Islamic Law and Logic

Islamic Law and Logic

Islamic law has been considered to be the embodiment of Islamic thought, the core of the religion, and the way of life for most Muslims. Knowledge has also been regarded as sacred in this particular religion. One evidence to this fact focuses on the existence of the term “fikh.” Law, on the other hand, has been viewed as knowledge par excellence. Joseph Schacht established this particular view in his book (Schacht, 1975).

For one to be able to understand the logic behind Islamic law, one needs to acknowledge the two primary sources of Shariah. The sources include the Sunna and the Quran. The combination of the sources has led to the development of a link that exists between revelation and reason. Furthermore, the emergence of Islamic law can be linked to the existing marriage between the two primary sources mentioned. The Quran is highly regarded as the most sacred book and source of this form of law. This holy book contains verses that revolve around human beliefs, god, and how an individual practising Islam as his or her religion should live his or her life in this world (Alwazna, 2016).

Human conduct has been regarded as an essential domain under Islamic law, and the Quran offers verses that revolve around this particular aspect. Hence, some of the logic found under Islamic law will focus on verses that focus on human conduct since they have been used to govern a Muslim’s way of life in this world. Other verses included in the Quran revolve around the legal matters or rulings that will have to be applied by the believers whenever a legal situation has occurred. The legal verses found in this holy book, which are five hundred in number, should be regarded as the next valuable domain under Islamic law. The verses in the Quran have helped with the development of a legal system practised in Islamic countries.

The second source, that is, the Sunna revolves around Prophet Mohammad, his teaching and deeds. The sayings and other teachings have been formulated to form narratives that exist in this holy book. This particular holy book contains legal provisions that have to be applied by individuals who practice Islam. Some of the legal provisions present in the two sources should be regarded as definitive. A corpus of legal contents also exists in the two sources further leading the Islam believer to apply his or her reasoning when reading or conducting legal rulings.

Islamic law ought to be regarded as a legal tradition. This view is similar to the consideration that is given to common and civil law since both types of laws have been regarded as legal traditions. A legal tradition focuses on practices that are considered to part of the necessary components in any legal system. The other components under a legal system include attitudes that are related to the legal system, beliefs, the purpose of the established law and the scope of it. The final components of the legal system revolve around how the law was created, implemented, adapted, and how it functions (Alwazna, 2016).

The fundamental principles present in Islamic law focus on the will of God. The same principles have been abundantly established in the Quran. Islamic law seeks to mould society to conform, their conduct and beliefs, to the will of God. Hence, Islamic law highly relies on God’s command, and this aspect has led to the development of unity, as seen under the Islamic legal tradition. A comparison between Islamic law and the two mentioned types of law, that is, common law and civil law shows that Islamic law is broader when compared to the other two. This particular law will have legal doctrines at its core that revolve around the procedures to be taken if wrongdoing has been encountered, commercial transaction and family. There are also detailed rules that have been listed under this type of law that focus on the regulation of social etiquette and religious rituals conducted by believers who practice the religion. The regulations and procedures present under Islamic law have not been put there without any reason. There is a logic behind the placement of the two in Islamic law (Alwazna, 2016).

Specific actions or things have been prohibited under Islamic law. In the book titled “Philosophy of Islamic Laws,” the authors managed to provide information on the purpose of the Islamic law imposed on the believers who practice the religion. The logic behind the laws which advises or commands the believers to refrain from doing a particular activity focuses on the benefits that can be acquired if a believer chooses to follow the law or the harm avoided by the believers. As provided in the book, an individual who ponders on the fact that certain things are forbidden under the religion will eventually gain knowledge of specific things such as alcohol, cocaine and others that may lead the individual to incur harm. The same will also apply when it comes to regulations that prohibit gambling since the interest of the believer will revolve around the acquisition of wealth and not the religious teachings found in Islam. Hence, such activities and products will trap the individual and may also harm him or her (Shirazi,  & Subhani,  2019).

Some of the regulations under Islamic law focus on the practice of the teachings as well as worshipping acts. These regulations revolve around Zakat and prayer that should be regarded as priorities by the believers. The formulation of these laws focused on the benefits that may be acquired by the believer who practices his faith with zeal. The logic behind these regulations revolves around those benefits that can be gained since the individual will be one with his faith. The same is also seen in other religions. Hence, the benefits to be acquired include the fulfilment of one’s spiritual needs that cannot be fulfilled by wealth, alcohol, and narcotics. Furthermore, the believer will also be able to open the door that leads to progress since his or her spiritual needs will have been fulfilled (Shirazi,  & Subhani,  2019).

Islamic law has been formulated in a way that gauges the curiosity of the believer. The regulations under it will lead the believer to search and find the truth because he or she will be curious to know the reasons why individual acts and items have been forbidden or prohibited in their religion. The curiosity that one has will lead the believer to the door of progress that has been established above. In the same books, the authors provide information on individuals who do not prosper in life. As provided in the book, the curiosity inspired by Islamic law will lead the believer to progress further in life since he or she will question why the acts and items have been forbidden. However, those who lack this curiosity will not only lag behind but will also fail at being prosperous in their lives. Islam views curiosity positively since the benefits gained from questioning the regulations present under Islamic law include perfection and progress. Hence, the believers who practice this faith have been given the right to indulge their curiosity when considering the different topics present in Islam. The topics act as authoritative guides.

The philosophy of Islamic law, as well as the rules and regulations under it, focus on specific questions. These questions revolve around the reason why believers ought to pray, the reasons why the believers have to go pray in the House of Allah, why is pork prohibited and polygamy is allowed and why believers are prohibited from eating their meals from silver and gold utensils. There are other questions that Islamic law will be based on. The questions have contributed to the development of debates that involve scholars and other learned people. Some scholars have focused their efforts on one side of the questions, while some of them believe that no inquiry should be made regarding the logic that exists behind the establishment of Islamic laws. There are some scholars, however, who believe that an inquiry has to be made since the questions will help one to understand the logic that exists when considering Islamic law (Shirazi,  & Subhani,  2019).

One of the commands under the holy Quran focuses on fasting. In this particular holy book, an individual who fast shall be regarded as pious. The logic that exists when considering fasting as a religious practise focuses on the sins that each believer has that will be washed away through the practice of this spiritual exercise. Furthermore, one other logic behind fasting focuses on the control of desires. The sick and individuals who are travelling have been exempted from fasting. As provided in the Quran, the primary reason behind the exemption focuses on the difficulties that may be encountered by the two groups if they decide to fast. Allah, as established in this holy book, does not want the two groups to face any mistakes and hardships. Hence, this serves as the logic behind the sick and travellers being exempted from fasting.

One common regulation that can be found under Islamic law focuses on the consumption of wine and gambling. The two have been prohibited under the Quran. The two activities will lead the believers of this faith astray since they will fail to remember Allah, his teachings, and to pray. The difference between this regulation and the teachings under Christianity is minimal since the two activities ought to be avoided by Christians as well. Other regulations focus on chastity and impurity. Infidels are regarded as impure and are prohibited from entering the sacred mosque of Mecca. There are reasons behind the existence of such regulations that exist under Islamic law. The logic behind the prohibition faced by infidels focuses on their impurity status since impure individuals have been forbidden to enter a mosque for their prayers (Shirazi,  & Subhani,  2019).

Knowledge will be increased when one tries to understand the laws present under Islamic law. Furthermore, the value and importance of Islamic law will not depreciate since the understanding of Islamic law will only lead to satisfaction. The believer of this faith will be able to satisfy his or her intellect and will be able to apply them in his daily life. The primary logic behind the establishment of Islamic law focuses on the increase of the believer’s knowledge capacity about the benefits encountered following the practice of this faith, the importance of the laws and the effects seen if the laws are not followed.

The logic behind Islamic law has been discussed in length by John L. Esposito in his journal titled, “The Future of Islam.” The primary aim or objective of this journal focused on Christian-Muslim relations, which needs to be fostered. The author has managed to offer a precise picture of the religion in question and the laws practised under it to the Western world. The book or journal serves as a continuation of his efforts to paint a clear picture of Islam. In the book, Esposito sought to address Islamophobia, one of the current issues facing the world today (Esposito, 2010).

The development of this issue began at the start of the 21^st century following the 9/11 terrorist attacks that were experienced in the United States. The attacks led to the development of negative perspectives regarding Muslims and Islamic law. A good number of people questioned the law and whether the law condemned such attacks or supported it. Further arguments made, as established in Esposito’s book revolve around Islamic law and whether it is compatible with gender equality and democracy. These arguments focus on the Western’s world view of Muslim countries and Islamic law. Islamic law has failed to encourage democracy, and gender inequality is high on the rise in Muslim countries. The arguments made by Esposito are that Western societies are challenging since they have adopted even-handed practices and policies that will not be similar to the policies in Muslim counties. The practices and policies that can be seen in Islam revolve around Islamic law. The journal also offers information that focuses on religious studies, diplomacy, sociology and other disciplines (Esposito, 2010).

Esposito believed that Islam should not be reformed even though reformers who believe that Islam should be reformed still exist. The changes that have to be carried out will be carried out by Western societies. Western societies have relied on terrorism, which has been used to paint a bad picture of Islam and the individuals who practise the religion. Islamic law does not encourage such actions since such actions would lead to the death of many individuals, and others would be scarred for life by the troubling events. Hence, there is no logic behind the practices of radical groups who claim to be practising the religion since no benefits shall be gained from such actions. Such actions will only result in harm. The fight against Islamophobia, as established in the book, focuses on change, which has to be seen in Western countries. Such changes will lead to the creation of a better future for everyone. Some adverse suggestions made and are included in the book, revolves around the argument that Islam, as a religion, is static. However, based on the arguments established above, that may not be the case since this religion inspires one’s curiosity.

The logic behind Islamic law is not parallel to such suggestions or arguments since the religion and the regulations followed revolve around knowledge and perfection. The radical Islamic groups, which have engaged in terrorism, do so to advance their political views. Furthermore, the promotion of democracy carried out by the United States in the Muslim world ought to be regarded as inconsistent since the country is also heavily involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict that has raged on for years.

References

Alwazna, R. Y. (2016). Islamic Law: Its sources, interpretation and the translation of it into laws written in English. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law-Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique, 29(2), 251-260.

Esposito, J. L. (2010). The future of Islam. Oxford University Press.

Schacht, J. (1975). An introduction to Islamic law. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Shirazi, N. M., & Subhani, J. (2019). Philosophy of Islamic Laws. Retrieved from https://www.al-islam.org/philosophy-islamic-laws-naser-makarem-shirazi-jafar-subhani