Sharia Is the Most Controversial Concept in the World - Although Its Interpretation Is Human
By Dr
Asad Syed, New Age Islam
25 August
2022
Sharia
Was Just Supposed To Be A Way Of Living; It Was Not Meant To Be Associated With
Political Power
Main
Points:
1. No religious
law has ever had worse press than the Sharia has in recent times.
2. To many, the
Sharia conjures the horrors of hands being cut off, adulterers being beaten,
and women being oppressed.
3. Different
people understand and apply the Sharia in different ways.
------
What is
Sharia in Islam?
There was a
time when Afghanistan was a modern state, faith was a private matter, burqas
were optional, and women and men could travel together. Right next door, Iran
was not far behind; it was on par with the Western world. Women could step out
without a veil and even meet men in public, but Iran and Afghanistan are very
different today. The hijab is mandatory and Western clothing is frowned upon;
clerics dictate societal norms, religious police patrol the streets, and civil
rights are non-existent. What happened in these countries? They came under
Sharia law.
Arguably
the most controversial concept in the world is the concept of Sharia. It's back
in the news after the Taliban took over Kabul. The first question, what is
Sharia? To many, the word conjures the horrors of hands being cut off,
adulterers being beaten, and women being oppressed. In fact, no religious law has
ever had worse press than the Sharia has in recent times. Why is that so?
Thanks to the misrepresentation, manipulation, and misuse of the Sharia by
Islamic regimes, politicians, clerics, and radical terrorists, they've all used
the Sharia to rule in the name of God.
Sharia has no clear definition. Different people understand and apply
the Sharia in different ways. In the latter case, the Sharia is an Islamic
legal and spiritual system, both divine and philosophical, religious because it
is said to be God's will for humankind, and philosophical because it is based
on human understanding.
In Arabic,
the Sharia translates as "the clear well-trodden path to the water."
The human interpretation of Sharia is called the Fiqh, which means
"understanding." These terms are used interchangeably, but they're
not the same. Sharia is considered divine and permanent, infallible, but its
interpretation is human.
It's a set
of rules by Muslim scholars over the centuries. These rules have been drafted
and applied to suit those in power. The laws of Sharia are derived from three
sources of the Quran, Islam’s holy book - the Sunnah, the deeds and sayings of
Prophet Muhammad, and a range of other sources promoted by early scholars and Ulema,
like how God wants Muslims to live. Still, there is no single law book,
definite statute, or set judicial proceeding to determine the Sharia. It's a
vast collection of different, often conflicting interpretations.
These
interpretations gave birth to five legal schools of Sharia. They are not
different in the fundamentals of the faith. Still, in their practice, there are
differences in how they pray, resolve legal matters, settle marital disputes,
and deliver punishment for certain crimes. This is understandable because no
religion is uniform. Still, the problem begins when religion is mixed with the
government. Many Muslims who embraced
the Sharia thought of it as a substitute for the law of the land, and that's
where the problem lies. Sharia was just supposed to be a way of living. It was
not meant to be associated with political power. When European colonialism
ended in much of West Asia, Africa, and Asia, the leaders of the newly formed
Muslim majority countries faced a dilemma; should they govern based on previous
Islamic values, or should they embrace laws inherited from colonial rule? They
proclaimed the Sharia as the basis of their legal justice system.
In 1932,
Saudi Arabia was formed as a theocratic monarchy, and in 1979, Iran witnessed
the Islamic revolution. Until then, Iran was a secular monarchy. After the
process, the clerics took power, and the country became the Islamic Republic.
In 1996, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and made it a terror regime
based on the Sharia. What makes this law acceptable in some countries and
horrific in others is its understanding and implementation. Some countries
enforce the most discriminatory and patriarchal aspects of Sharia. They
selectively pick certain verses from the Quran and legalize draconian practices
like polygamy, triple Talaq, and genital mutilation.
Representative Image
------
They also
enforce rules that had little or no basis in Islam; research shows that most of
these punishments were not sanctioned in the Quran. The Prophet did not
practice them, yet today they've been made the highlights of the Sharia.
They're being used to dictate the daily lives of Muslims the world over. Many
followers do not understand this. They stubbornly uphold ignorant and unjust
practices. The biggest victims of this are Muslim women. Does God judge
differently based on gender? For many clerics, it does; even though women
worked and fought alongside the Prophet, they don't tell you this.
In some
countries, women cannot step out without an Abaya, but men can dress the way
they want; women cannot stand for president, but men can govern for a lifetime.
Still, men are allowed to have four wives; women cannot travel without male
guardians; women cannot drive. Women cannot retain custody of their children
after a divorce. They receive half of what is awarded to their brothers in
inheritance.
It is cited
to justify what they called the conquest mindset to wage wars in the name of
Islam, especially by terror outfits. They will portray themselves as more
faithful than other Muslims. They use religious scholars in their ranks to make
finely crafted arguments to use religion as a pretext to perpetrate violence.
They exploit people who have little understanding of Islam. They recruit them
as foot soldiers to fight their politically motivated wars. Some join them in
the name of faith, some in the name of their land, some for a good paycheck,
and some because they're just murderous.
This is not the Sharia.
Much damage
has been done in the name of religion, including people from all faiths, by
people from all cultures. That's true for the Sharia, yet it remains a way of
life for 1.8 billion followers of Islam in more than 57 countries.
Rational
people think all things, including religion, must evolve with time. If some
practices are outdated, they must end. Religious laws have no place in modern
nation-states governed by a constitution. If the Sharia interpretation and
approach clashes with today's way of life and social structures, then perhaps
it’s the time for society to bring changes and revision after reflection rather
than resentment.
----
Dr Syed N. Asad, MD, FACP served as a
vice-president and a treasurer on the executive board of IMANA (Islamic Medical
Association of North America) and a physician at Senior Friendship Health
Centre, Naples, Florida. He graduated from high school in Hyderabad, India,
with high honours; attended Osmania University Medical School; and completed
his medical training in the United States. He taught medicine and nephrology at
a New York state university for nearly twenty years before opening an
independent practice. He is the author of a book, Selected Collections of the
Holy Quran in English: A Companion for Young Muslims to Understand the Divine
Messages of Prophet Mohammad.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/sharia-controversial-concept-interpretation/d/127792
New Age Islam, Islam
Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism