Until Our Hearts Submit to the Sharia

Dr. Iyad Qunaybi

We may agree or disagree with a model here or there that claims to "apply" the Sharia. Our goal here is not to support any of the human models or to boast about them, but rather to remain lovers of Allah's Sharia and not to imagine for a moment that it is no longer suitable for our time or to doubt its justice and mercy. And whoever misapplies it, then he has sinned upon himself and does not count against Allah's Sharia.

Our goal here is to remain lovers of the Sharia, eager to empower it, striving for it, proud of it, and to meet Allah with a heart that is pure for the Sharia that He has chosen for us. The Sharia we are talking about is the Sharia of the Most Merciful, the Compassionate, the Forbearing, the Wise, Who says: "Does He not know, the Creator?" (Quran 67:14). It is the one whose Lord, glorified and exalted be He, commands with justice, benevolence, and kindness to relatives, and forbids indecency, evil, and transgression. It is the one that Allah, the Exalted, has sent down as a relief to His servants because of His knowledge of their weakness, saying: "Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make you difficult" (Quran 2:185).

The Sharia we are talking about is not something that "is applied" by the rulers to the ruled, as if they were not addressed by it, as if it were imposed upon us from above our heads! But rather, it is "established" by the Muslims in their lives, each according to their ability, for it is their cause and their spirit, and by which they draw near to Allah, and they strive to establish it at the level of governance and to have a state for it.

The Sharia is the one that commands the father with mercy towards his children and the children with kindness towards their parents and adherence to the steps of their mothers, and the ruler with gentleness towards his subjects and the establishment of justice upon himself before establishing it upon them.

It is the one in which the nation becomes one body and frees itself from the chains of the global system that enslaves it, humiliates it, and plunders its resources...

It is the one in which the status of the Muslim individual is honored as no other individual is honored in any other state, so the Islamic state triumphs for the individual and moves armies to take his right and liberate him from his captivity and avenge his blood, just as the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, moved the army of Mu'tah and expelled the Banu Qaynuqa and pledged his companions to death in the Pledge of Ridwan and prepared the expedition of Usama... all of that for the sake of individuals.

The Sharia we are talking about is the one that prevents the corrupt from plundering the Muslims' wealth and storing it in Switzerland while their neighbors eat from the garbage. It is the one that strives for the sufficiency of the woman, the man, the young, the old, the Muslim, and the Christian in food, drink, treatment, safety, dignity, and education.

It is the one that honors the woman and protects her from making her body a cheap commodity. It is the one that spreads among the males and females in society the relationship of brotherhood in faith and cooperation in righteousness and piety and the building of the nation's glory, not the unrestrained lust that is free from all constraints.

It is the one in which the minds are protected and the talents are encouraged to take off for the construction of the earth and excellence in the fields of science and the benefit of humanity.

It is the one in which the Muslims choose their rulers by the Sharia of Allah, so He has mercy upon them and makes His severity upon the fighting disbelievers.

It is the one in which good assumptions are widespread, and no one is accused of treachery or disbelief without a considered legal evidence, and the accused is tried with a fair trial in which he is given the opportunity to defend himself.

It is the one in which the people are provided with what they need to satisfy their desires with the permissible, so no punishment is established except rarely, upon those who, despite being provided with the permissible, refuse except to corrupt and storm the doors of the forbidden.

This is the Sharia, my lords, a pure atmosphere in which people live and children are raised, and everyone contributes to its protection.

This is the Sharia... purity, chastity, honor, kindness, forbearance, gentleness, and blessing.

If the Prophet's community, which reached the peak of establishing the Sharia, had room for the likes of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the head of hypocrisy, even though he harmed the Prophet and almost did so to the Muslims... he had room for him because he did not openly declare his disbelief but rather outwardly adhered to the rule of the Sharia... then will our communities, when establishing the Sharia, not have room for the sinners among the Muslims who, no matter how much they sin, their dust is better than the dust of ibn Salul?

The fools used to say to our Prophet, peace be upon him, out of greed for more than their share: "Be just, O Muhammad, for you have not been just!" And yet he is patient and says:

"Woe to you! And who will be just after me if I am not just?!"

In the Sharia we are talking about, the foolish may publicly insult the Muslim ruler, and he forgives them and is patient with them because he does not take revenge for himself, but he is angry when the sanctities of Allah are violated.

This is the Sharia we are talking about... so if there is someone who is choked by this pure atmosphere and his nose is disgusted and his eyes are burned by the light of the Sharia and is enraged by purification just as the people of Lot were enraged because he could not live except with public fornication that is easy to be witnessed by four witnesses, or by drinking alcohol that appears to society from the smell of his mouth and his reckless behavior and the filth on his pants, or by stealing the sustenance of others while the Sharia has blocked his path... then he has the right to fear the Sharia!.. but let us be rid of his wailing and screaming and frightening of the Sharia, for he does not represent even the disobedient Muslims whose eyes may tear up at the mention of Allah or His Messenger, peace be upon him, and who love the Sharia we are talking about in the depths of their hearts and will even contribute to its establishment.