Warning Against Adjudicating by Earthly Laws That Contradict Islam, Whether They Originate from the West or from Muslim Lands
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The Shaykh : This warning and alert in the present age is undoubtedly an obligatory and very important matter. However, what I believe is that there is something more important than what these Islamic writers warn against, and something that requires more warning and alerting. In my opinion, what motivated and drove these writers to such an alert, for which they are to be thanked, is the entanglement of many Islamic countries in adjudicating by earthly laws, without—I do not say as some writers like to say today—without the heavenly legislations, but I say: without the heavenly legislation that has no equal and no partner, which is the Shari'ah of Islam. Because those legislations that preceded Islam have become, in the ruling of Islam, a thing of the past.
Therefore, we should not give weight to those legislations, even if they had remained as Allah revealed them, without change, without distortion, and without alteration. How much more so when they have been subjected to additions and alterations that are not hidden from any Muslim? They have become abrogated by the ruling of His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: The Qur'an and the one upon whom the Qur'an was revealed, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), is the one who dominates with his Book over all previous legislations. If the people of those legislations were alive, they would have had no choice but to be among the followers of Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, as came in the authentic hadith. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw 'Umar ibn al-Khattab reading from a manuscript, and when he asked him about it, he said: "This is a manuscript from the Torah, written by a man, or written for me by a man from the Jews." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So I do not say: that those writers did very well when they denounced these laws that originated from the earth and were not revealed from the sky. Nor do I say: that the denial of these laws is because they did not rely on the previous legislations. Rather, I say: the denial of them is because they did not rely on the Shari'ah of Islam, because the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam only, and nothing else.
When these earthly laws dominated many Arab countries today, if not all of them, this matter alarmed those writers, and they began to harp on the obligation of singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with the ruling of legislation and singling Him out with this worship, which they agreed to call singling out the sovereignty for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and disbelief in any laws or tyrants other than that. This is an important matter, but I believe that such a warning and alert must not be confined to following the earthly laws that came from Europe, for example. Rather, we must also warn against any system and any law that came from other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), even if it came from such-and-such a shaykh or such-and-such a scholar. By this, I mean that shirk in worship and in legislation is not determined solely by looking at the type of person from whom that legislation originated: is he a Muslim or a disbeliever? Is he a righteous Muslim or an open sinner? This is not important to us, Muslims, who must single out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His ruling. It does not matter to us whether the ruling that contradicts the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) issued from a Muslim or a disbeliever, from a righteous Muslim or a wicked one, from a knowledgeable Muslim or an ignorant one. What is important is that we must avoid following any ruling that contradicts the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), whether this ruling issued, as we said, from a Muslim or a disbeliever, to the end of the variations we mentioned. And finally, I say: whether this ruling issued from a sincere, rewarded mujtahid imam, or issued from a person following his desires, this ruling must be avoided. Why? Because it contradicts the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And after that, it does not matter to us whether the one who legislated this ruling is a righteous person or a wicked one, ignorant or knowledgeable, sincere in his ijtihad or malicious. Because this is a matter that returns to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. Allah is his accountant. But we are the responsible ones who must warn against following other than the Shari'ah of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). We must be sincere in our belief that the sovereignty belongs to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that is by not worshipping except Allah, and not worshipping Allah except by what Allah has prescribed. If we worship Allah by other than what Allah has prescribed, then this otherness, if the expression is correct, is the munkar (what is wrong). Our following of this otherness is the munkar. As for whether this other who legislated what Allah did not legislate is a Muslim or a disbeliever, a righteous Muslim or a wicked one, a knowledgeable Muslim or an ignorant one, a mujtahid or not, this does not matter to us. This matters to individuals regarding their standing before Allah, before Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So the Muslim, for example, who wants to perform ijtihad must be knowledgeable without a doubt; he must not be ignorant, following his desires. And this scholar who performs ijtihad, this scholar who performs ijtihad, must give ijtihad its due. And therefore it was called ijtihad from the emptying of effort. If he falls short in that and does not use his mind and his ijtihad, and issues a fatwa like this without any ijtihad or scrutiny, he will be accountable before Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
Therefore, we should not give weight to those legislations, even if they had remained as Allah revealed them, without change, without distortion, and without alteration. How much more so when they have been subjected to additions and alterations that are not hidden from any Muslim? They have become abrogated by the ruling of His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:
And a Guardian over it
وَمُهَيْمِناً عَلَيْهِO Ibn al-Khattab! Will you be in doubt as the Jews and the Christians were in doubt? By Him in whose hand is my soul, if Musa were alive, he would have had no choice but to follow me
يا ابن الخطاب! أمتهوكون أنتم كما تهوكت اليهود والنصارى؟! والذي نفس محمد بيده لو كان موسى حياً ما وسعه إلا اتباعيSo I do not say: that those writers did very well when they denounced these laws that originated from the earth and were not revealed from the sky. Nor do I say: that the denial of these laws is because they did not rely on the previous legislations. Rather, I say: the denial of them is because they did not rely on the Shari'ah of Islam, because the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam only, and nothing else.
When these earthly laws dominated many Arab countries today, if not all of them, this matter alarmed those writers, and they began to harp on the obligation of singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with the ruling of legislation and singling Him out with this worship, which they agreed to call singling out the sovereignty for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and disbelief in any laws or tyrants other than that. This is an important matter, but I believe that such a warning and alert must not be confined to following the earthly laws that came from Europe, for example. Rather, we must also warn against any system and any law that came from other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), even if it came from such-and-such a shaykh or such-and-such a scholar. By this, I mean that shirk in worship and in legislation is not determined solely by looking at the type of person from whom that legislation originated: is he a Muslim or a disbeliever? Is he a righteous Muslim or an open sinner? This is not important to us, Muslims, who must single out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His ruling. It does not matter to us whether the ruling that contradicts the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) issued from a Muslim or a disbeliever, from a righteous Muslim or a wicked one, from a knowledgeable Muslim or an ignorant one. What is important is that we must avoid following any ruling that contradicts the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), whether this ruling issued, as we said, from a Muslim or a disbeliever, to the end of the variations we mentioned. And finally, I say: whether this ruling issued from a sincere, rewarded mujtahid imam, or issued from a person following his desires, this ruling must be avoided. Why? Because it contradicts the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And after that, it does not matter to us whether the one who legislated this ruling is a righteous person or a wicked one, ignorant or knowledgeable, sincere in his ijtihad or malicious. Because this is a matter that returns to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. Allah is his accountant. But we are the responsible ones who must warn against following other than the Shari'ah of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). We must be sincere in our belief that the sovereignty belongs to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that is by not worshipping except Allah, and not worshipping Allah except by what Allah has prescribed. If we worship Allah by other than what Allah has prescribed, then this otherness, if the expression is correct, is the munkar (what is wrong). Our following of this otherness is the munkar. As for whether this other who legislated what Allah did not legislate is a Muslim or a disbeliever, a righteous Muslim or a wicked one, a knowledgeable Muslim or an ignorant one, a mujtahid or not, this does not matter to us. This matters to individuals regarding their standing before Allah, before Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So the Muslim, for example, who wants to perform ijtihad must be knowledgeable without a doubt; he must not be ignorant, following his desires. And this scholar who performs ijtihad, this scholar who performs ijtihad, must give ijtihad its due. And therefore it was called ijtihad from the emptying of effort. If he falls short in that and does not use his mind and his ijtihad, and issues a fatwa like this without any ijtihad or scrutiny, he will be accountable before Allah (Mighty and Majestic).