Allah, to Whom all praise and glory is due, says in Surah Ash-Shuraa, verse 13:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Our topic today, Allah willing, is the Islamic Shari'ah. I selected this topic on two accounts: First, some non-Muslims attack Islam and Muslims due to their misunderstandings of Islamic Shari'ah, often calling it "sharia law" or "creeping shariah"; and second, some Muslims also do not understand the meaning of sharia law. Therefore, we will discuss:
So, the divine laws, including sharia law, are based on the revealed books - the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an. And in Islam, sharia law also comes from the hadiths, the sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). These sharias differ in other ways, regarding how to pray, or how to deal with people, and the laws of inheritance. Islamic sharia confirms many previous rulings in some areas and differs in others. That is why Allah said:
An important question is this: Does sharia law only include punishments? The answer is no. Punishments (hudood) are only a very small part of sharia law. We need to remove these misunderstandings. First, there are four punishments in sharia law:
The verses in the Qur'an that deal with punishments were not revealed in the beginning of the revelation, but towards the end of it, as Surah al-Maidah is among the last of the Surahs that was revealed. So, before Muhammad (pbuh) applied the punishments, he (pbuh) applied the rest of Islam! When charity has been established, meaning it is collected from the rich and given to the poor, there is no need to steal if he is already receiving support from the wealth of the Muslims.
Let's look at this issue further. The punishment for stealing is to cut off the hand. But applying this punishment has a very strict set of conditions.
First, we need to ensure all the teachings of Islam are in practice. For example, we cannot leave the practice of collecting the obligatory charity before applying the punishment for stealing. An example is found in Umar ibn al-Khattab. When he was the leader of the faithful, he inquired to one of his governors, "What do you do when a thief is brought to you?" The governor said, "I cut off his hand." Umar said, "Then, if a hungry person from your district comes to me, I should order the cutting of your hand! I did not appoint you to humiliate the people or to put them into poverty. I appointed you to remove their hunger, and to promote justice among them." From this hadith we understand that if a person steals out of hunger or desperation of poverty, it is not permissible to chop his hand off according to sharia.
In fact, Umar withheld the punishment for stealing in a year of extreme hardship, when the people were facing a famine. For an entire year Umar ordered that no one be subjected to the usual punishment for stealing because the thief might be a needy person in dire straights. This is in line with Muhammad's (pbuh) order in sharia law: Remove the punishments in the case of doubt.
Islam has ordered the ruler to feed the people, and to teach the ignorant in the matters of religion, and to take care of the orphan, and to tend to the sick, and to provide shelter for the homeless. Then, and only then, if a person steals not due to some need but due to mischief, the punishment of stealing will be applicable to him or her. But we should remember that in order to apply the punishment, the thief must have stolen a significant amount. The punishment of chopping off the hand is not applicable if someone stole an insignificant amount, such as $20 here in America. The person who stole must not have stake of ownership, so the punishment will not be given to the one who teals from his father's house, and punishment will not be given to a person who steals from the treasury of the Muslims. In such cases, a lesser punishment, such as time in prison, may be given. This is called Tadheer.
Furthermore, punishment cannot be given to an ignorant person, one who does not know what is permissible and what is forbidden. In this regard, sharia law is more merciful than the law of the United States, because the argument that one is ignorant of the law is not a valid argument in America.
The next condition, and this is a very important one, is that the punishment can only be determined and ordered by the ruler, and not by the people among themselves, and the ruler can only apply them after going through all the criteria. So honor killings, the practice of killing relatives, in particular girls, for possibly committing adultery, is not a killing of honor but an outright murder. Muslims absolutely cannot take matters into their own hands regarding these punishments. If they cannot resolve the situation among themselves, they must go to the local authority and argue their case there, and be willing to accept whatever punishment (if any) the ruler decides. So here in America, because we have no authority on sharia who is in charge and can decide the punishment, there is no sharia punishment for any of these offenses. Instead we rely on the government of the United States to do with these cases as they see fit.
Finally, we must answer the question that many people answer for themselves incorrectly. Can sharia law be applied to non-Muslims? The answer is "No." Non-Muslims, whether they are Jews or Christians or Hindus or Buddhists are not required to follow Islamic sharia law. Sharia law is only for Muslims. So these claims that Muslims are trying to slowly implement sharia, also known as creeping sharia, are absolutely false.
Dear brothers and sisters, we should not be unfair to Islam, or to sharia law, and we should not believe that sharia means only chopping off hands, or lashing people, or stoning them. Sharia also means to take care of orphans, to give charity, to help the needy, to take care of the sick, and to give shelter to the homeless. Similarly, sharia orders us to be kind and just to parents, neighbors, and non-Muslims.
Sharia law is a whole, not a part. Only when the above conditions have been fulfilled is it then permissible to apply punishment to the Muslims who break the commandments, since they are the transgressors.
I invite all of you, my brothers and sisters in Islam, to learn the correct sharia law and understand its meanings, and advise you not to discuss sharia if you don't understand it. I wish to make an important point that Islam is a religion of mercy, and Muhammad (pbuh) was a prophet of mercy. Muhammad (pbuh) told us a story of a woman who entered the hellfire because she locked up an unwanted cat without food or water, and it died of hunger. So, when Islam gives so much importance to the right of a mere animal, and forbids torturing them, does it make sense for Islam to be cruel to the best of creations - humans - whom Allah has honored?
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Allah has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein.And Allah says in Surah al Ma'idah, verse 48, "So judge between the people by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method [a way of life]."
Dear brothers and sisters,
Our topic today, Allah willing, is the Islamic Shari'ah. I selected this topic on two accounts: First, some non-Muslims attack Islam and Muslims due to their misunderstandings of Islamic Shari'ah, often calling it "sharia law" or "creeping shariah"; and second, some Muslims also do not understand the meaning of sharia law. Therefore, we will discuss:
- What is the meaning of sharia law?
- What is the relationship between sharia law with the law of Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them both)?
- When are the punishments, such as cutting off the hand or stoning the adulterer, applicable?
- What are the requirements for the application of sharia law?
- Is sharia law applicable to non-Muslims?
It is only appropriate that a person does not open his mouth on something until and unless he has clearly understood its meanings. Unfortunately, many news programs and politicians talk about sharia law without understanding it. The result is a general misunderstanding regarding what sharia really is.
Sharia law is what Allah, to Whom all praise and glory is due, has ordained for Muslims. It includes belief, acts of worship (prayers, fasting, charity, etc), morals (truth, trustworthiness, kindness), and the etiquette of dealing with people, such as visiting the sick and how to greet one another. Sharia law includes all that Allah has ordained for us in all walks of life to ensure our success in this world and the Hereafter.
As we ponder over sharia law, we discover that its sources are commandments from Allah delivered to Muhammad (pbuh). Similarly, we see that Allah also sent his sharia to the previous prophets (pbut). So, Moses (pbuh) came with sharia for his people, and Jesus (pbuh) also came with sharia, and similarly, Muhammad (pbuh) came with sharia. These sharia agree and complement each other in some ways, as they are all from Allah, and they also differ in other ways, according to the place and time of the revelation. Allah's law are all in agreement in the following:
- Beliefs: Every sharia testifies to only One creator and sustainer, and that is Allah.
- Morals: Every sharia emphasizes good morals. Every messenger instructed his people to have morals of truth, honesty, and trust, and all forbade falsehood, theft, and oppression. Therefore, every messenger (pbut) ordained good morals and forbid bad morals.
Moses (pbuh) ordained the Ten Commandments to his people, and these are found in the Torah/Old Testament. Jesus (pbuh) also confirmed them when he said in the book of Matthew, 5:17:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.The Ten Commandments include:
- You shall have no other gods before Me. This is equal to the belief in Islam that shirk (associating partners with Allah) is a great sin and against Allah's sharia.
- You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. Muslims have a very similar belief regarding statues and other images.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. This means to not take a false oath by the name of Allah, and Muslims believe this as well.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Muslims do not go to the extreme of not working at all on our day of worship, but we are still ordered to stop what we are doing and worship Allah for Allah's sake alone.
- Honor your father and your mother. Muslims have a similar command, except the mother is owed much more honor than the father since she gives part of her life to bring her children into this world.
- You shall not murder. Indeed, Muslims have the exact same order as the Jews and Christians regarding this.
- You shall not commit adultery. Again, same order.
- You shall not steal. Ditto.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Ditto.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s. And this also applies to the Muslim.
Similar to these commandments given to Moses and Jesus (pbut), Allah gave us commandments in the Qur'an:
Say, "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment, and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason." [Surah al-'An'aam, verse 151]and
do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best until he reaches maturity. And give full measure and weight in justice. We do not charge any soul except [with that within] its capacity. And when you testify, be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative. And the covenant of Allah fulfill. This has He instructed you that you may remember. [Surah al-'An'aam, verse 152]and
O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful. [Surah an-Nisa, verse 29]Allah also said, "this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may become righteous."
So, the divine laws, including sharia law, are based on the revealed books - the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an. And in Islam, sharia law also comes from the hadiths, the sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). These sharias differ in other ways, regarding how to pray, or how to deal with people, and the laws of inheritance. Islamic sharia confirms many previous rulings in some areas and differs in others. That is why Allah said:
Allah has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein.This verse points to the similarities of the sharias of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The next verse points to their differences:
To each of you We prescribed a law and a method [a way of life].At-Tabari explained that this verse means, "To every nation we revealed the right way, and a clear way of life to follow." Similarly, ibn Abbas explained, "The ways of life are different. The Torah has a shariah, the Bible has a shariah, and the Qur'an has a shariah, and all of them are from Allah".
An important question is this: Does sharia law only include punishments? The answer is no. Punishments (hudood) are only a very small part of sharia law. We need to remove these misunderstandings. First, there are four punishments in sharia law:
- Punishment for sex outside of marriage
- Punishment for false accusation (one who accuses a man or woman of having sex outside of marriage who is unable to produce four just, trustworthy witnesses to the physical act of penetration)
- Punishment for greater theft (rebellion)
- Punishment for theft.
The verses in the Qur'an that deal with punishments were not revealed in the beginning of the revelation, but towards the end of it, as Surah al-Maidah is among the last of the Surahs that was revealed. So, before Muhammad (pbuh) applied the punishments, he (pbuh) applied the rest of Islam! When charity has been established, meaning it is collected from the rich and given to the poor, there is no need to steal if he is already receiving support from the wealth of the Muslims.
Let's look at this issue further. The punishment for stealing is to cut off the hand. But applying this punishment has a very strict set of conditions.
First, we need to ensure all the teachings of Islam are in practice. For example, we cannot leave the practice of collecting the obligatory charity before applying the punishment for stealing. An example is found in Umar ibn al-Khattab. When he was the leader of the faithful, he inquired to one of his governors, "What do you do when a thief is brought to you?" The governor said, "I cut off his hand." Umar said, "Then, if a hungry person from your district comes to me, I should order the cutting of your hand! I did not appoint you to humiliate the people or to put them into poverty. I appointed you to remove their hunger, and to promote justice among them." From this hadith we understand that if a person steals out of hunger or desperation of poverty, it is not permissible to chop his hand off according to sharia.
In fact, Umar withheld the punishment for stealing in a year of extreme hardship, when the people were facing a famine. For an entire year Umar ordered that no one be subjected to the usual punishment for stealing because the thief might be a needy person in dire straights. This is in line with Muhammad's (pbuh) order in sharia law: Remove the punishments in the case of doubt.
Islam has ordered the ruler to feed the people, and to teach the ignorant in the matters of religion, and to take care of the orphan, and to tend to the sick, and to provide shelter for the homeless. Then, and only then, if a person steals not due to some need but due to mischief, the punishment of stealing will be applicable to him or her. But we should remember that in order to apply the punishment, the thief must have stolen a significant amount. The punishment of chopping off the hand is not applicable if someone stole an insignificant amount, such as $20 here in America. The person who stole must not have stake of ownership, so the punishment will not be given to the one who teals from his father's house, and punishment will not be given to a person who steals from the treasury of the Muslims. In such cases, a lesser punishment, such as time in prison, may be given. This is called Tadheer.
Furthermore, punishment cannot be given to an ignorant person, one who does not know what is permissible and what is forbidden. In this regard, sharia law is more merciful than the law of the United States, because the argument that one is ignorant of the law is not a valid argument in America.
The next condition, and this is a very important one, is that the punishment can only be determined and ordered by the ruler, and not by the people among themselves, and the ruler can only apply them after going through all the criteria. So honor killings, the practice of killing relatives, in particular girls, for possibly committing adultery, is not a killing of honor but an outright murder. Muslims absolutely cannot take matters into their own hands regarding these punishments. If they cannot resolve the situation among themselves, they must go to the local authority and argue their case there, and be willing to accept whatever punishment (if any) the ruler decides. So here in America, because we have no authority on sharia who is in charge and can decide the punishment, there is no sharia punishment for any of these offenses. Instead we rely on the government of the United States to do with these cases as they see fit.
Finally, we must answer the question that many people answer for themselves incorrectly. Can sharia law be applied to non-Muslims? The answer is "No." Non-Muslims, whether they are Jews or Christians or Hindus or Buddhists are not required to follow Islamic sharia law. Sharia law is only for Muslims. So these claims that Muslims are trying to slowly implement sharia, also known as creeping sharia, are absolutely false.
Dear brothers and sisters, we should not be unfair to Islam, or to sharia law, and we should not believe that sharia means only chopping off hands, or lashing people, or stoning them. Sharia also means to take care of orphans, to give charity, to help the needy, to take care of the sick, and to give shelter to the homeless. Similarly, sharia orders us to be kind and just to parents, neighbors, and non-Muslims.
Sharia law is a whole, not a part. Only when the above conditions have been fulfilled is it then permissible to apply punishment to the Muslims who break the commandments, since they are the transgressors.
I invite all of you, my brothers and sisters in Islam, to learn the correct sharia law and understand its meanings, and advise you not to discuss sharia if you don't understand it. I wish to make an important point that Islam is a religion of mercy, and Muhammad (pbuh) was a prophet of mercy. Muhammad (pbuh) told us a story of a woman who entered the hellfire because she locked up an unwanted cat without food or water, and it died of hunger. So, when Islam gives so much importance to the right of a mere animal, and forbids torturing them, does it make sense for Islam to be cruel to the best of creations - humans - whom Allah has honored?
