By Cyril Anderson

Part 1 of 4

In society in general today, and even in the press, misconceptions abound on the subjectof shariah, the Islamic religious legal code. A number of common misconceptions have found frequent repetition in hysterical news reports over the past years.  These reports claim, variously, that the shariah:

 1.      Is “medieval”

2.      Is “oppressive against women”

3.      That it dictates all parts of a person’s life

4.      That it involves grim, bearded men handing out stonings and amputating limbs

5.      That it forces people to live like the 7^th century

 It is surprising that such stereotypes persist despite a general increase in awareness amongst the public of authentic knowledge about Islam and an increase in the availability of sound material regarding Islam in English giving access to Western readers.  A number of factors may be speculated for this phenomenon, be it people basing their view of Islam on the usually biased writings of Orientalist “experts” on Islam, or people equating the merely cultural practices of some ignorant people in “Muslim” countries with Islam, and Islamic law itself.  Most likely it is a combination of several factors.  The purpose of this humble introduction to Islamic Law is to clear away some of these major misconceptions and show what the shariah is really about.

So what is shariah?

Islam follows the same idea with the shariah.  It is an attempt to codify, based on the teachings of the Qu’ran and the example and sayings of authoritative religious figures such as Muhammad and certain others of his family, combined with reason and the aid of specialized knowledge from other fields such as science when helpful, the best actions given certain common situations that a person will face in his life during that period of time.

It attempts to clarify, in a given situation, what behaviors are forbidden, what are permissible, but unfavorable, what are neutral, what are desirable or recommended, and what actions are obligatory in that case from a religious/ethical perspective.  The idea overall is that by following these guidelines, one will live in the most moral way, living most according to the will of the Creator.  All legal systems aim to bring about, through their regulations, the best state of affairs in society.  Such laws are determined by appointed legislators through careful reflection based on knowledge of the nature of humanity, be it socially, psychologically, culturally, or economically.  The idea with Islamic religious law is to uncover the code of Law set by the best of lawgivers, the One who knows humanity best, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.  The idea is that this law, if willingly and seriously followed by the people, will lead to the most ideal society, because such a society is living according to the blueprints set out by the designer of the entire human system.

One of the essential parts of the theology of Islam, and one of the fundamental roots of the faith, is the belief that God is just.  Although it is believed that God encompasses everything, and is not constrained by anything, it is also believed that God chooses, voluntarily, to be just in His relations with humans, and with His universe as a whole.  Islamic laws are held to represent this same sense of Divine Justice.  It should be noted that this idea that God is just does not mean that what God wills is just simply because God wills it.  Rather, Islam holds that humans have an intuitive sense of what actions are right and wrong according to the laws of Divine harmony exemplified by nature.  Islam holds that we have a natural sense of justice and right and wrong, but are socialized to forget or rationalize violating this natural code.  It is the duty of prophets to remind people of this sense of justice and morality innate within them, and to call them to the Divine law which is consistent with this inner sense of morality.  This inner sense of morality is the conscience that gnaws at the heart of those do wrong.

Because true Divine law is held to be consistent with the nature of humans and their natural inner sense of morality, they should be understandable by the reason that our Creator has given us.  Because of this, for true, God-given laws, one should be able to understand and give a reasonable justification for why the law is beneficial to human society.  Humans, being imperfect in knowledge, may not be able to see all of the reasons for a particular law, but people certainly should be able to see some rational reason for a law before they are convinced that the law comes from God.  This is a way to distinguish those laws that are truly in harmony with Divine justice, and those in disharmony.

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