Unacceptable Allegation

Dr. Taha Jabir

This religion consists of belief and Shari`ah (Islamic Law), and the latter is application of the former. The difference between Shari`ah and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) is that Shari`ah is set by Allah; whereas fiqh is the human comprehension of Shari`ah. In addition, religion has been perfectly completed by the message of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, religion is not incomplete, neither in belief nor in Shari`ah, that some individual or group comes today to allege that they are going to complete it.

The success achieved by Shari`ah in forming our culture, mentality, and tradition changed it into part of our identity. So, any trial to separate us and Shari`ah means that there is a plot to efface our identity, culture, and tradition. There is not a believer, believing in Allah, His Messenger and the Last Day, who can support such a plot or claim that we Muslims are in no longer need of Shari`ah.

There is a common misconception among some people as regards the comprehensive meaning of Shari`ah—that includes acts of worship, dealings, and morals, and penalties. This made some people, due to their ignorance, refer to Shari`ah as penalties or penal law. This is, in fact, a very limited perception that shows their lack of understanding of both fiqh and Shari`ah.

Today, we live in a world where Shari`ah is almost not applied. Even those few states and governments that declare their application and adoption of Shari`ah neither apply nor execute any of its penalties. Shari`ah is a whole, unique entity that cannot be divided. Today, we face a great challenge that aims at demolishing everything we have: our belief, our moral system, and even our way of worship. [This last remark refers to the woman who led Muslims in prayer (as imam) in the United States.]

Today, our Muslim nation is facing schemes of demolition and ruination and trials to separate Muslims and everything related to their religion. Therefore, a wise Muslim should never be lured into such traps, because this would make the Muslim nation more likely to be lured into more moral challenges.

Such a call [as Tariq Ramadan’s] had better be examined and analyzed by Muslim scholars and jurisprudents to discuss the proofs first. The proposal of deactivating the Islamic legal penalties today is a trial to remove the barriers between liberalism and Muslim man, for the purpose of getting belief and Shari`ah out of his mind.

Destruction of Islamic Law (Shari`ah) has always been a target, for our enemies are aware that Shari`ah is the real obstacle in their destructive schemes. So it is by no means acceptable or reasonable that one of the members of the Muslim nation comes today to fabricate allegations that contribute to the demolition of the nation. I exclude the possibility that fame is just the purpose of such allegations.

Dr. Tariq Ramadan should rather study the current state of the Muslim nation side by side with Shari`ah, to point out the deficiencies that should be worked on to apply Shari`ah. He should also tell us if he has any plan to change the present of the Muslim nation to make it more suitable for the application of Shari`ah, so that his call of suspending the application of Islamic legal penalties for some years becomes worth considering.

  Taha J. Al-`Alwani is a member of the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, and President of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia, USA.