Qur'anic Roots of the
Shari'a, 1
HOW DID
THE ISLAMIC SHARI'A
DEVELOP?
The development of the Shari'a
out of the Qur'an
and its amendment by the conduct of Muhammad
Abd al-Masih
,
All Rights reserved
027 - Version 19.6.2003
English Title: How
did the Islamic Shari'a develop?
German Title: Wie
ist das islamische Recht entstanden?
GRACE-AND-TRUTH • P.O.Box
2904
Weirton,
WV 26062 • USA
Internet: www.grace-and-truth.org
e-mail: info@grace-and-truth.org
What
is the Aim of Islam?
When
Jesus Christ was born a new age began. The Christian calendar begins with the
arrival of Jesus in our world, because God became man in Him. With Jesus, the
spiritual "new creation" came into being.
With
the birth of Muhammad it is different. His father Abdullah and his mother Amina
were well known. No new age began with the birth of their son, therefore the
Islamic calendar does not start with the birth of Muhammad. He was a human
being like others. Neither the hour of the so-called revelations of Muhammad,
nor the development of the first Islamic cell-community or the death of Muslim
martyrs was considered to be the beginning of Islam!
The
Islamic calendar only starts with Muhammad's and his followers' exodus from
Mecca to Medina (622 A.D.). Why? Islam in Medina became a city-state! All
previous forms of this religion are considered only as a preparation for this
epoch-making event. Islam has only fully developed when it has been established
as a religious state.
Islam
is more than a religion by European concepts. In Islam, politics and religion,
faith and law, mind and power should demonstrate an inseparable unity. This is
coherent with the Islamic law. The Shari'a can only fully function when it is
executed by a governmental authority. It is the Islamic law that requires a
religious state. Also no Islamic state can exist without a Shari'a according to
the principles of the Qur'an.
Where
can the Shari'a be Bought or Purchased?
If you
visit an Islamic bookstore in order to buy all volumes of the Islamic law, you
will see the surprised face of the assistant who will tell you that all volumes
are at the moment out of stock. Ordering an edition in Arabic you get the
answer that they are not available. Continuing to ask you might be offered
numerous books about the Shari'a. Finally the buyer realizes that there is no
Shari'a in Islam at all and never has been!
Recovering
from this shock and asking for the secret of the Shari'a, you may discover that
in the Qur'an there are about 500 verses with legal content. These verses have
formed the basis for the Islamic Shari'a.
The
Qur'an consists of 6230 verses that are divided into 114 Suras. About 12
percent of these verses constitute the spine of the Shari'a. The law of Islam
has never been written systematically or organized by Muhammad. All
commandments and prohibitions are spread throughout the Qur'an.
The
Origin of the Qur'an
The
Qur'an was produced during the years 610 to 632 A.D. by Muhammad. The Suras
from the time in Mecca sound prophetic and are rousing whereas the Suras from
the time in Medina are juristically boring. The Qur'an contains about three
quarters as many words as the Arabic New Testament and only 18 percent as many
as the Arabic Bible, i.e. it is much shorter than the Bible.
The
Qur'an was developed in a culture of sedentary Bedouins in the area of Mecca
and Medina, whereas the Bible had to give answers to questions from very
different cultures around the Mediterranean.
Muhammad
himself was not able to read or write at the beginning of his religious
activity (Sura al-A'raf 7:157-158), which was the reason why different
secretaries wrote down his inspirations in Medina later. Abdallah b. Mas'ud and
Ubayy b. Ka'b, a Jew who had converted to Islam, were among them. About 60
percent of the Qur'an originates from reports and rules of the Torah and the
history books in the Old Testament, likewise 8 percent of the Qur'anic material
was taken from New Testament sources and from books of Christian sects. All
texts were only handed to Muhammad orally, whereas the Old Testament stories
and commandments by form and content date from the Mishna and the Talmud. At
the time of Muhammad‘s death, different original Qur'ans were existing in
Medina. In two successive editions they were being edited in 634 under Caliph
Omar b. Khattab and in 650 under Caliph Uthman b. Affan. However, because of
unbridgeable differences between the different Qur'ans, Uthman collected all
original Qur'ans by force and had them burned! What exists today, is no
longer the Qur'an of Muhammad, but the Qur'an edition of Uthman. The Shi’ites
for a long time asserted that the present text of the Qur'an is fake.
The
Hadith Completes the Qur'an
The law
of Moses was developed by Torah Jurists over centuries from 500 verses in the
Old Testament and from Jewish traditions; so also the Shari'a was not developed
from the literally verses of the Qur'an only. It soon became apparent that most
of the Qur'anic commandments and prohibitions had not been phrased precisely
enough to derive religious and secular laws from them. Therefore, different
schools made efforts to formulate Islamic laws with the help of the traditions
of Muhammad. The traditions of Islam, called Hadith, are supposed expressions
of Muhammad that had not been accepted into the Qur'an. Because Muhammad, according
to Islamic comprehension, was the latest and final prophet, no succeeding
Muslim can possess the gift of prophecy or experience guiding through the
spirit from Allah. They do not have the right to interpret the Qur'an by
themselves or to make Allah's revealed word understandable, because in this
case their human mind would rise above Allah. Only Allah himself, through
Muhammad, can give true guidance. This is particularly true for all valid law
texts.
Based
on this understanding, a rush and search for the statements (Hadith) of
Muhammad began after his death. His wives, his daughter Fatima, his closest
friends and his co-workers guaranteed, as informants, the validity of the
statements. Because of political agendas and personal bias, people began to
forge accounts and sayings of Muhammad to promote their own understanding of
the Qur'an and certain laws. It did not take long until the study of the
reliability of the informants and transmitters became as important as the study
of the text of Muhammad's statements.
Finally,
six collectors of traditions came up who had the reputation to have discerned
between the true traditions of Muhammad and the faked ones. Their names are:
al-Bukhari died 870 A.D. (with 7008
traditions)
Muslim died 875 A.D. (with 5362
traditions)
Ibn
Madja died 886 A.D.
(with 4332 traditions)
Abu
Dawud died 888 A.D. (with
4592 traditions)
al-Tirmidhi died 892 A.D. (with 3981
traditions)
al-Nasa'i died 915 A.D. (with 5662
traditions)
They
each collected several thousand traditions of Muhammad which, besides the
Qur'an, represent the second source of revelation for Muslims. These
collections of traditions together, therefore, constitute a text significantly
larger than that of the Qur'an. How difficult this task was for the men can be
taken from a statement of Abu Dawud who said that he had checked 500,000 of the
so-called Hadiths of Muhammad but only found true 4592. This means that less
than one percent of all Hadiths are true.
The
Sunna Makes the Shari'a Precise
By far not all of the legal regulations from the Qur'an could be made complete by the so-called traditions of Muhammad. For this reason the researchers of the traditions look to the life of Muhammad itself to check how he had acted in critical situations. Not only what he said and didn't say but also what he did and didn't do became a shining example and law.
His
lifestyle became law in all fields of faith and life such as the worship of
Allah, the fasting in Ramadan, the payment of religious tax and the pilgrimage
to Mecca, as well as the fighting in the "Holy War" and the
distribution of spoil.
Muhammad’s
position towards women had a strong impact on the law when he, for example,
married Zainab b. Jahsh, the wife of his adopted son Zaid, or took 'A'isha, his
favorite wife, for himself when she was not even 8 years old.
Questions
of heritage, business contracts, breaking of oaths, permitted and prohibited
food as well as executing harsh punishments can all be referred back to
Muhammad's ethics.
This
means that all Muslims are asked to live like Muhammad. They should put on
Muhammad and imitate him. This imitation is not voluntary but became law. All
Muslims should be in Muhammad and he in them, otherwise they will go to hell!
The
Five Schools of Law in Islam
Unquestionably,
during the formation of the law for all areas of worship and life in Islam,
many difficulties and controversies arose. Crucial questions worried and moved
the minds of the Islamic jurists and theologians:
Which
verses in the Qur'an were legally relevant and which ones not? Which Hadith was
true and which one faked? Which action of Muhammad and which of his silent
accord were directive?
Essential
emphases brought teachers and students together, so that different schools
emerged that nowadays are all considered orthodox and right.
Abu
Hanifa (700 -
767 A.D.), a cloth trader in Kufa, was absorbed in the questions of law in the
Qur'an and distinguished himself by his private analyses without referring to
the traditions. His followers, the Hanafites, with their liberal interpretation
executed the law of the Muslims in Turkey until 1923, and even today in Central
Asia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
Malik
ibn Anas (715
- 795 A.D.) lived in Medina and wrote the first comprehensive book about
Islamic law (al-Muwatta'). He resolved questions of the law by using the
traditional ethics in Muhammad's town and took a critical stand towards other
traditions. His disciples, the Malikites, even today shape the law of Muslims in
North, West and Central Africa.
al-Shafi'i (767 - 820 A.D.) was born in
Gaza and lived in Mecca and Medina. He was a student of Malik b. Anas, learned
his compendium "al-Muwatta’" by heart, moved to Baghdad, copied the
books of the Hanafites and became a juristic scholar. He tried to mediate
between the private opinions and traditional analyses concerning law. He
finally settled in Cairo until his death and is acknowledged as the founder of
the discipline of Islamic jurisprudence. His students, the Shafi’ites, spread
their jurisdiction in Egypt, East Africa, Iran (only Sunnites) and Indonesia.
Ahmad
ibn Hanbal
(780 - 855 A.D.) wandered through Iraq, Syria, Hedjas and Yemen to study the
piety of the Muslims in their original countries. He was a disciple of Shafi'i
but opposed any rationalistic interpretation of the Qur'an. In his encyclopedia
"Musnad Ibn Hanbal" he collected 26,363 traditions of Muhammad. The
acceptance of the Hanbalites in Islamic centers was sporadic and found its
resurrection on the Arabian Peninsula among the Wahabites in the 18th
century and thus persists until today.
Ja'far
ibn Muhammad
(died 756) was the 6th Imam of the Shi’ites and a specialist in
Muhammadan traditions. A later work on Islamic law does not originate from him
but was attributed to him by way of veneration. The Shi’ites in Iraq and Iran
therefore have their own form of Islamic law.
Studying the history and
principles of the five law schools of Islam you can understand why there is no
uniform Shari'a, nor will ever be! Each of the first four schools is today
recognized as orthodox in all centers of Sunnite Islam, however all differ in
details of the Islamic law. Because of this the Shari'a remains a mere ideal
that does not exist in reality. Nonetheless it binds the Muslims together in
one Islamic culture.
These
remarks show Europeans that Islam is not a theologically based religion, but is
a unity built by the Islamic law. Theologians in Islam understand themselves as
jurists and have to judge all questions of devotion and life.
The
Two Different Kinds of Law in the Muslim World
All
founders of the four Islamic schools of law got into many legal conflicts with
the ruling Caliphs. They were imprisoned, tortured and oppressed because the
Islamic right constantly collided with the liberals of the so-called Islamic
states. This historical fact shows that in reality two different Islamic laws
coexisted: the religious law of the jurists who followed the Qur'an and the
liberal law of the Muslim rulers. The existence of these two laws were a source
for permanent tensions and revolutions in the Islamic world.
After
this short introduction to Qur'an, Hadith, Sunna and Shari'a we would like to
demonstrate in some concrete examples how the Qur'anic commandments have been
developed into a valid law in Islam with the help of Muhammad's life.
Muslim
Worship (al-Salat, al-Zakat)
The
Qur'an contains 86 verses on the Islamic prayer ritual that were selected by
the four Sunnite law schools as the basis for their judgments. There it is
written: Muslims in their official prayer must stand, bow forward, kneel and
prostrate before Allah in worship. The Qur'an mentions prayers in the
morning and evening and also comments on noon time prayers. Exact
specifications of time are missing. The Qur'an furthermore demands for everyone
praying a detailed ritual purification before prayers (Sura al-Ma'ida 5:6) and
the obligation to face towards Mecca (Sura al-Baqara 2:144).
The
phrases repeated during ritual prayer concentrate on the praise of Allah and
his magnification without mentioning repentance, forgiveness, intercession and
thanks for a saving grace.
The
observation of such ritual prayers assumes the submission of those worshipping
under the six articles of the Muslim creed: Faith in Allah, his angels, his
books, his messengers, his predestination and his day of judgment. This creed
indirectly includes the denial of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Worshipping
Allah with "offerings and donations" (Zakat and Sadaqa)
has a higher value than performing prayers only. According to the Qur'an,
atonement for sins and forgiveness can be expected by anyone who worships Allah
by including offerings.
The
Shari'a jurists have compiled a peculiar prayer liturgy based on the Qur'anic
verses and by drawing on the traditions and lifestyle of Muhammad. The schools
of law differ in some details but on the whole agree with each other.
Muslims
must not only pray two or three times a day, but five times, spending fifteen
to twenty minutes for each prayer time. The first prayer begins in the morning
before sunrise; the second when the sun has just passed the zenith; the third
three hours later; the fourth just after sunset and the fifth two hours later.
The prayer times of Muslims thus change every day according to sunset and
sunrise. Community prayer is valued more highly than prayer alone.
The
postures taken and the words pronounced in ritual prayer are organized in a
liturgical cycle which is repeated 17 times a day during the five prayer times:
two cycles in the morning, four at noon, four in the afternoon, three at sunset
and again four at night time.
As a
Muslim prostrates before Allah twice in each prayer cycle, his worship adds up
to 34 prostrations a day. These prostrations represent Islam, for the word
Islam means: "dedication, submission and surrender."
A
Muslim is no longer a free person. He dedicates himself to Allah up to 34 times
a day. He remains his slave and his property forever.
The
praise of Muslims in their prayer rituals underlines their worship. Each day,
during their 17 prayer cycles, they call out
102 times: "Praised be my
Lord, the Highest!”;
51 times: ”Praised be my powerful Lord!”; and
68 times: ”Allah is greater!” (Allahu
akbar).
This
last exclamation, a comparative, makes all creatures in the perception of Islam
very small. Even Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are smaller than Allah. They
are understood as his slaves. The five daily worship services of the Muslims,
which indirectly denies God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are comprehensive
anti-Christian demonstrations which around the world are hardening millions of
worshippers against the crucified Son of God.
Holy
War in Islam
In the
Qur'an there are 108 commandments of Allah, calling every Muslim to the Holy
War. They have been elaborated by Muslim jurists into a strategy for the
Islamic world mission. There is a constant fight between religious leaders and
liberal governments about who has the right to declare Holy War. In Islamic
practice, there are contradicting views about this.
As a
legally binding reason for the Holy War in the Qur'an, we can read that Allah
is the sole owner of earth and heaven. To him belong East and West and
everything in between. Everything created by Allah is regarded as a loan for
Muslims. Allah especially loves those who fight with a weapon in their hands
and who generously donate for a Holy War.
Attacks
against all unjust people and non-believers are legal! Muslim minorities need
to be liberated so that they can fully practice their Islam. Jews and
Christians have to be subjected until they pay the minority tax (Sura al-Tawba
9:29-30). Every coward or traitor among Muslims must be punished. Whoever tries
to tempt a Muslim to leave Islam and to convert to Christ, commits, according
to Islam, a crime worse than murder (Sura al-Baqara 2:161, 217; see also:
al-Ma'ida 5:51).
Muhammad
calls upon his fighters: You are the elect of Allah, therefore pray, pay and
fight! (Sura al-Hajj 22:77-78). Don’t hesitate to shed blood (Sura
al-Baqara 2:216). Allah prepares you for fighting (Sura al-Anfal
8:12). Be obedient to Allah and his messengers! Do not love your enemies!
(Suras Al 'Imran 3:32; al- Nisa' 4:89; al-Anfal 8:72-73; al-Mumtahina 60:1 et
al.).
Whether
victory or death, your action certainly will be rewarded. A believer fights!
Invisible troops will help you (Suras Al ‘Imran 3:124-125, al-Tawba 9:40). Fight
with your money and your life! Prepare an ambush for Allah’s enemies, surround
them, hold them tightly and kill them (Suras al-Baqara 2:191; al-Nisa'
4:89, 91; al-Tawba 9:5, 41). Strike them on their necks! (Suras al-Anfal
8:12 and Muhammad 47:4). Be harsh towards them! (Suras al-Tawba 9:73,
123; al-Fath 48:29; al-Tahrim 66:9).
Individual
Muslims are justified in spite of their bloody actions against their own
relatives: Not you killed them. Allah killed them (Sura al-Anfal 8:17).
Whoever is killed in Holy War as a Muslim is considered not to be dead, but
living with Allah (Suras al-Baqara 2:154; Al 'Imran 3:169; al-Nisa' 4:74;
Muhammad 47:4; al-Fath 48:16-17 et al.). Participation in Holy War is rewarded
with forgiveness of sins (Suras Al 'Imran 3:157-158 and 169-171 and 193-195;
al-Nisa' 4:100; al-Saff 61:9-12). Allah will pay back all donations for the
Holy War manifold. Allah will finally grant them great triumph.
These
and other verses from the Qur'an were systematized by Muslim jurists. The
example of Muhammad, who took part in 29 raids or attacks, completed their
rules.
The
jurists divided the world into a "House of Islam" and a
"House of War." The house of Islam consists of all countries
governed by the Shari'a; there an "Islamic peace" and welfare should
prevail. In the House of War non-Islamic or liberal-Islamic states should be
attacked and subjected by Muslims, as soon as the economic, political and
military conditions are suitable.
The
theological justification for Holy War is the Islamic great commission: Fight
them (with weapons in your hands) until there is no more temptation (to leave
Islam) and the religion of Allah alone rules (the world) (Suras
al-Baqara 2:193; al-Anfal 8:39; al-Fath 48:28; al-Saff 61:9).
Spoils
of War and the Right to take Slaves
Whoever
reads the Islamic biography of Muhammad by Ibn Hisham can understand that
taking revenge and booty was a driving force for pushing forward Holy War from
the Islamic city-state of Medina. The Qur'an contains at least nine verses
about spoils of war and its distribution and 25 verses about the right to have
slaves. We should think about these verses, because they are considered as a
grace from Allah for Muslims who pray as well as sponsor and fight in a Holy
War!
Spoil is a sign for Muslims that
Allah guided them correctly. He himself promised them spoil and helped them win
it. However, Muslims have not yet received all of the promised spoils. A big
part still awaits them with Allah (Sura al-Fath 48:20-21). The Qur'an gives
them the right to pillage non-Muslim towns and villages (Sura al-Hashr 59:7).
Taking hostages is permitted and even commanded by Allah, so that hostages
after payment of as high a ransom as possible, can be set free again (Suras
al-Baqara 2:85; Muhammad 47:4).
The
distribution of the spoil lay in the hands of Muhammad alone. He decided how it
must be used. His decision was always correct and unimpeachable (Suras al-Anfal
8:10, 41; al-Tawba 9:60; al-Hudjurat 49:9; al-Hashr 59:5-6 et al.). Allah and
his messenger always received one fifth of the booty (Sura al-Anfal 8:41; see
also 8:1). Today this includes the exploitation of oil wells. Twenty percent of
net-profits from oil-production in Islamic countries are the driving force of
the renaissance of Islam in our days! From the one-fifth of all spoils and
profits dedicated to Allah, needy clan members, orphans, poor people, travelers
and especially fighters in a Holy War should be supported. Besides this, the
hearts of non-Muslims should be helped "to get accustomed to Islam"
from this religious treasury. This way, thousands of non-Muslims today are
"bought" for Islam with cash (Sura al-Tawba 9:60).
The
Qur'an only has nine verses on collecting and distributing spoils in general
coming from a Holy War, but in 25 references this book of Islam speaks about
how to make and use slaves after war is over. This makes it clear that
the right to have slaves is an essential part of the Qur'anic spoil
regulations.
The
Qur'an speaks about slaves using six different words. Most frequently (16
times) we find the expression: "what your right hand possesses".
This discriminating phrase does not describe slaves as persons but only as an
object or possession of Muslims. They do not belong to themselves anymore. They
are not free, but live under the control of their lord and master, who can do
with them what he wants to.
The
Qur'an speaks most often about marriage between Muslim Lords and their female
slaves. Believing slaves are regarded as better than non-Muslim free women
(Sura al-Baqara 2:221). Whoever, for financial reasons, is not able to marry a
free Muslim woman, may take from his slave girls whomever he wants (Sura
al-Nisa' 4:3, 25 et al.). For a Muslim it is prohibited to marry certain women
from his own relatives, but not the single or divorced female slave that he
possesses. This is a commandment of Allah (Sura al-Nisa' 4:24). A Muslim
is regarded as "successful" if he prays, pays and is chaste towards
women. The latter condition, however, does not apply to his (up to four) wives
and slave concubines. If he frequents these he is not only taken to be
"successful" but also "blameless" (Suras al-Mu'minun
23:1-6; al-Ma'aridj 70:29-30).
Muhammad
was a shining example in the treatment of female slaves. Allah also allowed him
to marry any free woman that offered herself to him, and that besides the
female slaves that he got from his share in the booty from Holy War (Sura
al-Ahzab 33:50-52). When Muhammad took Maryam, his Christian slave wife from
Egypt, and slept with her in the room of his young wife Hafsa, who was absent,
two of his teenage wives became angry with him, and persuaded him to swear, never
to do this again! But Allah ordered Muhammad to break this oath! The
Omniscient thus granted him and all Muslims unbreakable rights over their
female slaves. However, his teenage wives did not give in and demanded from him
chastity towards his female slaves. Muhammad then threatened to divorce both of
them right away. His young wives thereupon drew their fathers Abu Bakr and Omar
b. al-Khattab into the conflict, whom Muhammad then threatened with a hell in
which tough guards burn the unrighteous like firewood. This uprising in his
harem was aimed at changing the rights of Muhammad towards his slave girls. But
he preserved these privileges for himself with the help of a "divine
revelation" (Sura al-Tahrim 66:1-8).
Slaves
in Islam are protected by the law of revenge: A free man for a free man, a
slave for a slave and a woman for a woman (Sura al-Baqara 2:178). In
the case of adultery a female slave gets only 50 lashes, half the punishment of
a free woman.
In the
Qur'an Allah proclaims that he prefers some over others. Slaves have no part in
the possessions of the free and they must fear their owners (Suras
al-Nahl 16:71; al-Rum 30:28 et al.). Slaves at times belong to the extended
family as servants of the wives of their master (Sura al-Nur 24:31, 58).
Good male
and female slaves should be married to each other by their owner in order to
generate children. These children then belong to the owner as additional slaves
(Sura al-Nur 24:32).
A slave
girl should not be forced into prostitution for the sake of financial profit,
if she is not willing to do it. However, if her owner nevertheless forces her
into fornication, Allah promises to be merciful and to forgive him (Sura al-Nur
24:33).
Allah
granted the houses, fields and wives of men from the people of the Book (Jews
and Christians) to Muhammad and to his followers after they killed these men or
had taken them captive. In this way many Jews became slaves. Muhammad himself
owned several slave girls that Allah had given him to be like his
"shadow" (Sura al-Ahzab 33:26-27 and 50a).
An
essential part of the law of slavery in Islam is to buy the freedom of
Muslim slaves. Whenever a Muslim is the slave of a non-Muslim, securing his
release with money is counted as a good deed or even as a justifying atonement
for sins of the donor (Suras al-Baqara 2:177; al-Nisa' 4:92; al-Ma'ida 5:89;
al-Tawba 9:60; al-Balad 90:13).
If a non-Muslim
slave in the ownership of a Muslim accepts the Islamic faith, has behaved well
in the past and asks for a letter of release, the owner should issue it for
him, signed by two witnesses and should in addition give him financial aid as a
start in life (Sura al-Nur 24:33).
In the
Qur'an Allah several times legalized the possession of slaves: he allowed
Muhammad and therefore also all Muslims to own male and female slaves (Sura
al-Ahzab 33:50, 52); he orders Muslims to marry them (Sura al-Nisa' 4:24); he
commanded Muhammad to defend his rights over his slave girls (Sura al-Tahrim
66:1-8); and he granted slaves as booty and as a reward for the Muslims that
fought for him. (Sura al-Ahzab 33:26-27 and 50).
The
jurists of Islam combined these verses with the lifestyle of Muhammad and the
customs of Medina as contained in the Qur'an to forge the law on slavery in
Islam. In these rulings it is written: women and boys from non-believers
taken captive by Muslims become slaves when captured. The ruling Imam (leader
of the Islamic congregation) decides whether the captured men from the
non-believers are to be killed, taken as slaves, or released for a ransom or in
exchange for the release of some Muslim captives of non-believers. His decision
depends on which option best serves the Muslims in the particular situation. A non-Muslim
boy, being separated and taken away from his parents during capture, is
immediately designated to become a Muslim. Only little is said about the
treatment of enslaved women and girls because they are not regarded as persons
but only property of their masters. All slaves, however, should receive
"sufficient" food and clothing and should not be overburdened by
labor.
The
Law of Muhammad and the Law of Jesus Christ
The
previous examples, worship services, Holy War and the right to slavery show how
Islamic law was developed from verses in the Qur'an and from Muhammad’s
lifestyle into the Muslim system of law. Actually, the Shari'a shapes the
culture of Muslims more than the Qur'an itself.
Whoever
compares the principles of the four Islamic schools of law with the law of
Jesus Christ can see the contrast summarized in this command of Jesus:
I
give you a new law to love one another as I loved you. (John 13:34)
Jesus
does not ask from his disciples what he has not fulfilled himself. He says: Love,
as I have loved you! With this commandment Jesus Christ presented himself
as our rule and our law!
In
Islam, Muhammad is the rule and law for all Muslims. A Muslim is a real Muslim
only when he lives like Muhammad lived. A Christian, likewise, is a real
Christian only if he loves like Jesus loves.
Comparing
the two religions we see that not only two systems of law contradict each other
but two persons: Jesus and Muhammad! The difference between the two men
is equal to the difference between the faith and the culture of their two
religions.
The
followers of Jesus from all nations will summarize their praise before the
throne of God in one simple exclamation: Salvation belongs to our God, who
sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! (Revelations 7:10). In this adoration
they comprehend the jubilation of all the redeemed from all generations. Their
holy war consisted in the struggle against their own sinful self, as it is
stated in the epistle to the Hebrews: Let us lay aside every weight, and the
sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race (Jihad)
that is set before us looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith
(Hebrews 12:1-2).
The
position of Christians concerning slaves can be understood from the words of
Jesus: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who
hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
(Matthew 5:44-45). Enemies, according to the Gospel, are never taken as slaves
but blessed and supported (Romans 12:20-21).
Jesus
did not only give us a new law but He also gave us justification and He granted
us the power of the Holy Spirit to love as He loved. Paul writes on this:
Therefore, having been
justified by faith
we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ ...
because the love of God
has been poured out in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(Romans 5:1, 5)
Q U I Z
Dear
reader!
If you have studied this
booklet carefully, you can easily answer the following questions. Whoever
answers 90 percent of all questions in the different booklets of this series
correctly, can obtain a certificate from our center on
Advanced Studies
in understanding Qur'anic roots of the Shari'a of Islam
As an
encouragement for his/her future services for Christ. It will be appreciated if
you include the Qur'anic references in your answers.
1. Why does the calendar of
Muslims neither start with the birth of Muhammad nor with the beginning of his
religious activities?
2. Why does the Muslim
calendar start with the year 622 A.D.? What can we learn from this fact about
the development of Islam?
3. Why can we not buy the
book containing the Shari'a of Islam? What percent of the 6,230 verses of
Qur'an deal with legal commandments?
4. Which book is longer: the
Bible or the Qur'an? How do they compare in percentage?
5. What are the main sources
of the Qur'an? From where did Muhammad receive his knowledge?
6. Why were all Qur'ans
burned during the caliphate of Uthman? What did he actually produce?
7. Why, according to Muslim
opinion, can no commentator sufficiently explain the Qur'an? Why must the
Hadith (tradition traced back to Muhammad) fill this gap?
8. What are the main
problems of the Muslim traditions? Why is only one percent of the so-called
Hadith valid and true? What does this mean for the validity of the Law of
Islam?
9. Who were the six
collectors of the Hadith collections that are considered to be reliable? When
did they die?
10. Why do the commandments of
the Qur'an need the complementation by Hadith and Sunna? What is the difference
between Hadith and Sunna?
11. What is the meaning of the
principle that every Muslim should live and behave as Muhammad lived and
behaved?
12. Why did the five schools
of law appear in Islam with all their similarities and differences? How are
these schools evaluated today?
13. What is special about Abu
Hanifa and his school of law? Where are his laws observed today?
14. On which principles did
Malik ibn Anas base his book al-Muwatta'? What is special about it? In which
countries are the Malikites in power today?
15. Why is al-Shafi'i
considered to be the founder of Muslim jurisprudence? Which contradicting
principles did he try to unite? Where can his followers be found today?
16. Ahmad ibn Hanbal wrote a
unique book. What is the name of this compendium, and what is its aim and
content? Where are the principles of the Hanbalites applied today?
17. What was the problem with
Ja'far ibn Muhammad, who by the Shi’ites is considered as having compiled their
special Shari'a?
18. Why is Islam a religion
under the law and not a religion of grace? Why must Muslim theologians study
the laws of the Shari'a more than the commentaries of the Qur'an?
19. Why did all of the
founders of the Islamic schools of law get into legal conflicts with the
political leaders of the Muslim states in which they lived? Why do secular laws
exist besides religious laws in most Muslim countries today? How do they relate
to one another?
20. How did the lifestyle of
Muhammad complete the Qur'anic verses in view of the times for prayer in Islam?
21. What are the three phrases
that Muslims must pray daily during their 17 prayer cycles? How often should
they utter each of these acclamations each day? How does this affect their way
of thinking?
22. How often does a Muslim
prostrate before Allah every day if he observes all of the five times of
prayer? What do these prostrations mean and what do they create in the
sub-conscience of a Muslim?
23. How many verses in the
Qur'an are legally relevant to Holy War and in how many attacks and raids did
Muhammad personally participate?
24. Who are considered to be
the enemies of Islam and why?
25. Which in your opinion are
the most important commandments in the Qur'an regarding actual fighting in the
battles of Muslims?
26. How did Muhammad comfort
his fighters if during a Holy War they had killed some of their unbelieving
relatives?
27. What do Muslims hope to
gain from their participation in Holy War? What are the special promises for
martyrs in Islam?
28. Why did theological
jurists divide the world into a "House of Islam" and a "House of
War"?
29. Write down the verses of
the great commission to fight in Islam including the Qur'anic references and
(if possible) compare these texts with the translation of the Qur'an that you
use. What does this reveal?
30. How many references in the
Qur'an speak about booty and how many about slaves? What do the spoils of war
signify for a Muslim?
31. Why was the distribution
of the spoils the climax in a Holy War? How did Muhammad solve this critical
situation?
32. Why did many Muslims like
the capture of female slaves more than other parts of the spoils of war? What
are the most important regulations about the relationship of such slave girls
to their masters?
33. How did Muhammad
personally defend his rights over his slave girls? What impact did this
struggle have on the text of the Qur'an?
34. Why are hostages in Islam
considered as a gift from Allah and how did Muhammad exploit these captive
enemies?
35. What are the main sections
of the Muslim law?
36. What is the secret of the
new law of Christ (John 13:34-35) and why is Christ himself our law?
37. Why do the laws of Islam
and the laws of Christ in their final analysis lead us to two different
persons: Muhammad and Christ? What does this mean?
38. What are the main
differences between the law of Islam and the law of the Gospel?
39. Why did Jesus not only
reveal a legally binding law but also offered His salvation to everybody and
changed His followers into His likeness?
40. Why is the kingdom of
Christ not of this world and why is it that Muslims know nothing about the real
salvation of Jesus?
Every participant in this quiz
is allowed to use any book at his disposition and to ask any trustworthy person
known to him when answering these questions. We wait for your written answers
including your full address on the papers or in your e-mail. We pray for you to
Jesus, the living Lord, that He will call, send, guide, strengthen, protect and
be with you every day of your life!
Yours
in His service,
Servants
of the Lord
Send your replies to:
GRACE-AND-TRUTH
P.O.Box 2904
Weirton,
WV 26062
USA
or by e-mail to:
info@grace-and-truth.org