SHAR’U MAN QABLANA

EARLIER SCRIPTURES

DEFINITION

• Shar’u Man Qablana ( شرع من قبلنا ) means the body of rules ordained by Allah for the nations before the Muslim ummah through revelation to their Prophets and Apostles.

• Belief in the scriptures revealed by Allah is the third article of Islamic faith.

• A Muslim firmly believes that divinely revealed books were actually revealed by the Compassionate God to His prophets to guide mankind.

• The Quran is not the only spoken words of Allah but He also spoke to prophets before Prophet Muhammad.

• “…and to Moses God spoke directly.” – 4:164.

• Allah describes true believers are those who:– “…believe in what has been sent down to you

(Muhammad) and what has been sent down before you…” 2:4

• “Say ye: we believe in God and the revelation given to us, and to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ya’aqub and the tribes and that given to Moses and Jesus (Isa) and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord; we make no difference between one another of them, and we bow to God (in Islam).”

• The most important and central message of all scriptures was to worship God and God alone.– “And We sent never a prophet before you

except that We revealed to him, saying, ‘there is no God but I, so worship Me’” – al-anbiya’ (21:25)

• Previous scriptures:– The Torah (Taurah) – prophet Musa – different

from old testament read today.– The Gospel (Injil) – prophet Isa – different from

the New Testament read today.– The Psalms (Zabur) – prophet Daud– The Scrolls (Suhuf) – of Musa and Ibrahim

• Examples of the laws revealed to Musa (10):– to worship only Allah and not to associate Him

with others• “You shall have no other gods before me”.

– Prohibition of false oath in the name of Allah.• “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God

in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain”.

– Saturday (sabbath) is the day to worship Allah• “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.• Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,• but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your

God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates”.

•

– To respect father and mother• “Honor your father and your mother, that your days

may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

– Prohibition to kill other people• “You shall not murder.”

– Prohibition to commit adultery• “You shall not commit adultery”.

• “You shall not steal”.• “You shall not bear false witness against

your neighbor.”• “You shall not covet your neighbor's house”;• “You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or

his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

• Read al-an’am : 151-153

Contents of PS

• Stories of man’s creation and earlier nations, prophesies of what was to come like signs before the judgment day, appearance of new prophets and other news.

• Law and rulings – the allowed and the prohibited

• “He has established for you the same religion as that which He enjoined to Noah, and We revealed to that which We enjoined on Ibrahim, Moses and Jesus, namely that you should remain steadfast in religion and make divisions therein.”

(as-Shura, 42:13)

• In principle all divinely revealed laws emanate from the same source, namely Allah and such they convey a basic message which is common to them all.

• The essence of belief in the oneness of God and the need for the divine authority and guidance.

• The general rule is that laws that were revealed before the advent of Islam are not applicable to the Muslims.

• The rules of previous scriptures are not binding on Muslims.

• The Shari’ah is the exclusive source of all law for Muslims

Types of earlier laws

• (i) rules that have been repeated in the Quran or the Sunnah and are made obligatory for Muslims.– Eg: fasting during Ramadhan (al-Baqarah (2) :

183; and slaughtering animal as sacrifices during eid al-adha

– Jihad fi sabilillah – al-taubah(9) : 111– Solah (different from Muslims)

• (ii) Rules that have been described in the Quran or in the Sunnah but have been abrogated.– E.g. the prohibition of certain item which are

lifted from the Muslims.

• Al-An’am (6):146 – prohibition to eat meat to previous nation– “For those who followed the Jewish law, We

forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof and We forbade them the fat of the ox and the sheep, except what adheres to their backs or their entrails or mixed up with a bone: This in recompense for their willful disobedience for We are true (in Our ordinances).”

• Examples of animal with undivided hoof:

hare

rabbit

goose

• The prohibition has been lifted to Muslims– Al-An’am (6): 145• “I find not in the message received by me by

inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat unless it be dead meat, or blood poured fourth or the flesh of swine…”

– Other example: taking of booty was made unlawful to people before Islam but is made lawful for Muslims.• Hadith:• Taking booty has been made lawful to me, but it

was not lawful to anyone before me.”

– The expiation (kaffarah) for sins was not acceptable under the Taurah but it is acceptable in Islam

– When a garment became unclean, the unclean portion had to be cut out according to the rules of Judaism. In Islam it can be cleaned with clean water.

• (iii) Rules that are mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah but there is no evidence whether or not they are to be followed.– Eg: Qisas– “We ordained therein for them life for life, eye

for eye, nose for nose, tooth for tooth and wounds equal for equal.” (al Maidah, 5:45)

– There is , however, ample evidence in the texts that Qisas is binding and should be upheld.

• “We ordained for the children of Israel that anyone who slew a person, unless it be for murder of mischief in the land, it would be as if he slew the whole of mankind.”

(al-Maidah5:35)

• The majority of Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali and some Shafi’I jurists have held that the mere fact the Quran refers the ruling is sufficient to make the law of qisas as binding.– “Whoever acts aggressively against you, inflict

injury on him according to the injury he has inflicted on you, and keep your duty to God…” (al-Baqarah, 2:194)

Juristic views

• Whether SMQ is binding on Muslims or not?• Some said that it has been abrogated• Others said those that have not been

abrogated bind the Muslims

• The majority of Shafi’is, the Ash’arites and the Mu’tazilah maintained the view that since Islam have abrogated the previous laws, they are no longer applicable to the Muslims .– “For everyone of you We have ordained a

divine law and an open road” (al-Maidah, 5:48)

Conclusion

• According to Prof. Hashim Kamali, the correct view is that of the majority which maintains that the Shari’ah of Islam only abrogated rules which were disagreeable to its teaching.

• Whenever a ruling of the previous scriptures is quoted without abrogation, it becomes an integral part of Islamic law