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haria, or Sharia law, is the Islamic legal system derived from the Quran and the Hadith. In linguistic terms, Sharia refers to a water source, which is the source to which people who want to drink come, so they drink from it and fill their buckets, and perhaps bring their animals to drink from it as well. The Arabs do not call a water source Sharia unless the water is flowing without inter-
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On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said:I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.by Muslim &Ibn Majah.
What is Sharia Law?
ruption, and is visible and can be seen. In Sharia terminology, Shariah refers to the entire religion (Islam), which Allah has chosen for His slaves to bring them forth thereby from the depths of darkness into the light. It is what He has prescribed for them and what He has explained to them of
commands and prohibitions, halal (lawful) and haram (unlawful). Whoever follows the Sharia of Allah, regarding as permissible (halal) that which He has permitted and regarding as forbidden (haram) that which He has prohibited, will triumph. Whoever goes against the Sharia (laws) of Allah has exposed himself to divine vengeance, wrath and punishment. Allah, may He be exalted, says in the Quran (interpretation of the meaning): “Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way [Sharia] concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know” (Quran 45:18) Due to Islamophobia and the false reports in the media, Sharia has been referred ex-
clusively to the penal code yet the penal code only makes up around 15% of Sharia law. Sharia deals with many topics, including crime, politics, and economics, as well as personal matters such as sexual intercourse, hygiene, diet, prayer, everyday etiquette and fasting. Adherence to Sharia has served as one of the distinguishing characteristics of Islam. In short, Sharia is the infallible law of God. Source: .allahsword.com
way we think of law — rigid and enforceable — but a mass of varying interpretations on Islamic texts, concerning mostly personal religious conduct. That’s why it makes no sense that militias would be “imposing” Shariah. Imposing what? The path of God? The opinions and debates that make up the scholarly interpretations of the religious texts? Islam? No, you might be thinking, imposing Shariah means forcing women to wear burkas and implementing harsh punishments. That’s what we hear of, say, the Taliban, and they say what they’re doing is Shariah. But using religious rhetoric to justify bad behavior is nothing new in the world. Today, the Shariah-based legal system, a sophisticated legal system not dissimilar to our own, is gone, dismantled under Western colonialism. Shariah, with its institutions, courts and system of checks and balances, is not the law of the land anywhere in the world. What usually goes under the guise of Shariah is simply a set of Islamicsounding provisions tacked onto Westernstyle civil codes or isolated punishments applied without regard to the restrictions that made them fantastically hard to apply. It’s an election year, though, and Islamo-
phobia spikes in election years. Politicians know that fear-mongering gets votes. Two of this year’s Islamophobic fear-mongers are Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Loomer, both endorsed by President Trump. That they’ve won their congressional primaries, in Georgia and Florida respectively, is a sad comment on the rampant ignorance concerning Islam and Muslims. Greene spreads fabricated tales of a Shariah invasion of the U.S. government, asserting that any Muslim who believes in Shariah shouldn’t be in government. Greene has urged Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the nation’s two Muslim congresswomen (one from Minnesota, the other from Michigan), to “go back to the Middle East.” She falsely claims that Shariah allows men in Muslimmajority countries to have “sex with little boys, little girls, multiple women” and to marry their sisters. Loomer has been banned by social-media platforms for her anti-Muslim hate speech, which has included calling Islam a “cancer on society” and trying to tie Shariah to ISIS. She must have missed the 2014 open letter to ISIS written by more than a hundred high-level Islamic scholars, explaining why ISIS’ acts violate Shariah.
It’s in all of our interests to stop mindlessly buying into the notion of Shariah as draconian and violent. Understanding the basics of Shariah, for both non-Muslims and Muslims, is essential to intelligently evaluating political trends, debunking defamatory anti-Muslim rhetoric and invalidating the positions of Muslim terrorists. Islam is an American religion. It’s time to demystify it. Sumbul Ali-Karamali, a former corporate attorney with an additional degree in Islamic law, is author of the new book, “Demystifying Shariah: What It Is, How It Works and Why It’s Not Taking Over Our Country,” published by Beacon Press. Source: miamiherald.com
Don’t buy the bigots’ hype. Shariah law is not coming to take over America
By Sumbul Ali-Karamali
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September 30, 2020 recent article in USA Today addressed a claim going viral on social media — that defunding police departments will lead to Muslim groups hitting the streets with “Shariah patrol forces.” Such a claim, which the paper debunked, would be truly laughable if it weren’t for the depressing fact that some Americans actually believe canards like this. No American Muslim organization has ever advocated imposing “Shariah law” in the United States. No group attempting to do so could ever be successful, because the U.S. Constitution prevents the establishment of any religious law in our country. These social-media posts have become virally successful only because so few Americans know what Shariah actually means. ”Shariah” literally means “the path to water.” In religious terms, Shariah means “the righteous path” or “the path of God.” Shariah also, loosely, can just mean “Islam.” Shariah also refers to the religious guidelines in Islam. These are derived from the Quran, the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad, and scholarly interpretations thereof. Therefore, Shariah is not law the
Maqasid al Shari’ah
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aqasid al-Shari’ah is a composition of two words: ‘maqasid, plural of ‘maqsad’’ and ‘al-Shari`ah’ or simply Shari’ah. Maqasid is an Arabic word that literally means intent, objective and purpose with a desire to create harmony with others; this relates to welfare, interest, or benefit. The vital part of the Maqasid’s objective is preserving public good (maslaha), whereby it looks at the public benefit and welfare of society as a whole in relation to the consequences of the intentions and actions of individuals in their mutual dealings. Thus, Maqasid can also be considered as the wisdom and knowledge behind governing rules.
Objectives, the Maqasid
The objectives of Shari’ah are not specifically mentioned in the original sources of the Shari’ah, The Qur’an and Sunnah (the sayings and conduct of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)). These were developed over the years by Islamic scholars who sought primarily to protect members of the community by establishing the essential moral values, and validate all measures necessary for their preservation and the advancement
mentary or secondary to necessities)the tahsiniyyah (refinements or embellishments as desirable over comforts and necessities). These cannot include ‘luxuries’ that could be viewed as those goods and services which are wanted for their extravagant wastefulness of a moral society. Al-Haramayn al-Juway- and extreme lavishness and do not make a real difference in an individual’s well-being ni (d. 1085CE), was probably the first Is- and the well-being of society. Source: islamic-banking.com lamic scholar to classify the Maqasid of the Shari’ah into the three main categories of the daruriyyah (the necessities), the hajiNov 20 - Dec 4, 2020 -Rabi ul- II 5-19,1442 H yyah (the complementary) and the tahsiniyyah (the embellishments), which has ever Isl. Dt. Day Date Fajar Sunr Dhur ZawalAsar Dhuhr Asar Maghrib Isha Shafi / Hanfi since been generally accepted. Al-Juwayni’s ideas were then further developed by 5 Fri his pupil, Ghazzali, who wrote categori6 Sat cally that the Shari’ah pursued five basic 7 Sun objectives - life, intellect, faith, lineage and 8 Mon property” (Al-Maqasid Al-Shari’ah: The 9 Tue Objectives of Islamic Law by Mohammed Hashim Kamil). 10 Wed Broadly the three levels constitute a need 11 Thus for the fulfilment of which has been made 12 Fri an individual as well as social imperative; Sat all these refer to goods and services that 13 can make a real difference in human well- 14 Sun being and the normal functioning of soci- 15 Mon ety in satisfying the basic necessities and 16 Tue providing adding comfort and refinements 17 Wed over and above necessities. The three lev18 Thus els of need are summaries below: 19 Fri the darura or daruriyyah (necessities) the hajiyyah (comforts, as being comple- For such Prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times: Quran ,n 4:103 Source: BCMA
Prayer Schedule in Greater Vancouver
