But isn’t Sharia a Muslim Thing?

Like most important questions in life, there is no simple answer. One would be correct in this instance if one answered yes… and no.

I have been stating repeatedly that shariah is the best system of government for everyone. Perhaps it is time I explained a little more why this is so, just I case I failed to make the point.

To understand the answer I gave, we return to the question of how God guides us. There is no compulsion. The advice given is for our benefit, and it is up to us whether we follow the advice or not.

I previously used the example of the candle. God guides us not to touch the flame. If we reject the advice, we get burnt. This is not punishment, simply the consequence of not heeding good advice. I mentioned also that we do not know all the possible long term consequences of our actions, and that it is difficult for us to make the connection between our actions and the negative consequences which may only manifest years or decades later. God is aware of these and advises us in advance. If we do not heed the advice, the consequences are ours to bear.

What we must remember is that whether we believe in God or not,  worship Him or not, or choose to follow God’s advice or not, we are all God’s children, and God never abandons any of us. His advice is likewise for all of us. It makes no different what our relation with God is, if we touch the flame we get burnt. The flame does not burn us only if we worship God, or only if we do not, in much the same way that rain falls on everyone without prejudice.

This is an important point, because the same applies in the case of Shariah; it is advice from God for all His children, whether we recognize Him or not.

We are not expected to impose our views (even if these views or based 100% on God’s advice for us). In other words, God does not impose His guidance on us and He expects us to practice the same restraint. To do otherwise and claim that this is done “in the name of God” is gross misrepresentation.

God expects us to live our lives giving full expression to our free-will, and to ensure that everyone else is allowed to do the same. When we chose to follow Gods advice, it is done voluntarily and out of conviction, not coercion.

We cannot force women to wear the hijab or forcibly prevent them, neither can we force men to wear a beard or to be clean shaven, and so is the case with everything else.

Four crimes have been defined for which there is prescribed punishment. In everything else we do, we may act in terms of God’s guidance (worship God) or our own opinion (worship ourselves). The choices we make determine the consequences we face.

You may choose to gamble. I may not. I may advise you against it, but I cannot force you to stop. The consequences of gambling will be yours to bear. Only one whose rights have been violated may bring a charge against someone else. When you gamble, you are violating the rights of no one so no one can have any claim against you. This is how free people live.

Shariah is the best system of government for every human being, but what it requires is people who are willing to make it a reality. Assuming power and making laws that impose aspects of God’s guidance is not Shariah, and I have made this point repeatedly because we have observed others acting in this way, calling it Shariah, and creating the false impression that this is what Shariah is all about.

This is the system which makes it mandatory on us to guarantee our own freedom and to ensure that peace prevails. This is what we do “in the name of God”.

When our safety is left in the care of someone else, we lose both our safety and our freedom. This is another message that Shariah delivers. We are personally responsible, neither should we abdicate this responsibility (give it up voluntarily) nor should we allow others to assume it by force (involuntarily). If we do, we surrender as slaves.

We have a great responsibility to bring about the necessary change that ensures true freedom, and this obligation rests on all of us, whether we have found God or not, and the system we choose to adopt should be the one guided by God, and we should accept this despite the fact that we do not accept God’s existence. We should judge the product by putting it to the test, not by our personal views of God.

I began by answering the question with a yes… and no. Here is the reason why.

Each of us is born totally submissive to God. Hence, by definition, everyone is born Muslim. Our home and other environments may have the effect of influencing us away from this state of total submission. Many of us realize our error, and by the grace of the Almighty, restore our true relationship with God.

Because each of us is born Muslim, we can say that Shariah is “a Muslim thing”. But seen from a different perspective, since not all of us acknowledge our birth right, Shariah would then not be considered exclusively “a Muslim thing”.

Which ever way we see it, this is the best way for those of us who want nothing else but to live our lives in peace, minding our own business, and having no inclination to stick our noses in the affairs of others or having any grandiose ideas of “ruling over” them.

If this is you, then perhaps together we, and others like us, can come together and make this vision a reality.

Until next time.