The Ruling on Codifying the Shari'ah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says: Some people raise the necessity of codifying the Shari'ah in this age. They say that the failure to codify the Shari'ah, particularly in certain areas, is what led many countries to enact positive laws, due to the age's need for codified legislation, especially in dealings with the outside world. How correct is this statement?
Answer:
No, this may be said to be an error. The codifiers may err, but bringing the Shari'ah closer by having books that explain the legal rulings benefits the judges, such as *Al-Turuq al-Hukmiyyah* by Ibn al-Qayyim and similar books that clarify the legal rulings and the rulings on lawsuits. This brings the Shari'ah closer to the judges. As for creating laws that bind people, the codifiers may err, so people should not be bound except by the Qur'an and the Sunnah with its legislation.
The questioner says: Some people raise the necessity of codifying the Shari'ah in this age. They say that the failure to codify the Shari'ah, particularly in certain areas, is what led many countries to enact positive laws, due to the age's need for codified legislation, especially in dealings with the outside world. How correct is this statement?
Answer:
No, this may be said to be an error. The codifiers may err, but bringing the Shari'ah closer by having books that explain the legal rulings benefits the judges, such as *Al-Turuq al-Hukmiyyah* by Ibn al-Qayyim and similar books that clarify the legal rulings and the rulings on lawsuits. This brings the Shari'ah closer to the judges. As for creating laws that bind people, the codifiers may err, so people should not be bound except by the Qur'an and the Sunnah with its legislation.
Source
أسباب الثبات أمام الفتن — islamhouse.com (54:40)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.