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Devine Edicts And Societies
In His devine wisdom to not micro manage and as a result suffocate societies Allah has laid down only very general and macro parameters and boundaries for “riyasat” within which empires, dynasties, kingdoms and nations can function fully regardless of the socio- political evolutionary stages they stand at . The way I understand it Allah does not hinder or meddle much in the socio -political processes of evolution. On the contrary He acknowledges that societal grown isn’t static, it’s very dynamic.
However, when it comes to social laws (marriage, divorce, inheritance etc) one cannot help but notice that Allah’s edicts are more defined, extensive, detailed, restrictive and a bit micro in nature.
My question is that despite Allah’s edicts being extensive, detailed and micro in nature in this regard do they leave enough wiggle-room and flexibility in their application inspite of the growing and evolving nature of societies?
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4 Replies
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Devine Edicts And Societies
updated 2 years, 2 months ago
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In my understanding, Allah has given us a set of parameters to deal with the business of riyasat/govt that is وَ اَمۡرُہُمۡ شُوۡرٰی بَیۡنَہُمۡ Now we human/govt can set up any appropriate system on that basis e.g., democracy. Similarly in marriage, a family unit system, a framework has been provided to us. For example, wife’s right of divorce (khula) is that she will demand for divorce. Now, we can achieve it in different ways as I think it has been set differently in different Muslim countries. Like Ghamidi Sb suggested the Govt can set a date of divorce (for example 3 months) – if a husband doesn’t give a divorce and creates problems for his spouse, then after 3 months divorce will be granted as per law of the country (it’s my understanding of Ghamidi Sb’s point of view here). In the laws of inheritance, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of will God has granted us, a great flexibility. So, in my opinion Allah has given us a framework (Divine command) but we can work around their applications according to our circumstances, but the basics of the Sharia will stay intact. If we find that our law is not good enough, we can (should) revise and try to make it better on our intellect/needs and change in the society.
Ref: 42:38 – and their system is based on their mutual consultation
وَ اَمۡرُہُمۡ شُوۡرٰی بَیۡنَہُمۡ
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Thank you so much for your clear, concise, succinct and comprehensive reply.
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“do they leave enough wiggle-room and flexibility in their application inspite of the growing and evolving nature of societies?”
This is an open ended question which I don’t believe can be objectively answered. God’s laws are eternal; there are of course exceptions as with any set of laws, however they have to be understood on a case by case basis in the application of these laws. The evolving nature of societies has nothing to do with it. If the societies evolve to become more atheistic or immoral in nature, we cannot expect God’s laws to evolve with the preferences of the societies.
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“God’s laws are eternal; there are of course exceptions as with any set of laws.”
I couldn’t agree more that God’s laws are eternal and I also agree with you that they have to be understood on a case by case basis in the application of these laws.
But I do beg to differ on your stance that “the evolving nature of societies has nothing to do with it”. I believe Allah has left enough wiggle-room in the application of His laws to cater for that. For instance given the ugly khula situations in today’s Muslim world governments can suggest a solution to facilitate women better as explained by Mr Hussain in his explanatory note above. Or because of the whole shift in the dynamics of the workforce these days ( where increasing number of women are financially independent and/or supporting their husbands) husbands may write wills to allow their wives to have a greater share of their inheritance due to their wives’ financially supportive role in their lives. These are the kind of flexibilities I was talking about.
” If the societies evolve to become more atheistic or immoral in nature, we cannot expect God’s laws to evolve with the preferences of the societies.”
I have to be utterly insane to suggest even remotely that religion should offer enough flexibility to the societies to facilitate them to move towards atheism or immorality!!
Maybe I should have phrased my question differently to not cause this ambiguity in my query.
All I wanted to know was if Islam leaves enough wiggle-room WITHIN THE PARAMETERS of it’s laws to cater for different situations and cultures.
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