THE ISSUE OF Shariah law has been widely used as a bogy with which to terrify those who may have little knowledge of Islam. To them Shariah law is what makes Islam a violent religion; and that Shariah law is a tool to compel people to adopt a very restrained way of life and endanger other existing lifestyles and value systems. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, the fourth Khalīfa of the Aḥmadiyya Muslim Jamā‘at, addressed this issue at length in a speech delivered at the Inter-religious Consults, Suriname, on 3rd June, 1991, published under the title, Shariah Relationship Between Religion and Politics in Islam.195
In this chapter, we present some of the points taken from this speech in response to what critics allege regarding this much misunderstood topic. In this speech, he argued that imposing Shariah has practical issues that would need resolution. For instance, there are so many interpretations, of so many different sects. Whose interpretation would apply? The fact is that the Islamic Shariah has many aspects that are to be voluntarily acted upon by individuals. No government is, or can be, required to tell a sincere, devout Muslim that he should pray five times a day, behave honestly in everyday life, speak the truth, observe fasting in the month of Ramadhan, and so on. On top of that, what will be the situation in those countries where an environment does not exist for the enactment of Shariah? Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh notes:
Every prophet ‑ not only Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him) ‑ every prophet first created that healthy climate for the law of God to be imposed, willingly not compulsorily. And when the society was ready, then the laws were introduced and stiffened further and further, until the whole code was revealed. That society was capable of carrying the burden of the law of religion, whether you call it Shariah law or any other law.196
A society where theft is common, for instance, cannot have Shariah law. Harsh punishments cannot be meted out to all individuals who commit the crime of theft. It is only when a pious society has been created that Shariah law can be introduced over a period of time.
The reality is that extremist organizations only cunningly use Shariah law as a cover to play with the religious sentiments of average Muslims, so as to sway them and take power and then rule despotically, in the name of God. As far as the issue of imposing Shariah law by force is concerned, the answer is clear as stated in the Holy Quran:
There shall be no compulsion in religion197
Thus, this Shariah law is there only to be obeyed by people by their own volition. There can be no coercion or force. The idea that a Muslim government can impose Islamic law on the population is absurd. The only requirement for a Muslim government that the Holy Quran provides is that it should govern with absolute justice – and that is also the ideal definition of a secular government.
Even Prophet Muhammadsa gave the teaching that force should not be used to implement Shariah:
Admonish, therefore, for thou art but an admonisher; Thou hast no authority to compel them.198
This makes it clear that according to the Holy Quran the true objective of Muslims is to admonish, or give advice of goodness, and peacefully preach. They are not allowed to use force on anyone. As discussed earlier, a government is not even needed to be in place to “implement” Shariah. Shariah is a part of Islam and sincere and pious Muslims can follow it in any free society.
A common question arises in regard to the resolution of disputes. In the Aḥmadiyya Muslim Jamā‘at, we have a Qaḍā Board and those members of the community who, of their own volition, do not wish to take their case through the processes of the common law can bring it to this Board for arbitration and resolution, in light of Islamic teachings.
Many in the West fear that there is a “Shariah creep” that is planned, and some Islamophobes tend to assume that Muslims have a hidden agenda to impose Shariah upon them. Our discussion thus far should suffice to remove such misconceptions. However, this question leads to the broader issue of the role of government in Islam. Do Muslims believe that a government should adopt Shariah as part of their legislation?
Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad has noted that the reality is that Islam advocates a secular form of government, more than any other religion. The very core of secularism is that absolute justice is practiced and this is exactly what the Holy Quran advocates:
Allah orders you to always practice justice.199
It also says:
No amount of enmity between you and any other people, should permit you to deviate from absolute justice. Be always just that is nearer to righteousness200
Therefore, according to the Holy Quran, a Muslim government is one which decides its affairs based on the principles of justice and does not permit decisions to be biased due to religion, creed, caste, or sex. This also nullifies the allegation of an Islamic Shariah law that can be “imposed” on non-Muslim citizens of a country. If absolute justice is the central theme of the government, how could Islamic law be imposed upon non-Muslims?
This is the example we see in practice in the life of Prophet Muhammadsa when he migrated to Madīnah and all communities unanimously accepted him as their leader. They agreed to make a recourse to him for all their disputes and trust his superior judgement to resolve all the contentions between various parties, in accordance with their own religious principles, as agreed to in the Treaty of Madīnah. The Islamic law had already been revealed at that time. When the Jews came to him for decisions, without exception, every time he enquired from them: “Would you like your dispute to be settled according to the Jewish law or Islamic law or through arbitration?” Prophet Muhammadsa never imposed Islamic law on a non-agreeing party, which did not belong to the faith of Islam. This is indeed the absolute justice that the Holy Quran requires any Islamic government to employ.
This, of course, was the practice adhered to, at the time of Prophet Muhammadsa. However, in the modern age, when there are numerous groups belonging to various faiths living under the same government, it would not be possible to make different laws for different groups. Instead, what the example of Prophet Muhammadsa shows is that a secular form of government, i.e. based on principles of absolute justice, and non-discriminatory on the basis of creed, color, race, etc. should be established with laws applicable to all citizens through a democratic process.
Therefore, Shariah law is not a law that can be “imposed” on others by force; nor is it something that can be enacted arbitrarily, without the creation of a suitable and salutatory environment in the society for its implementation.