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Perfection of The Shari'ah
[Islamic Law]
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Abdul Qader Abdul Aziz
al-Jumu'ah Magazine
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"How
can we understand Today Islam in the light of the Quran and
the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet?"
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"Does
it all apply to us in our day to day living?"
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"Or
is there a need to "rethink" the "Shari'ah"?
[Islamic Laws]
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A Jewish man,
once, said to Umar ibn Al-Khattab, radiallaho anhu, regarding
the verse:
'This day I have completed your religion for you, completed
My Favor upon you and have selected for your Way of Life, Al-Islam."
[Holy Quran, 5:3]
"If this
verse [above] had been revealed to us, we would have taken the
day it was revealed as an Eid (a day of celebration)."
Umar
said,
"I know the day when this verse was revealed; it was revealed
on the day of Arafah [standing on Mount Arafah on the Day of
Hajj [pilgrimage] on a Friday."
(Bukhari)
Ibn Abas
said,
"It was revealed in two days of Eid; Friday and Arafah."
Imam
Ibn Hajar said,
"We would have taken the day it was revealed as an Eid"
means that we would have honored this day and celebrated it
every year, because the occurrence of the completion of the
religion is tremendously great."
Because the Islamic
Shari'ah is the last guidance to humans revealed by Allah, subhanahu
wa ta'ala, it had to be complete, perfect, and able to suffice
for all the needs of mankind in this life and the Hereafter.
Allah
says,
'This
day I have completed your religion for you, completed My Favor
upon you and have selected for your Way of Life, Al-Islam."[Holy
Quran, 5:3]
and He says, "...And We have sent down to you the Qur'an
explaining all things..." [Holy
Quran, 16:89]
Ash-Shatibi said,
Ibn Habeeb said, Ibn Al-Majshoon informed me that he heard Imam
Malik saying,
"Whosoever introduces any new matter to this Ummah (nation)
which was not embraced by it's Salaf (predecessors), then he
would be claiming that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe
wa sallam, betrayed the Message (of Islam) because Allah says,
'This
day I have completed your religion for you, completed My Favor
upon you and have selected for your Way of Life, Al-Islam."[Holy
Quran, 5:3]
Therefore, what
was not (part of the) religion then it is not (part of the)
religion today.
Ash-Shatibi added,
"Allah sent down the Shari'ah to His Messenger with all
the explaining that is needed for all mankind; the duties they
are ordered to carry out and the acts of worship that are made
obligatory on them. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam,
did not die until the Religion was fully completed. Allah attests
to this,
'This
day I have completed your religion for you, completed My Favor
upon you and have selected for your Way of Life, Al-Islam."
Therefore,
any one who claims that any part of the religion was left out
or incomplete is belying the verse,
'This day I have completed your religion for you,..."
Ash-Shatibi
then said,
"But the intended completion is the completion of the broad
fundamental basis. No needed base of the religion that is related
to the essentials, necessities, or complements was ever left
out without being explained in full. It is true that there will
be some particular aspects that are not mentioned directly,
but are left for the Mujtahid to derive its rulings based upon
these broad fundamental bases, because Ijtihad base is guaranteed
by the Qur'an and the Sunnah and must be put into practice and
not be abandoned."
Aisha, radiallaho
anha said,
"Never believe anyone who tells you that the Prophet
concealed any part of the Wahee (revelation), because Allah
says,'O Messenger! Proclaim the (Message), which has been sent
down to you from your Lord. If you do not; then you have not
conveyed His Message.'(Bukhari).
Also, Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-Aaz reported that the Prophet,
sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said,
"It
was obligatory upon all the Prophets before me that they lead
their nations to what they know to be best for them and to warn
them of what they know to be evil for them." (Muslim)
In summary it
means that Allah gave to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam,
the ability to put the most comprehensive of meanings into a
few words.
This applies
to both, the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Speech was very well condensed
for him.
This makes Shari'ah easy to memorize and transmit.
This privilege is exclusive to this Ummah, as Allah says,
"Nay,
but it (Qur'an) is clear verses in the hearts of those endowed
with knowledge." [Holy Quran, 29:49]
This evidence
provides the following conclusions:
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Shari'ah
is fully complete.
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Shari'ah
contains all that mankind needs to live a whole and sound
life:
In this World
And in the Next World
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The
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, conveyed the whole entirety
of the Shari'ah and did not conceal any part of it.
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, did not leave out
anything that is good for us except that he led us unto it.
He left out not anything that is evil except that he warned
us about it.
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This
fundamental principal, the "Completion and Perfection
of the Shari'ah," ordains the following facts:
- Since the Shari'ah is fully complete,
Nothing can be added to it.
Nothing can be subtracted from it.
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This
fact establishes the invalidity of all types of Bid'ahs and
invention,
old and new.
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The
perfection of the Shari'ah and its transmission by the Prophet,
sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, means that there is no place
in this religion of Islam for such things as Ilmul-Batin,
or inner Knowledge as some want to call it, that is contrary
to the perceptible (Dhahir) or the reality (Haqiqah) of the
Shari'ah.
This guarantees the invalidity
of all schools of thought
and interpretation of the
Batiniah (those who believe that there is more to the Shari'ah
than its direct and perceptible meaning), as in the case
of the Ismailiyah, atheists and some of the Sufis, among
others; those who say that salah is not the bowing, the
prostration and recitation but it is something else.
Some
of them also say that Paradise and Hellfire are just metaphors
and symbols, and apply these and other similar concepts
to the rest of the Shari'ah.
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The
completion and the perfection of the Shari'ah means that it
is above, and free from, contradiction and inconsistency.
Allah says,
"Do
they not ponder on the Qur'an? Had it been from other than Allah,
they would surly find therein much discrepancy."[Holy
Quran, 4:82]
and
"...And indeed it is an honorable and exalted Book. No falsehood
can approach it from before or behind it: It is sent down by the
One full of Wisdom, Worthy of all Praise" [Holy
Quran, 41:41-42].
- - Some statements may seem to be in contradiction to one
another. Such 'apparent confusion' does not apply to the scholars
who know how to interpret each statement in accordance with
its connotation.
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The
Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said,
"The Qur'an did not come down so for one part of it to contradict
the other, but rather to confirm one another. Therefore practice
the part you understand and refer the part you don't to the one
who knows it"
(Authentic, Ahmad and Al-Baghawi)
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The
perfection of the Shari'ah means that in Islam every matter
has a ruling governing it. This ruling can be an Order, a
Prohibition or a Permission. This ruling can be direct and
independent or included in some other comprehensive principle.
Not knowing the ruling does not mean the Shari'ah is not complete,
rather it means that the Mujtahid, or the researcher for the
ruling, was not able to find it and he must seek the help
of some one who is more knowledgeable than him.
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The
perfection of the Shari'ah means that it is not in need for
any of the previous abrogated religions or any human experiences-like
the man made laws or any other philosophy.
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Therefore,
any one who claims that the Muslims are in need of any such
canons is considered to be a Kafer, or a disbeliever, for
he belied Allah's saying:
"This
day I have completed your religion for you."[Holy Quran,
5:3]
and His saying,"...Your Lord is never forgetful."[Holy
Quran, 19:64].
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Equal
in Kufr, or disbelief, is the one who claims that the Muslims
are in need for the systems of Democracy, Communism or any
other ideology, without which the Muslim lived and applied
the rules of Allah in matters that faced them for fourteen
centuries. The Great Islamic Khilafah was established and
flourished without experiencing any need for such ideologies.
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The
Khalifahs used to administer territories of many different
nations and races, which expanded from west of China to Spain.
They ruled them by the Law of Allah. They appointed governors,
cabinets, judges, controllers, etc. They used to collect the
monies and spend them according to Islam. No one then said,
"The Shari'ah Laws do not apply to governing or to economics"
or "The Laws of Shari'ah are not fit to handle such matters."
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The
Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said,
"The
Prophets used to govern the children of Israel; every time a Prophet
passes away another Prophet succeeds him and there is no Prophet
to come after me and there will be many Khalifahs to come".
They said, "What do you command us to do?" He said:
"Fulfill your pledge of allegiance to them one after another
and give them their due right and indeed Allah will ask them about
their fellow citizens."(Bukhari
and Muslim).
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Siyasah,
or the government and statehood administration, means, "Administrating
the matters in the best fitting manner." Al-Mawardi said,
"The Imamah (Statehood Administration) is founded as
a succession to the Prophet hood in safeguarding the religion
and administrating the worldly affairs."
(Al-Ahkam As-Sultaniah, by al-Mawardi, page 5)
Allah,
subhanahu wa ta'ala, says,
"And no example do they bring to you but We reveal to you
the truth and the best explanation thereof." [Holy
Quran, 25:33]
- Substituting
Islam with man made laws is not allowed. It is not permissible
to mix Islam with those laws like those who claimed such things
as; "Islamic Socialism" and "Islamic Democracy."
Allah
says,
"Most of them believe not in Allah without associating (others
as partners) with Him." [Holy
Quran, 12:106]
- Mixing Islam
with any thing else is considered to be a kind of associating
partners with Allah, the Greatest.
Allah
says, in regard to distinction and independence of Islam from
other religions and worldly systems,
"Say, 'O you Unbelievers, I worship not that which you worship.
Nor do you worship that which I worship. And I will not worship
that which you have been worshipping. Nor will you worship that
which I worship.'"
[Holy Quran, 109:1-5]
and
"And rule and judge between them by that Allah has revealed,
and follow not their vain desires, but be aware of them lest they
beguile you from any of that which Allah sent down to you."[Holy
Quran, 5:49]
May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala guide us and keep us on the Straight
Path and keep us away from all the innovations in the Deen of
Al-Islam, Ameen.
Note: Slight modifications
to the translations and wording have been made by our staff here
at Today Islam. - ed.
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