Sharia or Islamic Law
Islamic Law is based upon The Quran, examples and sayings of The Prophet, consensus among the learned,
analogical deduction, and individual reasoning.
According to Abu Daud these four Sayings of The Prophet contain the summary of Islamic law (The
Sayings of Muhammad).
- Actions will be judged according to intentions.
- The proof of a Muslim's sincerity is that he payeth no heed to that which is not his business.
- No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
- That which is lawful is clear, and that which is unlawful likewise, but there are certain doubtful things between the two from which it is well to abstain.
Constitution
of Medina (624 CE)
Justice in Islam
John L. Esposito and Natana J. DeLong-Bas, Shariah: What Everyone Needs to Know
In "Arabic the term Shariah is used to refer to any system of laws brought by a prophet
and believed to reflect God's commands. Thus, Shariat Musa is used to refer to the way
of Moses and Shariat al-Massih refers to the way of the Messiah (Jesus). This usage
traces back to the tenth century when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Arabic by
Jewish scholars who used the word Shariah for the Hebrew word "Torah." So too today, the
Arabic name for God, Allah, is commonly used by both Muslims and Christians in
predominantly Muslim countries, including in translations of the Bible by Christians in
Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria."
Enver Masud,
The War on Islam
The definition of justice, according to Dr.
Robert D. Crane, founder of the Center for Civilizational Renewal, is
respect for human rights, which were formulated six centuries ago by Islamic
scholars.
These rights, says Dr. Crane, are: "the right to life and personal integrity
(haqq al haya), to family and community existence and cohesion at all levels
of human society (haqq al nasi), to equal opportunities in accessing
ownership of the means of economic production (haqq al mal), to political
freedom for self-determination both within and among nations (haqq al
hurriyah), to human dignity (haqq al karama, including freedom of religion
and gender equity), and to education, knowledge, and freedom of expression
(haqq al ilm)."
Regarding separation of Church and State, according to Imam Feisal Abdul
Rauf, author of Islam,
a Sacred Law, Islamic jurists recognized this concept centuries before
the Europeans, and divided the body of Shariah rules into two categories:
religious observances and worldly matters. The first they observed to be
beyond the scope of modification. The second, subject to interpretation,
cover the following:
1. Criminal Law: This includes crimes such as murder, larceny, fornication,
drinking alcohol, libel.
2. Family Law: This . . . covers marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody,
inheritance.
3. Transactions: This covers property rights, contracts, rules of sale,
hire, gift, loans and debts, deposits, partnerships, and damages.
"One of the most sensible definitions of the purposes of the Shariah,"
according to Imam Feisal, was given by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah who said:
"The foundation of the Shariah is wisdom and the safeguarding of people's
interests in this world and the next. In its entirety it is justice, mercy
and wisdom. Every rule which transcends justice to tyranny, mercy to its
opposite, the good to the evil, and wisdom to triviality does not belong to
the Shariah . . ."
According to Imam Feisal the sources of Shariah are, in order:
1. The Quran - God's Word revealed to Prophet Muhammad.
2. The Sunnah - practice and teachings of the Prophet.
3. Ijma - consensus of those in authority.
4. Qiyas - reason, logic, and opinion based upon analogy.
Imam Feisal describes seven other methods for deriving Islamic laws. These
seven, plus ijma and qiyas, are collectively known as ijtihad or
interpretation, and/or opinion based upon reason and logic.
Several schools of Shariah have evolved: Shafii, Hanbali, Hanafi, Maliki -
the orthodox schools, and Jafari - the Shiite school. The Zaydis and Ibadis
also have their own schools.
"Classical international law, reputedly invented by the Spaniards Vittorio
and Suarez, borrowed the concept of inalienable human rights from Islamic
law," according to Dr. Crane.
If it's wisely implemented, shariah may better nurture and protect society than does
Western law which is subject to the whims of lawmakers.
Robert D. Crane, The Challenge of Kosovo
The definition of justice is respect for human rights, which were formulated
best six centuries ago as the culmination of a long process by Islamic scholars
in the maqasid or universal principles of the shari'ah. These are the right to
life and personal integrity (haqq al haya), to family and community existence
and cohesion at all levels of human society (haqq al nasi), to equal
opportunities in accessing ownership of the means of economic production (haqq
al mal), to political freedom for self-determination both within and among
nations (haqq al hurriyah), to human dignity (haqq al karama, including freedom
of religion and gender equity), and to education, knowledge, and freedom of
expression (haqq al ilm).
These rights or functional equivalents and corresponding responsibilities
are based on the recognition that true sovereignty in human affairs inheres in
the individual person and expands from there to communities and nations and then
to the community of humankind. Neither sovereignty nor human rights and
responsibilities are artificial human creations any more than is man himself.
The dignity of each person as the building bloc of sovereignty at all levels of
human community, both political and economic, is created by God. -- p. 18-19
The concept of the sovereign state, deriving its authority not from a higher
source of truth and morality but from man as sovereign in the universe, was
invented only three or four centuries ago in the era of "enlightenment" and
revolt against clerical rule by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. Rule by
man, rather than by God, took many shapes, ranging from John Locke's contract
with the people to the tyranny of the manipulated masses invented during the
French Revolution and repeated by the Communists and Nazis a century and a half
later.
The classical international law, reputedly invented by the Spaniards
Vittorio and Suarez, borrowed the concept of inalienable human rights from
Islamic law, but the European colonial powers soon developed a new international
law whereby whoever controlled more than 50% of a territory was ipso facto
sovereign and could legally deny human rights at will. This modern version of
international law was enthusiastically endorsed by the puppets who succeeded the
overt colonialists. -- p. 15
1. See Robert D. Crane, Shaping the Future. Challenge and Response, Center
for Civilizational Renewal, P.O. Box 10199, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504, 159
pages, hardback, 1997; and "The Search for Justice and the Quest for Virtue: The
Two Basics of Islamic Law," in The Sun is Rising in the West, authors and
editors Muzaffar Haleem and Betty Bowman, Amana Publications, Beltsville, MD,
1999.
Amulya Ganguli, "Sir Vidia Sees the Light!," Hindustan Times
Aurangzeb, that most bigoted of all Mughal emperors, had once
written to his underlings: ". . . information has reached our
noble and most holy court that certain persons interfere and
harass the Hindu residents of the town of Benaras and its
neighbourhood and the Brahman keepers of the temples...
Therefore, our royal command is that, after the arrival of this
lustrous order, you should direct that, in future, no person
shall in unlawful way interfere and disturb the Brahmans and
other Hindu residents at these places, so that they may, as
before, remain in their occupation and continue with peace of
mind to offer prayers for the continuance of our god-gifted
empire, so that it may last forever."
Khaled M. Abou El Fadl, The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Islamic Law Can Be Used to Fight ISIS
Intisar A. Rabb, Doubt in Islamic Law
Afua Hirsch, Fears Over Non-Muslim's Use
of Islamic Law to Resolve Disputes,
Guardian
Shaheed Isma'il Raji al Faruqi, Islam and Other Reigions
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