The Ruling on Advocacy and the Study of Man-Made Law
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What is the ruling on a Muslim who studies man-made law, then opens a law office and acts as a lawyer before civil courts for corporate administrations? And what is the ruling on the money he collects?
Enacting laws that contradict the Shari'ah in place of the Shari'ah is disbelief; because it is raising the Shari'ah and placing the taghut in its stead,And this falls under the saying of the Exalted: [Al-Ma'idah: 44] And there is no proof for the one who says: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (You know best the affairs of your worldly life) And these are worldly laws; we have not come to prayer and acts of worship, marriage, or inheritance, but dealings between people are worldly affairs,And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (You know best the affairs of your worldly life) So we do not declare them disbelievers because we have not raised the Shari'ah, but we acted according to the hadith (You know best the affairs of your worldly life) ?We say: They have gone astray in what they understood;So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (You know best the affairs of your worldly life) in matters of industry and craft,If the carpenter came and said: How is a door made? Is he more knowledgeable or the Messenger? Is the skilled carpenter more knowledgeable about how to make this door or the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?Answer: The carpenter; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about this in a matter of industry, and that is when he arrived in Madinah and found the people climbing to the male palm tree and taking the pollen, then climbing to the female palm tree and pollinating it, so how much did the man toil? Four times, climbing the male tree and descending from it, and climbing the female tree and descending from it, four times requiring effort and time,So he said to them: (If you had not done it, it would have been better) Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted the person to be decisive, and not to waste a single minute of his life except in benefit, so he thought there was no benefit in the matter; because he did not live in a land of agriculture and palms, where did he live? In Makkah, a land not having agriculture, and he knew nothing of this, so they left the palms without pollination and the palms spoiled and the dates came out dry, so they came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! The palms have spoiled,So he said to them: (You know best the affairs of your worldly life) meaning: You know best in craft and industry, not in the halal and the haram, and for this reason the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regulated the sale of palm trees, so he prohibited the sale of fruits until their ripeness becomes apparent, and the longest verse in the Qur'an relates to sale and debt in worldly affairs.
So those who thought that enacting laws that contradict the Shari'ah in judging between people and referring to them in disputes have erred in understanding this hadith, and it is obligatory that they be informed that they are in error; if they persist in the contradiction and in raising the Shari'ah ruling and placing the law in its stead, then this -seeking refuge in Allah- is disbelief.
As for a person learning man-made laws, if he learns them in order to repel falsehood with truth; then there is nothing wrong with it, and if he learns them in order to follow the laws therein that contradict the Shari'ah; then this is forbidden.
And in this we say: Even advocacy in a country where the Shari'ah is applied, we say: If the lawyer wants to deliver the right to its owner; then there is nothing wrong with practicing this profession, and if he wants to overpower people in his speech and advocacy with truth or falsehood; then this is forbidden.
Enacting laws that contradict the Shari'ah in place of the Shari'ah is disbelief; because it is raising the Shari'ah and placing the taghut in its stead,And this falls under the saying of the Exalted:
And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَSo those who thought that enacting laws that contradict the Shari'ah in judging between people and referring to them in disputes have erred in understanding this hadith, and it is obligatory that they be informed that they are in error; if they persist in the contradiction and in raising the Shari'ah ruling and placing the law in its stead, then this -seeking refuge in Allah- is disbelief.
As for a person learning man-made laws, if he learns them in order to repel falsehood with truth; then there is nothing wrong with it, and if he learns them in order to follow the laws therein that contradict the Shari'ah; then this is forbidden.
And in this we say: Even advocacy in a country where the Shari'ah is applied, we say: If the lawyer wants to deliver the right to its owner; then there is nothing wrong with practicing this profession, and if he wants to overpower people in his speech and advocacy with truth or falsehood; then this is forbidden.