So the need for laws to regulate the lives of human beings is beyond any doubt.

So the need for laws to regulate the lives of human beings is beyond any doubt. Islam teaches that because of the imperative need of laws for a civilized society, God has sent a series of messengers and prophets with divine laws for man’s guidance from the very first day of his creation. The last Messenger was (may peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family) who brought the final and the perfect set of laws, Islam, as a guide for mankind till the end of time.

Many people think that there is no need for God-made laws, we can make laws by ourselves. Islam believes that a human being is a very sophisticated creature; and since he has not made his own body, nor did he create the world in which he lives, he, therefore, is not the best candidate for making laws about himself.

Common sense says that when you buy a complicated piece of equipment, like a computer, you should use it according to the ‘instruction manual’ prepared by the manufacturer of that particular machine. To learn the computer by trial and error is not the smart way. Similarly, God as the Creator of man and the earth knows better how the human being should live. The ‘instruction manual’ that God sent for us is known as the Qur’an.

But the human being is not just any ordinary machine; rather he is more complicated than the most advanced computer a human can ever produce. So God did not only send the Qur’an— 1 Jurdaq, G., al-Imam ‘Ali: sawtu ‘l-’adalati ‘l-insaniyyah, vol. 5 (Beirut) p. 14. He also sent an instructor known as . The Prophet of Islam brought the Qur’an to us and also provided practical examples in how to conduct our lives.

According to Shi’a Islam’, after the Prophet, the Imams of Ahlu ‘1-bayt are the protectors of the Qur’an and the interpreters of its laws. The Superiority of God-made Laws over Man-made Laws At this point, I would like to show the superiority of Islamic laws over man-made laws. Man-made laws are by necessity influenced by the law-makers’ social and racial biases. The United Nations Organization is the best example of how policies are enforced only when it suits the interest of the super-powers.

The rule of the game in man-made laws is not honesty and justice, it is “the might is right”. God-made laws are superior because of the following facts: • God is above class status; • God is above racial prejudice; • God is above gender rivalry; • God, as the Creator, fully knows humans as well as the world in which they live.