Whatever
came to the Prophet before he became a Messenger will not be counted as a basis
for law. All we are looking at is the last 23 years of his life.
The
legal system that developed during the era of the Prophet was all based on
revelation; either the revelation that came in the Qur’an or the Sunnah. The
Prophet was the legist of the Ummah, based on what Allah revealed to him.
The
Qur’an, the divine word of Allah, was combined with the Prophets interpretation
in practice of it. What the Prophet said, did, and gave tacit approval to are
all included in this.
During
the time of the Prophet some of the companions did certain things. That is not
enough to make it legal, unless they did these things, the Prophet knew about
it, and did not rebuke them.
Similarly,
anything the Prophet did, which Allah did not approve of, Allah would
immediately correct him. To leave him uncorrected would leave a mistake for the
generations to come. The Prophet was protected from error. What he conveyed to
us was the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Allah
allowed the Prophet to make certain errors in some circumstances, and then
correct him. The value of that is that it reinforces in the minds of the
believers that he is a human being.
“Say,
Indeed I am a human being like you all”
How did the
revelation come (from a legal perspective)?
It
came in a gradual format over 23 years of his prophethood.
The
legal elements came as a result of questions that were asked to him, or
incidents/issues that arose.
There
are many verses in the Qur’an which begin with
An
example of an incident is when Hilal ibn Umayyah came to the Prophet, accusing
his wife of adultery. The Prophet told him to bring proof (i.e. three other
witnesses), or face the punishment of 80 lashes. And this law was enforced to
prevent slander. Hilal responded, “O Messenger of Allah, if any of us saw a man
on top of his wife should any of us go looking for three witnesses?” Although
it was a logical response, the Prophet, having been given revelation, replied, “Bring
the witnesses or take the lashes”. Then Allah revealed the verse in Surah Nur:
Allah
protected the rights of women 1400 years ago when they were regarded as
nothing. Her chastity and honour is protected by responding in the same way to
the accusation made against her.
In
the case of legislation coming from the Sunnah, we find the same principles: Either
problems to be solved, direct answers to questions, revealed during particular
incidents.
The
laws that govern the animals of land do not apply to the animals in the sea.
They are in a different category altogether. If you find a fish washed on
shore, you can cook it and eat it. A dead animal on land is impermissible to
eat.
But
if the sea is polluted and the fish are diseased, then common sense tells us
not to eat it.
The
rules were revealed gradually so that it would be easier for the arabs to
initally accept them because they were living in a lawless society. The nature
of the bedouin lifestyle is freedom which you don’t find in cities. This was a
means of bringing them into line gradually without major rebellion. The gradual
revelation of laws also made it easier for them to both learn and understand them.
This
gradual process isnt just limited to the legal system but even the enacment of
individual laws we find radiation in legislation taking place. E.g. Prayer was
initially twice a day, in the morning and evening. Before the Hijrah it became
5 times a day but in two Rak’ah, with the exception of Maghrib. Then it was
increased to what it is now.
The
general content of the Qur’an is divided into two phases:
1) Makkan period (BH
(609-622CE) :- Even if the verse was revealed outside Makkah)
2) Madinah period (AH (622 –
632CE) :- Even if the verse was revealed outside Madinah)
The
Muslims were an oppressed minority and Makkah, whereas in Madinah they were the
ruling majority. Naturally the content would differ.
Makkan Period
The
revelation as mostly revealed to build the ideological foundation for the next
stage to come, so the people who were going to carry Islam to the world would
be spiritiually prepared. It constited of:
-
Allah’s Unity
Most people believed in Allah, but along with idols.
Umar ibn Khattab once laughed, and the people asked
him why. He said, “In the Days of Ignorance prior to Islam, I had a God that
was made out of dates. One day I became so hungry that I ate a piece of it “
-
Allah’s Existence
Most verses which talk about Allah talk about His
unity, whereas there are a few that deal with His existence. Because this is
human nature, the vast majority of humans believe in God. Even during the
communist era in Russia and China, where the entire societies became societies
promoting disbelief in God, the majority believed but hid it. Surveys showed
that in Russia 80% of people believed in God. In China, you find more and more people
expressing belief in God, with communism crumbling.
-
The Next Life
-
The People of Old
The people knew and saw the ruins of earlier civilizations.
Allah explained what happened to them.
-
Prayer
Once you’ve established belief in God and His
oneness, you need to establish a link with Him. The first complete Surah that
was revealed was Al-Fatihah, which is what we use in our daily prayers.
-
Challenges
This is part of establishing the miracle of the Qur’an.
The Arabs were challenged to bring a Qur’an like it.
Madinah Period
-
Laws
90% of laws that have to do with human society
were revealed in Madinah. Laws pertaining to alcohol, gambling, theft, murder,
pork, etc. were all revealed here.
-
Jihad
In
Makkah they were prohibited to fight, as they were a weak minority, and it
would just end up in them being wiped out. In Madinah they could have an
organized resistance.
-
Verses that deal with the Christians and Jews
The
original name of Madinah was Yathrib. It was originally a Jewish city. In the
Jewish parliamant, their map of greater Israel goes down and includes Madinah.
They were joined by the Aus and Khazraj afterwards, but they were the founders. The verses therefore deal with the Jews and Christians.
If
you compare the verses in the Qur’an that deal with the Jews in comparision to
the Christians, one finds that the ones that deal with the Jews are less than
the ones that deal with Christians, although Madinah was a Jewish City. This is
because the Christians were closer to Islam. The Jews are a closed society,
even if in external practice they were most like Muslims. But there is a harshness in their hearts with
regards to Islam. They have knowledge but they turn away, whereas the
Christians turn away based on ignorance.
-
Verses that deal with the Hypocrites
From
an Islamic perspective, this is the person who pretends to be a Muslim and is
not. In Makkah it was a liability to be a Muslim whereas in Madinah the Muslims
were strong. Some people just wanted to be on the winning side, share the
booty, or undermine Islam and destroy it from within.
*******
Scholars
divided the Qur’anic fields of study into three groups:-
1) Aqeedah
2) Reformation of Human
Character
3) External Issues (Laws
dealing with murder, wealth, marriage, etc.)
The
legal content of the Qur’an comprises of two basic areas:-
1) How human beings should
relate to Allah
2) How human beings should
relate to other human beings. Include in this are laws governing creatures.
This is further divided into four subcategories:
a) Laws ensuring and defending
the propagation of Islam (i.e. Jihad)
b) Family laws for the
development and protection of family structure
c) Trade laws governing
business transactions, rental contracts, etc.
d) Criminal laws
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