Please note that I have posted many articles on Sharia on this blog, the intent is for the reader to see different points of view. I am not endorsing any article but my own “Basics of Sharia” listed on the left panel. As a Muslim it is obligatory for me to find the truth and not blindly believe in anything out there in the market.
It is important to understand the basics of Sharia, how it was formulated and how we can fix it.
1. Genesis of Sharia Law - http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2013/02/genesis-of-sharia-law.html
2. Fixing Sharia Law - http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2014/01/fixing-sharia-laws.html
The writer of the following article Hasan Mahmud is on the advisory board of World Muslim congress as I am. We have different points of view and both will be published, as an organization we have to practice diversity within and learn to respect the other point of view.
A new paradigm is in the making in setting the new standards for organizations. Prophet Muhammad in his last sermon said something to this effect, I am leaving this book to you for you to read and understand. Mind you he did not assign a clergy or anyone to interpret the book for us, because only you, you alone are accountable for the good and bad you do and it is your personal responsibility to find the truth. Tough but that is the truth.
Men have always turned things to their advantage, even willing to mistinterpet the Qur'an and pass it on as God's word.
My personal view is shaped by seeing the world as one unit, and I am a part of that universe, with fellow beings and matter that are connected to together in balance and my role (and your role) is to preserve that balance. Islam is about justness and fairness, it is about creating cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. Islam - i.e, submission to a coherent well functioning system that God intended. God is not your, mine or any one's. God is a system that permeates through us all. God is the balance that keeps us together, and what is around us in balance. If we mess the balance and we have to fix it - for the ultimate good of all of us.
Some of the examples are ridiculous but are cultural, and passed out as religious. This congruence in practice and the faith is common in all faiths, including yours be it Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu or any faith. Things will change, as they have over the last ten years that I have observed.
Mike Ghouse
Committed to building cohesive societies
www.Mikeghouse.net
It is important to understand the basics of Sharia, how it was formulated and how we can fix it.
1. Genesis of Sharia Law - http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2013/02/genesis-of-sharia-law.html
2. Fixing Sharia Law - http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2014/01/fixing-sharia-laws.html
The writer of the following article Hasan Mahmud is on the advisory board of World Muslim congress as I am. We have different points of view and both will be published, as an organization we have to practice diversity within and learn to respect the other point of view.
A new paradigm is in the making in setting the new standards for organizations. Prophet Muhammad in his last sermon said something to this effect, I am leaving this book to you for you to read and understand. Mind you he did not assign a clergy or anyone to interpret the book for us, because only you, you alone are accountable for the good and bad you do and it is your personal responsibility to find the truth. Tough but that is the truth.
Men have always turned things to their advantage, even willing to mistinterpet the Qur'an and pass it on as God's word.
My personal view is shaped by seeing the world as one unit, and I am a part of that universe, with fellow beings and matter that are connected to together in balance and my role (and your role) is to preserve that balance. Islam is about justness and fairness, it is about creating cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. Islam - i.e, submission to a coherent well functioning system that God intended. God is not your, mine or any one's. God is a system that permeates through us all. God is the balance that keeps us together, and what is around us in balance. If we mess the balance and we have to fix it - for the ultimate good of all of us.
Some of the examples are ridiculous but are cultural, and passed out as religious. This congruence in practice and the faith is common in all faiths, including yours be it Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu or any faith. Things will change, as they have over the last ten years that I have observed.
Mike Ghouse
Committed to building cohesive societies
www.Mikeghouse.net
# # #
Examples of Sharia Law
By Hasan Mahmud
By Hasan Mahmud
Man is a very devious creature. I would say it is almost axiomatic. I am sure the Good Lord never intended for this to happen. But then he often grows too big for his shoes. In the quest for power over his fellow man, he is capable of going to great lengths to lord it over his peers, especially so when it comes to women. Oh! How he loves to tyrannize women! To make it look authentic he will quote the scriptures and if he cannot find any law in the scriptures to support his argument, he will formulate his own! And he will do it so seamlessly as to be almost indistinguishable from the real, that only a scholar will find the tell-tale marks of tampering.
A rough parallel could be drawn from everyday office work. Suppose we have a document in which we white-out a word, a sentence or perhaps a whole paragraph and type something in the same font over it and then photocopy this document. Scrutinizing this photocopy, even the most expert eye cannot detect the deception unless the original is consulted where proof of the tampering will be evident. I told you that sometimes man is too clever for his own good! He can create something out of thin air almost, so to say. In other words, he will spin an entire sherwani from whole cloth, if you get my meaning! To support my assertion I shall endeavor to quote a few examples from our venerable Sharia Laws.
A rough parallel could be drawn from everyday office work. Suppose we have a document in which we white-out a word, a sentence or perhaps a whole paragraph and type something in the same font over it and then photocopy this document. Scrutinizing this photocopy, even the most expert eye cannot detect the deception unless the original is consulted where proof of the tampering will be evident. I told you that sometimes man is too clever for his own good! He can create something out of thin air almost, so to say. In other words, he will spin an entire sherwani from whole cloth, if you get my meaning! To support my assertion I shall endeavor to quote a few examples from our venerable Sharia Laws.
Before I go to the examples proper, I would like to present the following example from my own pharmaceutical industry as something to ponder over allegorically speaking!
Suppose a medicine is marketed by a venerable pharmaceutical giant, as a panacea for all kinds of headaches. Experience nonetheless, shows that whether it does or does not cure headaches it definitely rather upsets the stomach! What are people to do with such a medicine? This is the case with many Sharia laws as well. Most of the Sharia-supporters never read or explore the sources of these laws, and nearly no article either supporting or opposing Sharia law quote the laws. Now, let the laws from the most authentic sources tell us what they are. Once Muslims know what these laws are, it would be easier to convince them to replace these laws by secular laws, which are indeed in accordance with the principles laid down by Quran and Prophet.
THIS BLUE PRITN BELOW GOES TO THE CHAPTER ON SHARIA LAW.
Please note that Hudood, Diyat and Qisas cases are derived from the Quran and Prophet.
A. Hudood cases are (1) Theft, (2) Robbery and Tyranny against State, (3) Adultery /Fornication, (4) Defamation, (5) Drinking and (7) Apostasy. Some sources also include “Running away from the battle field of Jihad” in Hudood.
B. Opinions vary about laws of blood-money and retaliation for intentional and unintentional murder and bodily harm, Diyat and Qisas. In general (A) Diyat is money paid to victim’s family to get pardon (Nisa 92 – 93) and (B) Qisas is equal retaliation on the criminal (Mayedah 35).
C. All other laws fall into Tazi’r section. Minor differences are noted among different schools of law, e.g. Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbli and Jaafri (Shiite law).
These quotes bellow are from the world’s most authentic past and present sources, namely: -
(A) Umdat Al Salik, (Reliance of a Traveller) by Imam Shafi’i, translated by Nu Ha Mim Keller. Al Azhar University of Egypt authenticated this book.
(B) al-Hidaya: A Classical Manual of Hanafi Law translated by Charles Hamilton. This book is
(C) Islamic Laws – the Grand Ayatollah Sistani of Shiites – published in 1994
(D) Codified Islamic Law – 3 Volumes compiled by a committee of six scholars, published by Islamic Foundation Bangladesh in 1995.
(E) The Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence – By Dr. Hashim Kamali.
(F) Text of Pakistan’s current Hudood Ordinance.
(G) Penal Law of Islam – Qazi publications 1979
(H) Sharia the Islamic Law – Dr. Abdur Rahman Doi - 1997
(I) Criminal Law in Islam and the Muslim World - Dr. Tahir Mahmood, Institute of Objective
(J) Quranic Law and Punishments (?) - Principal, Lahore University Law department.
(K) Women, the Family and Divorce Laws in Islamic History – Amira Azhary Sonbol.
(L) Dween Ki Baatne - Maolana Ashraf Ali Thanwi, translation published in 1997
Following are some of the Sharia Laws which I give forth as examples:
1. Denying “Scholarly consensus” about Sharia laws turns a Muslim to an apostate.[i]
2. Criminals of genocide, mass-rape, looting etc (Hiraba) will not be punished if they repent.[ii]
3. The Head of Islamic State cannot be charged in Hudood cases.[iii]
4. Proof of adultery and rape liable to Hudood shall be one of the following namely
(1) Either confession of the accused), or, (2) At least four Muslim adult male
witnesses give evidence as eyewitnesses.[iv]
5. Men can marry and keep up to four wives at one time.[v]
6. Men can divorce wives instantly; in such case she gets no maintenance.[vi]
7. A wife, if divorced in a regular manner in the course of two to three months gets maintenance only for maximum of 3 months.[vii]
8. To remarry the previous husband a divorced wife must marry another person, have sex with
him and get divorced by him voluntarily. (Often the husband pronounces “Divorce”
in a fit of anger and the Sharia Court forces the wife to marry a stranger, have sex with himand get voluntary divorce from him to remarry the previous husband).[viii]
9. The only way for a wife to get divorce is to convince the Sharia Court that will negotiate with
the husband who often puts a monetary price for his approval. Without this, the woman
cannot marry again.[ix]10. Women’s testimony is not accepted in Hudood cases.[x]
11. Evidence of a slave, female singer or a person of low-respect (street-sweeper, bath house
attendant etc) is not admissible.[xi]
12. Husbands are obliged to provide only food, clothes and accommodation to wives. Anything
else including doctor’s fees, medicines etc is a charity to her. A rebellious wife does not
get anything.[xii]
13. Adoption is not allowed in Sharia.[xiii]
14. Custody of kids goes to the mother provided she prays and does not marry a stranger
No such
No such
15. A mother with custody of kids cannot go to distant places without permission of the father.[xv]
16. A Muslim man is allowed to beat his disobedient wife or wives.[xvi]
17. A Muslim man is allowed to have four wives at any given time. He is also allowed to divorce
18. Women inherit only half of what men do.[xviii]
19. Women’s testimony in Business transactions is worth half of men’s.[xix]
20. Women cannot be Bride’s guardians.[xx]
21. Women’s Blood Money is half of men’s.[xxi]
22. The murderer has to pay blood money or compensation if the family members want it, as follows: [xxii]
100,000 riyals if the victim is a Muslim man
50,000 riyals if a Muslim woman
50,000 riyals if a Christian man
25,000 riyals if a Christian woman
6,666 riyals if a Hindu man
3,333 riyals if a Hindu woman”
23. If the victim has son/s and daughter/s, then daughters cannot pardon the killer.[xxiii]
24. If a rapist cannot be punished, he has to pay bride-money without marrying (no other
punishment is suggested).[xxiv]
25. A Muslim shall not be put to death for murdering an unbeliever.[xxv]
26. Women’s witness is not accepted in Hudood cases.[xxvi]
27. Women judges are not allowed in Hudood cases. [xxvii]
28. The Presiding Officer of the court shall be a Muslim. In the cases where the accused is a non-
29. Testimony of a non-Muslim for false accusation is inadmissible. If s/he later becomes a Muslim, her/his evidence is then admissible. XXXX ADD REFERENCE
30. No retaliation for parents and grandparents for killing their offsprings. [xxix]
31. The husband is not obliged to pay for his wife’s cosmetics, doctors fees, the purchase of medicine for her, and similar expenses.[xxx]
32. No reason is required to divorce one’s wife.[xxxi]
33. It is recommended for a woman to wear a covering over her head (khimar), a full-length shift, and a heavy slip under it that does not cling to the body.[xxxii]
34. A majority of scholars (n: with the exception of some Hanafis, as at m2.8 ibid) have been recorded as holding that it is unlawful for women to leave the house with faces unveiled, whether or not there is likelihood of temptation. It is unlawful for women to be alone with a marriageable man. [xxxiii]
35. In Shiite law a man can marry a woman for a fixed time from few seconds to several
years.[xxxiv] Rich men from the Middle East travel to Southern India to take advantage of
this law on poor women, so do rich Iranian men with their women. The suffering of
those women and children born out of this practice is beyond comprehension.
36. If a woman claims to be having her period but her husband does not believe her, it is lawful
for him to have sexual intercourse with her.[xxxv]
37. The Caliph makes war upon Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians (if they don’t become
Muslims or pay Jiziya tax) and the war continues.[xxxvi]
38. Being unyielding towards the unbelievers, hard against them and detesting them …..is a
decree of Allah. [xxxvii]
Mere review of these laws illustrates the inherent injustice in them. Any effort made to justify them in the name of religion is the works of motivated men to perpetuate oppression of women and other disadvantaged class of people. These laws are not derived from the Quran, if anything; Quran has been misinterpreted to support these laws. It is obvious that these laws cannot serve justice. That is why the claim of radical Islamists that Sharia laws had served justice in the past is totally unfounded, as shown in another chapter.
It is a matter of the legacy of patriarchal attitude of human history in general. I submit below a short list of Hadiths (Prophet’s Examples) that amply demonstrates this attitude and what we have been saying all along, namely, the supercilious and brow-beating attitude of a patriarchal society towards its own women! Many of the Sharia laws are created based on these and other similar corrupt documents.
1. Wife must shave her pubic hair if husband returns home at night after a long journey.[xxxviii]
2. A man will not be asked in hereafter as to why he beat his wife.[xxxix]
3. If a woman is to prostrate to another person (besides Allah) it will be her husband.[xl]
4. Women can visit mosques but must not wear perfume. [xli]
5. A divorced woman must marry another man and must intercourse before she can remarry her former husband.[xlii]
6. Majority of women are in hell.[xliii].
7. One must seek Allah's refuge from women, slaves and camels.[xliv]
8. If a woman abandons her husband’s bed for the night then the angels curse her until morning. [xlv]
9. Prayer is annulled by a passing woman, dog and a monkey.[xlvi]
10. A woman enters slavery of her husband in marriage.[xlvii]
11. A woman is like a rib---that is why she has the crookedness.[xlviii]
12. Nothing is more harmful to men than women.[xlix]
13. A woman advances and retires in the shape of a devil; so when one of you sees a woman, he should come to his wife and have intercourse with her. [l]
14. The house, the wife and the horse are bad luck.[li]
15. Women are more harmful to men than anything else.[lii]
16. Because of Eve women are unfaithful towards their husbands. [liii]
17. A husband should not tell his wife secrets, amount of property…etc. no musical instruments for her. [liv]
18. Women should beg a man not to divorce her.[lv]
19. Marriage gives the man the right to enjoy a woman's “private parts”.[lvi]
20. There is no maintenance allowance or lodging for the wife who has been given an irrevocable divorce.[lvii]
21. Some Jihadis had sex with the captive women in the presence of their husbands and some were reluctant to do so.[lviii]
22. One can have sexual intercourse with a captive woman after she is clear of her period and/or delivery. If she has a husband then her marriage is abrogated after she becomes a captive.[lix]
23. Companion of the Prophet had sex with booty captive women. [lx]
24. Some Jihadis practiced coitus interruption with captive women.[lxi]
25. A woman can’t travel a day’s journey without her mahram. [lxii]
26. Menstruation is a defect in women for they cannot fast and pray during their periods.[lxiii]
27. People ruled by a woman will never be successful.[lxiv]
28. Muhammad has no concern for a woman who cries loudly, shaves her hair and tears her clothes in bereavement. [lxv]
To undo the wrongdoings of centuries, is a daunting task and obviously cannot be undertaken overnight. But we have to start somewhere. The cat has to be belled surely?
To all the aye sayers and the nay sayers to Sharia Law, I humbly suggest that they do it with full knowledge. Read up on the laws and ponder over them. That, for the nonce may aid in loosening some tough mental knots, paving the way for a just and peaceful society, Inshallah!
Please do read the Genesis of Sharia after reading this piece- http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2013/02/genesis-of-sharia-law.html
[i] Shafi law# o8.7.7
[ii] Codified Islamic Law Vol 1 - law#13
[iii] (a) Hanafi Law Hedaya page 188, (b) Codified Islamic Law Vol 3 Law# 914C
[iv] (a) Shafi’i Law # o.24.9, (b) Text of Pakistan’s Hudood Ordinances#7 of 1979 amended by 8B of 1980,
(c) Qura’an translated by Muhiuddin Khan, pages –239 and 928 (Tafsir- explanation section)
[v] All Sharia schools
[vi] (a) Hanafi Law –Page 81 and 523, (b) Shafi’i Law# n3.2, n3.5 (Instant but not under compulsion), (c) Deen Ki Bnate
- Maolana Ashraf Ali Thanvi- page 254 Law 1537, 1538, 1546 and 2555, (d) Website - Sunnipath.com
[vii] (a) Hanafi Law-Page 145, (b) Shafi’i Law- Page 546 Law#m.11.10.3
[viii] (a) Islamic Laws – Grand Ayatollah Sistani – page 469 Law# 2536, (b) Hanafi Law –Page 15, (c) Shafi’i
Law - Page 673 Law# P.29.1, (d) Maksudul Mumeneen – page 231, (e) Deen Ki Bnate – Maolana
Ashraf Ali Thanvi page 252 Law# 1543 – (2)
[ix] (a) Hanafi Law –Page 112, (b) Shafi’i Law# n.5.0, n7-7& w-52-1-253-255, (c)Sharia the Islamic Law- Dr. Abdur
Rahman Doi - page 192.
[x] (a) Hanafi Law-Page 353, (b) Shafi’i Law- page 638 Law#o.24.9, (c) Criminal Law in Islam and the Muslim
World –page 251, (d) Tafsir of Translation of the Qura’an by Muhiuddin Khan page 239, (e)
Penal Law of Islam – page 44, 45 (Quote - “The evidence of women is originally inadmissible on
account of their weakness of understanding, their want of memory and incapacity of governing” –
Unquote)
[xi] (a) Hanafi Law –Page 361, (b) Shafi’i Law- page 636 Law#o.24.3.3
[xii] (a) Hanafi Law-Page 140, (b) Shafi’i Law- Page 544 Law#m.11.4, (c) Tafsir of Translation of the
Qura’an by Muhiuddin Khan page 867.
[xiii] (a) Sharia the Islamic Law – Dr. Abdur Rahman Doi – page 463, (b) all Sharia books
[xiv](a) Shafi’i Law- Page 550 Law#m.13.0, (b) Hanafi Law-Page 138-139
[xv] (a) Codified Islamic Law Vol 1 Law# 405, (b) Iranian Law
[xvi] (a) Shafi’i Law# m.10.12 Page-541 & o.17.4 Page 619, (b) All Sharia schools
[xvii] (a) Hanafi Law- Page 31, (b) Sharia the Islamic Law – Dr. Abdur Rahman Doi - page 147 etc.
[xviii] All schools of Sharia Law
[xix] (a) Shafi’i Law- Page 637 Law#o.24.7, (b) Hanafi Law-Page 352
[xx] (a) Hanafi Law-Page 138-139, (b) Shafi’i Law# m.3.4.1- page 518)
[xxi] (a) Shafi’i Law# o4.9
[xxiv] (a) Shafi’i Law #m.8.10 page 535, (b) Codified Islamic Law
[xxv] Penal Law of Islam – page 149, Shafi law # o1.2, o2.2
[xxvi] (a) Shafi law 0.24.9, (b) Hanafi law page 176, (c) Codified Islamic Law Vol 1 # 133 and (d) Vol 2 # 554,
(e) The penal Law of Islam page 44 and (f) Quranic Tafsir (Bangla) of Muhiuddin Khan Pages 239, 928.
[xxviii] (a) “Criminal Law in Islam and the Muslim World”-Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi – Pages-
251, 445 and 448, (b) Tafsir of the Qura’an, translated by Muhiuddin Khan, page – 928 (Check ADD PENAL LAW OF ISLAM)
[xxxvi] Shafi’ law o9.8
[xxxvii] Shafi law #w59.2
[liv] Page 675 - A Dictionary of Islam, 1994 by T.P Hughes; Publisher Kazi Publications, Inc. 3023-27 West
Belmont Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618
