THE Shariah, contrary to what is believed, is not a mere set of punishments. It literally means a “path to the water hole” i.e. the way to the source of life. Its usage as law is traced directly to the Qur'an, wherein Allah (God) admonishes us to follow the clear and right way, the path of the Shariah: Then We have put you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) on the Way of Religion (Shariah). So follow you that and follow not the desires of those who know not. (Qur'an, 45:18) The Shariah is therefore the entire religion of Islam, a whole way of life, that Muslims believe has been ordained by God Almighty. They submit to it and follow it in obedience based on faith (which by the way is not blind). Its key principle is “preventing harm and bringing welfare to people”. It protects and defends five basic human rights it has identified: Life, property, honor, religion and intellect. The penal system in Islam, which we will look at shortly, is absolutely vital in guaranteeing these fundamental rights. There are two primary sources of the Shariah or Islamic law: Qur'an (God's Word) and Sunnah (Prophet's way of life). The Qur'an was revealed over a period of 23 years in the seventh century. It has been since preserved like no other book in the history of mankind. The Sunnah is everything the Prophet did, commanded to do, and/or approved of. While the uninformed may question how a 1,400-year old law could be relevant today, it does not raise a brow for anyone who has studied just the basics of Islam. The Shariah has two dimensions to it: One specific and the other generic. Inheritance law, for example, is specific. It specifies how much portion of wealth each of the heirs should receive. Similarly are acts of worship like Prayer, Fasting, and Zakat (obligatory charity). Also, the definition of what is right and wrong does not change according to the whims of society. Adultery, homosexuality, incest, murder, rape, and theft will always remain great crimes. As for the generic dimension, broad principles have been laid out for us to derive laws on any contemporary issue. This is the second aspect of the Islamic law, called Fiqh, which may change according to prevailing circumstances. Fiqh literally means the true understanding of what is intended. It technically refers to the science of deducing Islamic laws from evidences found in the sources. The science of Fiqh is bound by principles to ensure Islamic jurists go through a legitimate process laid out by the Shariah for understanding or deducing a law. Though consensus is what is aspired to, the nature of Fiqh is such that Islamic jurists will differ in the deduction/understanding of parts of law, leading to a healthy difference of opinion. An example of such a deduction would be the Islamic ruling on cigarettes. When they were first introduced, the harmful aspect of smoking was not known. Some Islamic scholars ruled that cigarettes were ‘Makrooh' (something disliked or not recommended) because of the repugnant smell that emanates from the mouth. Their opinion was derived from Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) dislike of foul smells and his instruction of not coming to the mosque with smelling mouths (after eating garlic or onions, to be precise). When it was later known that the cigarette is in fact a slow poison that kills the human being, the ruling changed to that of ‘Haraam' (prohibited). This was based on the Qur'anic text that prohibits suicide and consumption of harmful things. Similarly, it is quite possible to derive a ruling on any modern issue from the multitude number of principles found in the sources – Qur'an and Sunnah. (to be continued.) Excerpt from a series on the Shariah law published in SaudiLife.net __
