Bushmead 31 July 2pm.
الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهده الله فلا مضل له، ومن يضلل فلا هادي له. وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله.
أما بعد، فإن أصدق الحديث كتاب الله، وخير الهدي هدي محمد ﷺ، وشر الأمور محدثاتها، وكل محدثة بدعة، وكل بدعة ضلالة، وكل ضلالة في النار.
All praise belongs to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide; and whoever He allows to go astray, none can guide.
I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partner, and I bear witness that our authority, our beloved, our master Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger.
To proceed:
Indeed, the truest speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muḥammad ﷺ, and the worst of matters are those newly introduced. Every newly introduced matter is an innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today I want to continue the theme of learning from my khutbah a couple of weeks ago, and speak about one of the most important yet most misunderstood concepts in Islam: Sharīʿah.
The word Sharīʿah is often mentioned today. Some people think of Sharīʿah only in terms of punishments, courts or government laws. Others think it simply means a list of ḥalāl and ḥarām rules.
But what we don’t realise is that Islamic concepts are always to be understood in a structured and layered way, with clear definitions, taxonomy, conditions, principles and so on.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we don’t have a solid understanding of Sharīʿah in this way, then how is it possible that we should expect non-Muslims to have a proper understanding of it.
If we don’t know the meaning of Sharīʿah as believers, on what basis do we say to non-Muslim that there is no need to resent, fear or be sceptical about this thing called Sharīʿah.
The reality, which most people are unaware of, is that Sharīʿah is far greater, deeper and more beautiful than this.
Linguistically, the term “Sharīʿah” derives from the Arabic root “sh-r-ʿa” which has the meaning of “a clear, well-trodden path leading to water.” Water being a “life-giving substance” gives the meaning of a vital, well-defined, prescribed, trodden path.
For the Arabs living in the desert back at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, there could not have been a better metaphor than water as the source of life. A path that led people safely to water was called Sharīʿah because it was the path that brought life and sustenance as it enabled human beings to flourish both individually and collectively. Allah uses this beautiful linguistic meaning to teach us that His revelation is Sharīʿah, that is the path that leads human beings to true life.
A life connected to Allah. A life of purpose. A life of righteousness. A life that ultimately leads to Paradise.
When used for the Qurʾān it signifies a divinely prescribed path or guidance (hudā), as revealed in the Qurʾān and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. In English, this is often rendered as “God’s law,” however this can be misleading if taken too narrowly. Rather than referring solely to law or in a legalistic sense, Sharīʿah is more accurately understood as “comprehensive divine praxis,” an instructional path governing belief, conduct, norms, and moral orientation.
Now, the term “Sharīʿah” is not exclusive to the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ or the Qurʾān. In the Qurʾān, it is used in a general sense to refer to divinely prescribed path or way of life given to earlier prophets as well.
After understanding that Sharīʿah as trodden path, it is then important to understand the layered meanings of Sharīʿah.
1. The first layer of Sharīʿah as trodden path is the path of belief and faith.
This includes:
- beliefs about Allah,
- beliefs about the unseen realm of angles,
- beliefs about the akhirah and so on,
- beliefs about the relation between the created and Allah, and
- conviction in such beliefs.
Before Allah revealed detailed laws, He first built faith in the hearts of believers. The early revelation in Makkah focused on knowing Allah, believing in the Hereafter, and developing certainty.
Why? Because rules without faith become empty. A person may follow rules outwardly, but true obedience comes from love, humility and awareness of Allah.
Dear brothers and sisters,
2. The second layer of Sharīʿah as trodden path is that it is a legal code, the aḥkām al-sharʿīyyah.
This can be broken down into:
(1) Personal law – consisting of the laws of ʿibādāt: salah, fasting, hajj, zakah etc.
(2) Social laws – consisting of laws of marriage, divorce, rights of other people and creation
(3) Transactional laws – laws of how we transact and conduct trade and business with one another.
(4) Criminal law – defines what is a crime, how to prosecute in a court and so on, which can only be enforced in a Muslim polity with public consensus.
(5) Political laws – otherwise known as siyāsah al-sharʿīyyah are generally practical laws of governance, which can be things from traffic laws to taxes and so on.
Generally, these 5 areas of legal code or aḥkām al-sharʿīyyah exist to protect the 5 or 6, what are known as “the higher objectives of the Sharīʿah” or the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah: these are:
- To preserve din/religion
- to protect life
- to safeguard the intellect
- to protect family
- to preserve wealth
- and according to more recent scholars to protect freedom also.
Now, a few things to note here.
To derive law, you need methods and principles. This is found in the discipline called fiqh. Fiqh means in its simplest form “to understand or the knowledge of that which is for or against you” – this is the definition of Imam Abu Hanifah. The principles used come under a discipline called uṣūl al-fiqh, which means at it’s most basic “principles for understanding that which is for or against you”.
Fiqh is human effort to best understand Sharīʿah. Human understanding can differ and the differences among scholars in this is not because they reject revelation.
But, rather, because of differences in reasoning and understanding the sources of revelation, the Qur’an, Sunnah. Such differences trace back to what the Prophet taught the Companions, and the Companions taught the Followers, and all of this was wrapped up in the circles of jurists, leading to the development of schools of fiqh (madhhabs).
Another important point to note here is that certain aspects of Islam’s criminal law require an Islamic polity, where there is consensus and acceptance by people to live with Islamic criminal law legislation. But in Islamic criminal law there is one thing that most people overlook, which is the very important principle of shubuhāt – averting punishment by seeking doubt. We don’t have time here to go into it.
In Muslim societies, governments may seek to implement aspects of Islamic guidance through legislation.
However, state law is only one limited aspect of Sharīʿah.
Sharīʿah is much broader than what a government legislates.
For centuries, Muslims lived according to Sharīʿah through their salah, families, businesses, charities, education, community life, personal morality, private adjudication, and so on/
To reduce Sharīʿah only to state law or enforced law is like reducing Islam only to the rules of a courtroom and ignoring everything else.
3. The 3rd layer of Sharīʿah as trodden path, is that it is a moral path, a moral code.
This is not about rights or the “what the law is” but about “how” and “why “we do things. The legal code or aḥkām al-sharʿīyyah, provide the minimum standards necessary to protect society and enable human flourishing.
They establish boundaries between what is ḥalāl and ḥarām, what is obligatory, recommended, permissible and prohibited. But these legal rulings are only the foundation.
Sharīʿah as trodden path is also about cultivating taqwā (God consciousness), ikhlāṣ (sincerity), iḥsān (spiritual excellence), raḥmah (mercy), ʿadl (justice), zuhd (abstention), ṣabr (patience), shukr (gratitude), ḥayāʾ (modesty) and amānah (trustworthiness), and so on. These are qualities that no court, no enforced law, no police officer or government can enforce.
It is Sharīʿah as a moral path that stops us doing bad things and encourages us to do good things in the first place.
How we treat our families, our neighbours, people, animals, and society more broadly.
It includes being fair, just, compassionate, forgiving, caring, inclusive, how we behave with our spouse, how we raise our children, how we conduct ourselves in society and business and so on. All of this comes under Sharīʿah as a moral path.
4. The 4th layer whereby the Sharīʿah as trodden path is the path of social responsibility.
Islam does not teach us to live only for ourselves.
The Prophet ﷺ said: خَيْرُ النَّاسِ أَنْفَعُهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ
“The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people.”
This is about serving others which is part of Sharīʿah. Helping the poor is part of Sharīʿah. Supporting the vulnerable is part of Sharīʿah. Bringing ease to others is part of Sharīʿah. Standing for justice is part of Sharīʿah. Removing harm from society is part of Sharīʿah, and so on.
Classical scholars generally held the opinion that anything that is of benefit to human beings or the common good (maṣlaḥah) or removes harms or establishes justice and so on, and provided that it doesn’t contradict Islam, is part of Sharīʿah.
So it means when there is a communal understanding that late night fireworks disrupt people’s peace, especially the vulnerable, then doing so is going against Sharīʿah, the trodden path for social responsibility.
When kids carry knives, they are not only breaking UK law, they are also going against Sharīʿah. Laws and norms even in a secular context and secular legal system if they are there to protect and safeguard people is Sharīʿah.
أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين، فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم.
Second khutbah
الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.
Continuing from where we left…
5. The 5th layer of Sharīʿah as trodden path is that it is a path of character development, a code of akhlaq.
When we understand Sharīʿah only as law, we reduce Islam to a list of rules. But when we understand Sharīʿah in a layered way, we realise that Allah is not merely asking, “Did you stay within the legal boundaries?” He is asking, “Did you become a person of mercy, compassion, honesty, integrity, excellence and so on?”
The Prophet ﷺ said: إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ مَكَارِمَ الْأَخْلَاقِ
“I was only sent to perfect noble character.”
The Prophet ﷺ also said: خَيْرُكُمْ أَحْسَنُكُمْ أَخْلَاقًا
“The best of you are those who have the best character.”
Our Islam (submission to God) is not measured only by how many acts of worship we perform.
It is also measured by how we treat others.
How we speak. How we behave with our spouse. How we raise our children. How we deal with our neighbours. How we conduct business. A person who prays but harms others has misunderstood the purpose of prayer. A person who fasts but lies, cheats and mistreats people has missed the spirit of fasting.
6. The 6th layer of meaning of Sharīʿah is that it is spiritual path.
Sharīʿah is not only concerned with outward actions; it is equally, and perhaps even more concerned with the condition of our inner self. Prayer is not merely a physical movement, fasting is not merely abstaining from food and drink, and charity is not merely a purifying our money. These acts are designed to purify the heart (taẓkiyah or tasawwuf), develop humility and awe of Allah (taqwā) in everything, and bring us closer to Allah.
7. A 7th layer of the meaning of Sharīʿah is technically known as Sharīʿah al-kawnīyyah or in the Qur’an it is referred to as “Sunnatullah” which is the universal order established by Allah.
This refers to the laws by which Allah governs the universe. These are the natural laws that everything in creation follows without choice, such as gravity causes objects to fall, water flows downhill, human beings age and eventually die, cause and effect operate throughout creation and so on. Thes part of layered meaning of Sharīʿah
Dear brothers and sisters,
I have gone through a lot here, in very short time to give you a glimpse into the multi-dimensional layers of Sharīʿah. Please enrol in Islamic Studies classes in your local mosques or online and benefit from Islamic learning.
ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَـٰكَ عَلَىٰ شَرِيعَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ فَٱتَّبِعْهَا وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“Then We placed you upon (speaking to the Prophet) a Sharīʿah (a clear way of faith), so follow it, and do not follow the desires of those who do not know” (Sūrah al-Jāthiyah, 45:18)
Notice that Allah does not describe Sharīʿah simply as a law book.
He describes it as a path.
A path that we walk.
May Allah guide us to follow this path in the multiple layers of Sharīʿah.
ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الآخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر والبغي يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون.
وأقم الصلاة.
O Allah, we ask You for beneficial knowledge, wholesome provision, and deeds that are accepted.
O Allah, teach us that which benefits us, enable us to benefit from what You have taught us, and increase us in knowledge.
O Allah, rectify our sons and our daughters, and make the Glorious Qurʾān the spring of our hearts, the light of our chests, the remover of our sorrows, and the reliever of our worries and distress.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
May Allah send His blessings, peace, and abundant grace upon our Prophet Muḥammad, and upon his family and all of his Companions.
Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence, and generosity towards relatives, and He forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and transgression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.
Establish the prayer.