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Shari'ah
Versus Man Made Laws.-Taqleed, Democracy and Islam
It is necessary to refer all matters of disagreement
between Muslims to Allah Subhana hu Wa Ta'ala and His
Messenger Muhammad (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam). This
is important for the Muslim to know and implement
because it indicates the complete submission to Allah
without which one would not be a Muslim.
Allah Subhana hu Wa Ta'ala says:
"If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to
Allah and His Messenger (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam),
if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is best
and most commendable in the end"
(Surah An Nisa ayat 59)
"And whatever you disagree upon, its decision is with
Allah"
(Surah As Shoora ayat 10)
What is mentioned in these verses regarding referring to
Allah means referring to His Book; and referring to the
Messenger (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam) means
referring to him in person when alive, to his Sunnah
after his death. The third verse of surah Al Maaidah-
"Today I have perfected for you your religion!" is also
proof that the Shari'ah has been perfected and
completed. It covers everything that the believers may
disagree upon concerning their religion, from the
smallest to the greatest, whether hidden or evident. And
if there were not a clear solution to their disagreement
in Allah's Book and His Messenger's (Sall Allah u Alaihi
wa Sallam) Sunnah, or if they were not enough for that,
then He would not have ordered us referral to them.
Allah Subhana hu Wa Ta'ala says: "Follow that which has
been revealed upon you from Allah and do not follow any
other friends besides it. Little do you recollect!"
(Surah Al-A'raaf: Ayah 3)
Rasoolullah (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam) said:
"O people for sure, I am leaving among you these (two
things), if you hold them firmly, you would never go
astray. Those two things are Allah's book and the way of
his prophet."
(Narrated by Hakim in Al Mustadrak with a Saheeh Sanad)
Shari'ah is the Judge and is not to be judged: This is
its power and its role. This means that the Shari'ah
rules and judges whether people's sayings and doings are
correct or not. It judges between them when in conflict
and disagreement. It confirms the right and abolishes
the falsehood. This fact sometimes is violated through
some wrong practices:
TAQLEED: The fanatics in the different
Madaahib, schools of thought, judge the Quran and Sunnah
by what their Imam say. For example, Abul Hassan
al-Karkhy, a prominent Hanafi Imam, said:
"Every verse in the Quran that differs with our Madhab's
understanding is either wrongly interpreted or
abrogated, and the same applies to every hadeeth as
well."
(Usool ul Karkhy)
The above statement needs no elaboration and such a
belief is without, an iota of doubt, clear Kufr.
DEMOCRACY: Today, one of the ugly examples
of people taking the Divine Shari'ah into their own
hands is the one related to the so-called democracy by
taking people's opinion, directly or through their
parliament, about implementing the Islamic Laws. The
essence of this is subjugating the implementation of the
Creator's Shari'ah to the will of His creatures or
rendering it to a mere choice like any human-set
constitution or laws. This is total and clear disbelief,
Kufr. Democracy has become a religion unto its self that
is totally against Islam. A few points are being
presented herein to draw a clear picture of this new
religion that is being used by the West to control the
so-called Islamic states at will through their pawns.
The very word democracy is derived from the Greek word
demos meaning the people.
Democracy is defined as a form of government, which is
of the people, by the people and for the people.
a) In democracy the rule lies with the people whereas in
Islam Allah Subhana hu Wa Ta'ala is the ruler.
b) In democracy the people are the source of power. In
Islam the source of power is the Almighty Allah Subhana
hu Wa Ta'ala.
c) In democracy a body of elected representatives of the
people acts as the lawmaker. In Islam Allah Subhana hu
Wa Ta'ala is the lawmaker.
d) In democracy the viewpoint or vote of a scholar and
that of an ignorant ordinary layman is considered of
equal worth. In Islam the scholars and the ignorant
people are not considered equals. This is because of the
knowledge, which the scholars possess. In fact
Rasoolullah (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam) has given a
very high position of respect to the scholars of Islam.
To elaborate further, what counts in democracy is simply
the number of people who vote for any given
representative, if 10 ordinary people vote for a person
and 9 scholars oppose his election, then the viewpoint
of the 9 scholars has no value as compared to the 10
ignorant people. This situation cannot arise in the
Islamic way of governance.
e) In democracy one is supposed to prove to the masses
that he is the most suitable candidate and every effort
is made to prove one's eligibility and credibility for
the post. In Islam if someone presents himself for a
particular post then he shall never be given that post
ever. As Rasoolullah (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam)
said: "We do not give the office to one who asks for it
or one who desires it." (Saheeh Bukhari Kitab
Istitaabatil Murtaddeen Wal Muanideen Wa Qitaalihim).
f) Dissension and disunity is strictly forbidden in
Islam whereas in democracy the opposition benches are a
pre requisite for any government formation. These
opposition members openly dissent with any government
policy, in fact they are in the assemblies for this
particular function.
g) In Islam it is prohibited to praise oneself and
disrespect others whereas in democracy this is an
integral part of practice.
h) A number of laws passed by the constituent assemblies
are against Islam but are still implemented and
practiced openly. This means that the Word of Allah is
considered inferior to the word of Man and this is
clearly Shirk.
i) Last but not the least, it is known to everyone that
the Constitution of any democratic country is considered
sacred by its politicians and elected representatives.
The violation of the Constitution is considered treason.
But if there is any violation of the Book of Allah or
the teachings of His prophet Muhammad (Sall Allah u
Alaihi wa Sallam), it does not create any unrest in the
society. Why? This is simply because the Man made
Constitution and laws are considered superior or more
important than the Law of Allah Subhana hu Wa Ta'ala. Is
this Islam? Can Islam ever be preserved along with the
democratic institutions of today? For sure, any person
with reasonable knowledge of Islam can never take part
in the exercise of democracy. But it is tragic that
today even the so-called Ulema and scholars openly
advocate the cause of democracy.
The above comparison is clear indication that Democracy
is absolutely against Islam and there can be no
reconciliation between the two in any way. In fact it is
a sort of parallel religion to Islam and Islamic values.
If a person thought that ruling in accordance with what
Allah has descended is not mandatory and that he has a
choice in it, or he belittled it, while certain that it
is Allah's judgment, then he has committed Kufr,
disbelief.
No one from this Ummah is without fault except the
Prophet (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam). And so Allah
ordered us, when in conflict, to refer to Him and to His
Messenger (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam), and not to
refer to anyone else's opinion, saying or laws. Hence it
is understood that there can be fault in anyone's
sayings except the sayings of Allah and His Messenger
(Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam). This also indicates
that the claim of some sects that their Imams are
faultless is baseless and clear Kufr.
Asserting this principle, Imam Malik (Rahmatullah
Alaihi) said, "Any one's sayings may be corrected except
those of the Prophet (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam)".
And similar statements were quoted from Imam Abu Hanifa
(Rahmatullah Alaihi), Imam Ahmed Ibn Hambal (Rahmatullah
Alaihi), Imam Shafi'ee (Rahmatullah Alaihi) and others
although their exact words may differ a little.
Please see Ibn ul Abideen, Seyar Aa'laam un Nubalaa and
Usool ul Ahkaam for more exemplary sayings of the four
Imams in this regard.
Therefore, whenever any disagreement may occur it has to
be solved according to the teachings of Islam. The
referral to the Quran and the Sunnah has to be done by
those who qualify for it, the scholars.
Allah says: "If you do not know, ask of those who
possess the Message."
(Surah An Nahl ayat 43)
With regards to asking the scholars and referring to
them, we caution the Muslims from two types of scholars:
1.Scholars who do not consider the Quran and Sunnah as
complete but rather believe that the jurisprudence and
conjecture of Man can also be a part of religion. All
scholars of sectarian Madahib come under this category.
Because if they would have considered the Quran and
Ahadeeth as the only and complete sources of Islamic law
then these sects would have never ever existed.
2.Scholars who sell themselves for worldly possessions.
Rasoolullah (Sall Allah u Alaihi wa Sallam) said:
"Keenness on money and worldly belongings will ruin
someone's religion more
effectively, than a couple of hungry wolves can ruin a
herd of sheep, if left alone with it."
(Narrated by Tirmizi and Ibn Habbaan with a Sanad
Saheeh)
When people of knowledge prefer this worldly life and
love it, they will definitely say, what is not true
about Allah, in their judgments, sayings and actions.
This is due to the fact that Allah's rulings are not
always in accordance with people's desires especially
those in positions of power and those who follow dubious
paths. Their needs are always fulfilled in disagreement
with the Truth. If the scholars and judges have a liking
to power and follow dubious paths, they will have their
way only by using what opposes the truth.
Thus, it is imperative for Muslims to strictly follow
the Quran and Sunnah and not vain desires either of
their own or of those they hold in respect. This can
only be done by abandoning all Man made laws, which are
contradictory to the Shari'ah.
(O prophet!) No, by your Lord, they are not believers
until they make you their judge in the disputes that
break out between them and then do not resist what you
decide and submit themselves [to you] completely. (Surah
An-Nisa ayat 65)
May Allah keep us all on the right path. Aameen.
Shahid Ali.
8thSafar, 1429
6thFebruary, 2008 |
