Islamic Law or the Shariah

In our discussion on the Islamic concepts of the State and sovereignty in the previous chapters, we came to the conclusion that the Islamic State and its sovereignty are necessarily within the limits of the Divine Law of Islam, called Shariah (in Arabic or Shariat in Urdu). Islam is a complete code of life: it covers all aspects of human life and society. Hence Shariah is a comprehensive and complete scheme of life.

As an author puts it, “Islam is a religion of laws so comprehensive that it has rules for nearly all human activity, personal and interpersonal, private and-public. It sets rules for government, for fighting wars, and settling disputes. It decrees who are not to marry and what foods not to eat. In other words, there is no area of life which is not covered by the Divine Law or Shariah.” Islam calls on the Muslims to enter into the House of Allah wholly, completely and without any reservations, mental or personal.

Such an all- embracing deen or faith is for all occasions and for all time. It can answer to new questions and problems that may arise in the society in course of its evolution and development. This is, in short, the essence of the Divine Law or Shariah. The interpretative and investigative science of the Shariah is called fiqah (or fiqh in Arabic). It is the scientific method of solving new questions and problems of daily activities of human life on the basis of and within the limits of the Divine Law.

 

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