Legal
Directions

You know,

when we think of the law nowadays we think of a whole legal system,

judges and lawyers

who have studied the history of previous legal judgements,

and law courts

that have been purpose built for legal arguments,

and a police force

to enforce legal decisions,

and in one way or another it's like that around most of the world.

But it wasn't always like that.

When Muhammad the Messenger was born

in the Time of Ignorance that we know by the Arabic name Jahilliya,

there were no courts, no judges, no lawyers,

and no police force.

Disputes between people were settled in a very different way.

The only force that could help you

if you thought someone had wronged you

was the strength of your extended family,

your tribe,

which would fight those who wronged you on your behalf.

But just because you think someone has wronged you

doesn't mean that they agree,

and in fact they might well think that you were the one at fault,

wronging them.

So fights between tribes

in the name of justice

could go on for a long time,

with blood feuds between families

sometimes lasting for lifetimes.

And obviously, in those days

men had a huge advantage in matters of power,

as battle was highly reliant upon physical strength,

and in that department

men on average do have a real advantage.

Women have always been burdened with

the physical constraints that go with being able to have children,

so at that time

men's physical strength meant that men were usually the ones

who decided what was acceptable as justice in any situation.

But not all arguments were serious enough that they had to be settled by battles,

and disputes could also be settled by negotiation between tribal leaders,

or brought before a neutral party to make a decision.

And this system is the way things were during the time of Muhammad the Messenger.

But when people accepted Islam, and recognised the Qur'an as God's Word,

they also accepted that belonging to a family or tribe

was now less important than being a member of the family of Muslims,

with their leader, God's Messenger being in charge,

his authority having been given by God in the words of the Qur'an.

So disputes could still be settled within families,

but the most serious legal disagreements

would be brought to Muhammad,

the ultimate authority in the community,

to decide.

But clearly there were many tribal leaders

such as those of the Quraish

who were used to being the ones with the power in their communities,

who not only did not recognise his authority,

but were prepared to fight him over it

almost to the end.

When the Messenger died,

even before his body was cold

arguments had started over who would be his successor,

known in Arabic as Caliph,

and hold the reins of power in the Muslim world.

Within 24 years there was civil war.

Three of the first four recognised Caliphs,

close friends of the Messenger,

Umar, Uthman and Ali

were all murdered in power struggles.

In these early years,

muslims slaughtered muslims

in a carnage of disagreement as to the meaning of God's message

and rivalry over who was to rule the lands over which Islam now held sway.

Within a few years the Caliphate was a male kingship,

with the power of the Caliphate handed down from father to son,

and sealed with the massacre of Husayn,

Muhammad's grandson,

on the battlefield of Kerbala.

And as the state power that then ruled over muslim lands

formalised its structure,

and the empire grew,

and new ways of thinking posed new questions,

those who studied legal issues

formalised various ways of interpreting the law.

Are there different ways to understand Shari'ah?