What is Shariah?
In its fullest sense, the Shariah is virtually synonymous, and can be used interchangeably, with the word deen, which can only inadequately be translated as “religion.” Deen literally means “way of life,” “submission,” “following,” or the “way.”
Though the word Shariah in its various derivative forms is found in five places in the Quran, its extensive use only came into vogue much later, for the words Islam and deen were more commonly employed to express the same meaning in the early days of Islam.
The Shariah includes both faith and practice. It embraces worship, individual attitude and conduct. It also includes social norms and laws, whether political, economic, familial, criminal, or civil.
Sometimes, it may also be used to imply, in a more restricted sense, do’s and don’ts-the rules and regulations for conduct and behavior.
Lastly, it is also used as the equivalent of the Islamic laws.
The Shariah is thus nothing less than the divinely ordained way of life for man. To realize the divine will, man must follow the Shariah.
To live in Islam is to live according to the Shariah. Giving up the Shariah or any part of it knowingly, willfully, or deliberately is tantamount to giving up Islam.
A Muslim must therefore do his utmost to observe and to implement the whole of it, wherever and in whatever situation he finds himself. Hence the Muslim insistence, persistence, commitment, and passion for it.
Essence of Shariah
There is no god but One God; Muhammad is the Prophet of God: This simple sentence is the bedrock of the Islamic creed.
God is the Creator; to Him alone, therefore, belongs the kingdom and He is the only Sovereign.
{Surely Your Lord is God who has created the heaven and the earth… verily to Him belong the creation and the sovereignty} (Al-A`raf 7:54).
And
{He has created the heavens and the earth with a purpose. He wraps night about day and He wraps day about night… He has created you from one being… That then is God, your only Lord; His is the kingdom. There is no god but He} (Al-Zumar 39:5-6).
God is the Creator. To Him alone, therefore, as his only Lord and Master, man must submit his entire being:
{Your God is One God, so only to Him submit} (Al-Hajj 22:34).
{That then is God, your Lord; there is no god but He, the Creator of everything. So Him alone serve} (Al-An`am 6:102).
God doesn’t resemble creatures,
Imam Fakhrud-dîn Ibn `Asâkir (620 H) said: « Allâh existed before the creation. He does not have a before or an after, an above or a below, a right or a left, an ahead or a behind, a whole or a part. It must not be said: When was He, Where was He, or how was He? Allâh exists without a place. He created the universe and willed for the existence of time. He is not bound by time or designated with place. »
The belief that Allâh, ta`âlâ, exists without a place is the creed of the Messenger of Allâh MuHammad, the Companions, and those who graciously followed them, and the creed of all prophets from Adam `alayhi ssalâm. Allâh said in the Qur’ân, in Surat Ash-Shura, ayah 11: There is absolutely nothing like Allâh whatsoever, and He has the attributes of Hearing and Seeing. » This ayah absolutely clears Allâh of resembling the creations. It comprises that Allâh, ta`âlâ, is absolutely different from the creations in the Self, Attributes, and Actions. Hence, it shows that Allâh, ta`âlâ, exists without a place, because whatever exists in a place is, by nature, i.e., composed of particles, i.e., it is a body, occupying a space. Allâh, ta`âlâ, is clear of occupying spaces.
God is the only true Provider. It is He Who has bestowed on man such faculties and capabilities as seeing, hearing, thinking, and articulating-attributes which man cannot live without, but which he cannot create for himself.
It is He Who has made available the resources of the external world which man may discover, exploit, and develop but again, cannot create.
Source of guidance
Yet surely man’s greatest need is to know how to live his life so as to fulfill successfully the purpose of his creation; how to relate himself to his Creator, to his own self, to his fellow human beings, and to everything around him.
To God alone he must therefore turn to seek guidance. For there is no one apart from or beside Him who can truly provide answers to man’s eternal questions or is capable of guiding him. All else can only be speculation and conjecture.
Human Freedom and Dignity
The act of total submission to God in accordance with the Shariah given by Him in no way diminishes human dignity, freedom, and responsibility.
The act of submission is the highest act of human volition and freedom, for it implies freedom to disobey God.
Indeed, in submitting to God, all the chains and shackles of every form of serfdom, servility, and bondage are broken, whether they be to other men, to ideas, to nature, to man-made objects, or to institutions. For before the affirmation of One God must come the forsaking of every false god.
More importantly, total submission to God elevates man to the state of khilafah, (viceregency), whereby he is accorded the highest place on earth by being endowed with reason, articulation, volition, freedom, and responsibility.
The responsibility to follow the Shariah according to the Quran (Al-Ahzab 33:72), is the fulfillment of amanah, the trust which even the heavens, the earth, and the mountains dare not bear.
