51. What is Islamic Shariah and
who decides it?

Shir‘a or Shariah literally means ‘method’. It is not equivalent to law or political injunction. Even when there is only one believer, he needs to follow the Shariah in his private life, way of worship, ethical behaviour and personal dealings with other fellowmen. This is Shariah and in this sense, the word ‘Shariah’ has no political connotation at all.

The Shariah in its present form was an innovation of the later-day Muslims; it was not revealed in the Quran. Let me share an example. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan adopted the Objectives Resolution soon after Pakistan became an independent nation. The resolution proclaimed that the future constitution of Pakistan would not be modelled entirely on a European pattern, but on the ideology of Islam. The resolution, in its entirety, has been made part of the Constitution of Pakistan under Article 2(A), which meant that the legislation of Pakistan would be in the light of the Quran and Sunnah. The added injunction introduced in the Constitution of Pakistan was that anyone who goes astray from Islam should be killed. This was a clear innovation in religion and was not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states about those who would turn away from the revealed religion:

Whoever of you turns back from his faith and dies as a denier of the truth will have his deeds come to nothing in this world and in the Hereafter, and he will be an inhabitant of the Fire, to abide therein forever. (Quran 22:27)

Here, it is clear that the act of going astray from Islam is a matter that lies between man and God, and God alone shall deal with such a person. A person who commits a sin has his entire life to repent for his actions. So, anyone who takes such a person’s life on account of apostasy or blasphemy commits a heinous sin, as by killing the person they also take away his opportunity for doing repentance.

It is important to understand that the Shariah is a self-managed system and an optional framework. It is to support the organized working in a Muslim society and is not to be enforced upon. This is because in Islam, an action becomes rewardable when it is done without any compulsion and under self-decision. That which is done out of compulsion or is done under an imposition from an authority is not worthy of being rewarded.

It is the role of the ulema is to clarify this and interpret the Shariah in the modern idiom. For instance, there is a verse in the Quran:

Call mankind to the Pilgrimage. They will come to you, on foot and on every kind of lean camel. (Quran 27:22)

There is consensus among ulema that the reference in the above verse is to a mode of transportation (camel) that was used in earlier times. This mode of transportation is now no longer in use, so whatever is prevalent (cars, buses, airplanes, etc.) will be used to go for the pilgrimage. This example signifies the only role the ulema have to play is in clarifying the Quranic verses and making them understandable in today’s age. The ulema do not have the responsibility to provide a political framework based on the Shariah.