A
major hurdle for modern Muslims is understanding “Shari’ah” and applying its
tenets for living in a non-Muslim state. Muslim have far too little
guidance that speaks from an interpretation of Shari’ah based on non-religious
state regulations, e.g., (the UN Declaration of Human Rights), which separates
religious belief and governmental laws.
HISTORY
OF SHARI’AH:
Shari'ah means
"way" or "path". Shari'ah
was not revealed by Allah (God). It is based on the Qur'an and things Prophet
Muhammad, pbuh, said and actions he took as religious and governmental leader of
Medina. Shari'ah was created by people who
interpreted the Qur'an and the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Shari'ah
is not a legal system. It is a methodo-logical way of living life based upon
very early and later traditional interpretations derived from Quran and the
authentic Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad—not the athar (antiquities) of the Sahabah
and Tabi’un as collected in Hadith collections.
When early scholars
interpreted Shari'ah, e.g., Imam Abu Hanafi, Imam Sha'fii, Imam Maliki, it was called ijtihad. Even very religious, well-educated scholars
of different schools of theological thought (madhahib) disagreed with each
other.
Later early jurists, looking for
patterns, linked their interpretations of Qur'an and Hadith, common economic
practices of their time, and cultural practices from their area of the
world. Jurists all over the
expanding Islamic empire could reasonably figure out answers to questions posed to them. These rulings shaped our understanding of
Shari'ah.
