ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A History of Muslim Philosophy Volume 1, Book 3 Chapter 39: Al-Ghazali The structures of political authority in Islam are by no means as simple as it seems at first glance. In the legalistic theory of the caliphate expounded by the Sunni jurists the Shari‘ah is quite obviously the source of all authority, including political authority as well.

As a body of more or less concrete law, the Shari‘ah itself must be authorized from some source, which is presumably qualified to judge right from wrong. Theoretically, the Shari‘ah is changeable from time to time, i.e. from prophet to prophet, but the Shari‘ah of a prophet is the best law for the time for which it is laid down. It is claimed that the Islamic law is laid down for all times to come.

It is elastic only in the sense that some parts of one of its sources (the Qur’an) are given in such general terms as are capable of different interpretations at different times, and the validity of some parts of another source (Hadith) depends upon historical authenticity. Human beings may not change the laws laid down by the Shari‘ah but they my know them or not know them, interpret them or not interpret them, obey them or disobey them.

The pre-requisite for the knowledge of the Shari‘ah is acknowledgement of the established sources of the Shari‘ah , i.e. usul al-din . The pre-requisite for obedience is belief. The ultimate source is authority is God. It is only the good that God commands and only the evil that He forbids.

The principal difference between the Sunni and later Shi‘ite persuasions is the Sunni doctrine that the last and definitive revelation is the Qur’an, and Mohammad is the last human being to be endorsed with revealed knowledge of right and wrong. The successors of Mohammad may only know the Shari‘ah by reference to the Qur’an, to the behaviour of Mohammad, and, wherever these sources are not explicit, to the consensus of Muslims – or indeed by reference to analogical judgment.

Thus, the proximate sources of authority are the Qur’an, the Sunnah, Ijma‘ and qiyas . The immediate source of authority is somewhat more difficult to ascertain. Learning, or ‘ilm , is necessary for the discovery of what the Shari‘ah is, and this qualification is the source of the title ‘ulama’. The Sunni ‘ulma’ are distinguished from others by their acknowledgement of the “canonical” sources of the Shari‘ah .