meant to be permanent and it can evolve or change due to change in circumstances. This however, as I wrote in my article, mostly applies to non-worship forms of the shari'ah and in particular to those aspects of the form of the shar'ah that are in or linked with social sphere.
If you appreciate what I am saying above, then answer to your question becomes quite clear:
"how Muslims are bound to follow the shariah (original/evolved) while Quran is a local book"
Muslims are already following the original shari'ah, by being Muslim and therefore having an overall common understanding of the outline of their religious path.
So allow me to reword your question to bring it closer to what I think you really meant:
"how Muslims are bound to follow the form of the shariah (original/evolved) while Quran is a local book"
Think about it, how did mainstream Muslims practically abandoned slavery that was a form of the shari'ah in Islam? How did they deal with fasting in places where the length of day was more than 24 hours? How many well educated Muslim men do you know who follow the advice of the Qur'an about beating rebellious wife? I presume you are aware that some of the Muslim scholars that you know and appreciate have allowed revising and changing the nisab (minimum amount of money on which zakah is due) in accordance with the economy.
These are only some of the examples where Muslims have knowingly or not revised the form of the shari'ah. They may not do this under the title of revising the shari'ah, they may call this ijtihad, in some cases they may even argue that this or that instruction was not part of the form of the shari'ah (e.g. beating a rebellious wife) or that it was not meant as an everlasting instruction (e.g. slavery). The fact however remains, that the community of Muslims found it necessary to adapt or totally disregard some of the instructions of the Qur'an that deemed to be irrelevant or inappropriate for their time.
Think about some other instructions of the Qur'an. The Qur'an gives the right of divorce to men. I am sure you know that in many Muslim countries a statement is added to the marriage contract whereby the man shares this right with his wife. One may call this adding a simple clause to the marriage contract. I call it adapting the form of the shari'ah due to the new social circumstances.
My dear brother, Muslims are already progressing towards adapting the form of the shari'ah to match the conditions and the requirements of the time. The only problem is that this is being done on a very limited level and too slow. Also because the assumption is that the form of the shari'ah is permanent, therefore instead of intending to do ijtihad on the form of the shari'ah, the attempt is to do ijtihad within the form of the shari'ah. Once this assumption is gone, then ijtihad on the form of the shari'ah can take place easier and more effectively.
I think Khalid Abu al-Fadl, one of the contemporary scholars of the Arab world, has very nicely put this:
"As a text, the Qur’an demands a conscientious and morally active reader - a reader who does not stop where the text concludes but who seeks to understand the ethical path the text is setting out and then proceeds to travel along that path."
(Khaled Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, p. 386)
As I wrote in my article, this in vast majority of cases does not apply to the worship form of the shari'ah but applies mostly to the social sphere of the form of the shari'ah. Also, if we appreciate that the form of the shari'ah of the Qur'an was in fact an adoption and, where needed, adaptation of what Arabs were already doing at the time then we can easily understand and appreciate that form of the shari'ah related to social sphere can easily take shape by adopting and, where needed, adapting the local civil law of the society under consideration.
I am almost certain that the above brief reply raises some follow up questions and I am more than happy to read them and comment on them.
----------
Related topic:
- Non-Permanent vs Permanent Shari'ah
- The form of the Shari'ah: Forever Fixed or Adaptable in Time?
------------
Farhad Shafti
February 2017
Sir you wrote in your article:
“All the above is for Muslims. Non-Muslims are not bound to convert to Islam and follow the shari‘ah of Islam, whether it is the original form of the shari‘ah or the evolved form of the shari‘ah. They are only expected by the Almighty to follow the obvious rules of morality (akhlaq) which includes believing in one God.”
My question is that how Muslims are bound to follow the shariah (original/evolved) while Quran is a local book as you wrote:
"The overall localised and specific tone and arguments of the Qur’an are so dominating in the book that relating the Qur’an to nations other than the Arabs of the time (Ummi’in) and time other than 1400 years ago, is today one of the challenges of the scholars of Islam."
Answer:
In the terminology that I have adopted in my article, I have used two terms: the shari'ah and the form of the shari'ah:
The shari'ah is that religious path that the Almighty has prescribed for each of His chosen communities. This, in my understanding, is also how this term is being used in the Qur'an. The shari'ah for every chosen community is different to match their own culture and norms, but for each community it is permanent. While it is possible to have a deeper understanding and interpretation of shari'ah, it is not accurate to say shari'ah evolves.
Then I have used the term 'form of the shari'ah'. By this term I refer to formulation of the above permanent shari'ah into rituals and regulations that suited the time and the location. Yes, the form of the shari'ah was never meant to be permanent and it can evolve or change due to change in circumstances. This however, as I wrote in my article, mostly applies to non-worship forms of the shari'ah and in particular to those aspects of the form of the shar'ah that are in or linked with social sphere.
If you appreciate what I am saying above, then answer to your question becomes quite clear:
"how Muslims are bound to follow the shariah (original/evolved) while Quran is a local book"
Muslims are already following the original shari'ah, by being Muslim and therefore having an overall common understanding of the outline of their religious path.
So allow me to reword your question to bring it closer to what I think you really meant:
"how Muslims are bound to follow the form of the shariah (original/evolved) while Quran is a local book"
Think about it, how did mainstream Muslims practically abandoned slavery that was a form of the shari'ah in Islam? How did they deal with fasting in places where the length of day was more than 24 hours? How many well educated Muslim men do you know who follow the advice of the Qur'an about beating rebellious wife? I presume you are aware that some of the Muslim scholars that you know and appreciate have allowed revising and changing the nisab (minimum amount of money on which zakah is due) in accordance with the economy.
These are only some of the examples where Muslims have knowingly or not revised the form of the shari'ah. They may not do this under the title of revising the shari'ah, they may call this ijtihad, in some cases they may even argue that this or that instruction was not part of the form of the shari'ah (e.g. beating a rebellious wife) or that it was not meant as an everlasting instruction (e.g. slavery). The fact however remains, that the community of Muslims found it necessary to adapt or totally disregard some of the instructions of the Qur'an that deemed to be irrelevant or inappropriate for their time.
Think about some other instructions of the Qur'an. The Qur'an gives the right of divorce to men. I am sure you know that in many Muslim countries a statement is added to the marriage contract whereby the man shares this right with his wife. One may call this adding a simple clause to the marriage contract. I call it adapting the form of the shari'ah due to the new social circumstances.
My dear brother, Muslims are already progressing towards adapting the form of the shari'ah to match the conditions and the requirements of the time. The only problem is that this is being done on a very limited level and too slow. Also because the assumption is that the form of the shari'ah is permanent, therefore instead of intending to do ijtihad on the form of the shari'ah, the attempt is to do ijtihad within the form of the shari'ah. Once this assumption is gone, then ijtihad on the form of the shari'ah can take place easier and more effectively.
I think Khalid Abu al-Fadl, one of the contemporary scholars of the Arab world, has very nicely put this:
"As a text, the Qur’an demands a conscientious and morally active reader - a reader who does not stop where the text concludes but who seeks to understand the ethical path the text is setting out and then proceeds to travel along that path."
(Khaled Abou El Fadl, Reasoning with God, p. 386)
As I wrote in my article, this in vast majority of cases does not apply to the worship form of the shari'ah but applies mostly to the social sphere of the form of the shari'ah. Also, if we appreciate that the form of the shari'ah of the Qur'an was in fact an adoption and, where needed, adaptation of what Arabs were already doing at the time then we can easily understand and appreciate that form of the shari'ah related to social sphere can easily take shape by adopting and, where needed, adapting the local civil law of the society under consideration.
I am almost certain that the above brief reply raises some follow up questions and I am more than happy to read them and comment on them.
----------
Related topic:
- Non-Permanent vs Permanent Shari'ah
- The form of the Shari'ah: Forever Fixed or Adaptable in Time?
------------
Farhad Shafti
February 2017
