Perfection of the Shariah

 

Perfection of
the Shari'ah

Abdul Qader Abdul Aziz

Al-Jumu'ah Magazine

---

 

 

A Jewish man, once, said to Umar, "If the
verse 'This day I have completed your religion for you, fulfilled My favor
upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion' was revealed
to us, we would have taken the day it was revealed as an Eid (a day of
celebration)." Umar said, " I know the day when this verse was revealed;
it was revealed on the day of Arafah on a Friday." (Bukhari) 

Ibn Abas said, " it was revealed in two
days of Eid; Friday and Arafah." Imam Ibn Hajar said, "We would have taken
the day it was revealed as an Eid" means that we would have honored this
day and celebrated it every year, because the occurrence of the completion
of the religion is tremendously great." Because the Islamic Shari'ah is
the last guidance to humans revealed by Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, it
had to be complete, perfect, and able to suffice for all the needs of mankind
in this life and the Hereafter. Allah says, "...This day, I have completed
your religion for you..."#[5:3] and He says, "...And We have sent down
to you the Qur'an explaining all things..." [16:89] 

Ash-Shatibi said, "Ibn Habeeb said, 'Ibn
Al-Majshoon informed me that he heard Imam Malik saying, "Whosoever introduces
any new matter to this Ummah (nation) which was not embraced by it's Salaf
(predecessors), then he would be claiming that the Messenger of Allah,
sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, betrayed the Message (of Islam) because Allah
says, "This day I have completed your religion for you, fulfilled My favor
upon you, and chosen for you Islam as your religion." Therefore, what was
not (part of the) religion then it is not (part of the) religion today."
Ash-Shatibi added, "Allah sent down the Shari'ah to His Messenger with
all the explaining that is needed for all mankind; the duties they are
ordered to carry out and the acts of worship that are made obligatory on
them. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, did not die until the Religion
was fully completed. Allah attests to this, "This day I have completed
your religion for you." Therefore, any one who claims that any part of
the religion was left out or incomplete is belying the verse, "This day
I have completed your religion for you." 

Ash-Shatibi then said, "But the intended
completion is the completion of the broad fundamental basis. No needed
base of the religion that is related to the essentials, necessities, or
complements was ever left out without being explained in full. It is true
that there will be some particular aspects that are not mentioned directly,
but are left for the Mujtahid# to derive its rulings based upon these broad
fundamental bases, because Ijtihad base is guaranteed by the Qur'an and
the Sunnah and must be put into practice and not be abandoned." 

Aisha said, "Never believe whosoever told
you that the Prophet concealed any part of the Wahyy (revelation), because
Allah says, 'O Messenger! Proclaim the (Message), which has been sent down
to you from your Lord. If you do not; then you have not conveyed His Message.'"
(Bukhari). Also, Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-Aas reported that the Prophet,
sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "It was obligatory upon all the Prophets
before me that they lead their nations to what they know to be best for
them and to warn them of what they know to be evil for them." (Muslim)

In summary it means that Allah gave to
the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, the ability to put the most comprehensive
of meanings into a few words. This applies to both, the Qur'an and the
Sunnah. Speech was very well condensed for him. This makes Shari'ah easy
to memorize and transmit. This privilege is exclusive to this Ummah, as
Allah says, "Nay, but it (Qur'an) is clear verses in the hearts of those
endowed with knowledge."#[29:49]

 

 

This evidence provide the following conclusions:

1-The Shari'ah is fully complete. It contains
all that man needs to achieve a whole and sound life in this world and
the one to come.

2-The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam,
conveyed the whole entirety of the Shariah and did not conceal any part
of it.

3-The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam,
did not leave out any thing that is good for us but he led us unto it and
left not any thing that is evil but he warned us from it.

 

This fundamental principal, the "Completion
and Perfection of the Shari'ah," ordains the following facts:

- Since the Shari'ah is fully complete,
nothing can be added to it nor subtracted from it. This fact establishes
the invalidity of all types of Bid'ahs and invention, old and new.

- The perfection of the Shari'ah and its
transmission by the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, means that there
is no place in this religion of Islam for such things as Ilmul-Batin, or
inner Knowledge as some want  to call it, that is contrary to the
perceptible (Dhahir) or the reality (Haqiqah) of the Shari'ah. This guarantees
the invalidity of all schools of thought and interpretation of the Batiniah
(those who believe that there is more to the Shariah than its direct and
perceptible meaning), as in the case of the Ismailiah atheists and some
of the Sufis, among others; those who say that salah is not the bowing,
the prostration and recitation but it is something else. Some of them also
say that Paradise and Hellfire are just metaphors and symbols, and apply
these and other similar concepts to the rest of the Shariah.

- The completion and the perfection of
the Shari'ah means that it is above, and free from, contradiction and inconsistency.
Allah says, "Do they not ponder on the Qur'an? Had it been from other than
Allah, they would surly find therein much discrepancy" [4:82] and "...And
indeed it is an honorable and exalted Book. No falsehood can approach it
from before or behind it: It is sent down by the One full of Wisdom, Worthy
of all Praise" [41:41-42]. Some statements may seem to be in contradiction
to one another. Such 'apparent confusion' does not apply to the scholars
who know how to interpret each statement in accordance with its connotation.
The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "The Qur'an
did not come down so for one part of it to contradict the other, but rather
to confirm one another. Therefore practice the part you understand and
refer the part you don't to the one who knows it" (Authentic, Ahmad and
Al-Baghawi)

- The perfection of the Shar'iah means
that in Islam every matter has a ruling governing it. This ruling can be
an Order, a Prohibition or a Permission. This ruling can be direct and
independent or included in some other comprehensive principle. Not knowing
the ruling does not mean the Shariah is not complete, rather it means that
the mujtahid, or the researcher for the ruling, was not able to find it
and he must seek the help of some one who is more knowledgeable than him.

- The perfection of the Shar'iah means
that it is not in need for any of the previous abrogated religions or any
human experiences-like the man made laws or any other philosophy. Therefore,
any one who claims that the Muslims are in need of any such canons is considered
to be a Kafer, or a disbeliever, for he belied Allah's saying: "This day
I have completed your religion for you." [5:3] and His saying, "...Your
Lord is never forgetful." [19:64]. Equal in Kufr, or disbelief, is the
one who claims that the Muslims are in need for the systems of Democracy,
Communism or any other ideology, without which the Muslim lived and applied
the rules of Allah in matters that faced them for fourteen centuries.

 

The Great Islamic Khilafah was established
and flourished without experiencing any need for such ideologies. The Khalifahs
used to administer territories of many different nations and races, which
expanded from west of China to Spain. They ruled them by the Law of Allah.
They appointed governors, cabinets, judges, controllers, etc. They used
to collect the monies and spend them according to Islam. No one then said,
"The Shar'iah Laws do not apply to governing or to economics" or "The Laws
of Shari'ah are not fit to handle such matters." The Messenger of Allah,
sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "The Prophets used to govern the children
of Israel; every time a Prophet passes away another Prophet succeeds him
and there is no Prophet to come after me and there will be many Khalifahs
to come". They said, "What do you command us to do?" He said: "Fulfill
your pledge of allegiance to them one after another and give them their
due right and indeed Allah will ask them about their fellow citizens."
(Bukhari and Muslim). Siyasah, or the government and statehood administration,
means, "Administrating the matters in the best fitting manner." Al-Mawardi
said, "The Imamah (Statehood Administration) is founded as a succession
to the Prophethood in safeguarding the religion and administrating the
worldly affairs." (Al-Ahkam As-Sultaniah, by al-Mawirdi, page 5)

Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says, "And
no example do they bring to you but We reveal to you the truth and the
best explanation thereof." [25:33]

Substituting Islam with man made laws is
not allowed. It is not permissible to mix Islam with them-like those who
claimed, "Islamic Socialism," "Islamic Democracy." Allah says, "Most of
them believe not in Allah without associating (others as partners) with
Him." [12:106]

Mixing Islam with any thing else is considered
to be a kind of associating partners with Allah, the Greatest. Allah says,
in regard to distinction and independence of Islam from other religions
and worldly systems, "Say O you Infidels I worship not that which you worship.
Nor will you worship that I worship. And I will not worship that you have
been wont to worship. Nor will you worship that which I worship." [109:1-5]
and "And rule and judge between them by that Allah has revealed, and follow
not their vain desires, but be aware of them lest they beguile you from
any of that which Allah sent down to you." [5:49]

 

 

 

---