Ways
&
Laws

You know

as humans try to live and work together

they find that it's not so easy.

They disagree about all sorts of things.

So they need to find ways of doing things that they can all agree on

if they are to work together,

politically, economically and in social harmony.

They need to find an agreed form of good manners in their society,

the ways to behave with different people,

family, neighbours and strangers,

the ways to behave in different places,

like at home, at school or in the street.

And that way to behave,

those good manners in the muslim way of life,

modelled on the way of life of the Messenger,

are known as the muslim Adab.

That politeness is needed

because a society needs to agree on ways to trade,

to exchange goods and do business together.

And it needs to find an agreed set of rules

as to how the wealth of the community is shared between its members.

It needs to find a way of ensuring economic justice

if the community is to function in harmony.

And if there are going to be rules about the use of money

and the ownership of wealth,

then there are going to have to be ways of enforcing those rules,

a political power structure

to oversee the forces that are used to impose

those laws that have been agreed upon.

And that can be a very contentious issue.

Power is something that a lot of people would like to have,

and they are often prepared to fight to get it,

so it is very important that a society finds ways

to keep the behaviour of those who have power

within the limits of muslim behaviour,

a way of behaving that is recognised as just and fair, if not equal.

Muhammad was an absolute ruler in his community,

but he did not lord it over his companions.

He lived as a poor man,

patched his own clothes,

and gave away all but the bare minimum he needed to survive.

And how did this great ruler answer those who spoke to him?

He would answer 'At your service'.

So as the muslim community grew and spread around the world

it developed these social, economic and political structures,

and over the history of the muslim community

these structures became ever more subtle and complex.

And a legal system was developed to cope with these new ideas

and new social requirements,

that legal system that we know as the Shari'ah.

How does the Deen deal with money and trade?

Is there an Islamic political system?

How did muslim lawyers find ways to approach problems not dealt with in the Qur'an?