Liaquat Ali 1/18/2002
When I was young and “sheltered” from the Qur’an, as majority of Muslims are, I found reasonable level of satisfaction in jumping through the hoops of “sharia.” Now, I try not to get involved in details of the "sharia". The reason is that various flavors of "sharia" are highly questionable to start off with.
The best solution for humanity is to seek the Truth from the Book of Allah, starting from a clean slate. That is, men, women, Muslim, non-Muslim, Black, White, rich, poor, married, unmarried, parent, childless, Arab, non-Arab, gay, straight, and all other human interest groups must approach the Book to see what the Book is actually “Revealing” today. The Transcendent, Mighty Wisdom (18:109, 31:27) of the Qur’an cannot be frozen in time. Every human generation has a responsibility to seek and use the portion of the Wisdom that is pertinent in its time and space.
All humans are created equal, with free will, so that they can actualize their “selves” for a peaceful life in this world and the Hereafter. That is a Qur’anic concept. You cannot fix the “sharia” by debating or even fighting, in the next 1,000 years, when the foundation is based on non-Qur’anic ideas, such as, inequality among humans, condoning of slavery, unreasonable contempt for non-Muslims, non-consultative rulemaking, obsession with harsh punishments, etc.
Case in point. The Qur'an does not give exclusive right of divorce to men. The "sharia", however, tells that men have the right of divorce. Now how can women seek divorce? Today, it is through a non-Qur'anic concept of "khula". In countries like Pakistan, a woman may file for “khula” at the age of 25, and may not get it even at the age of 65, if the husband so chooses to drag her along. Women are allowed through a “juristic favor” to have a speedy khula clause added to their marital contract. Needless to say that majority (my guess is: more than 95%) Muslim women don’t know that. Weren’t women equal to men, according to the Qur’an, to begin with?
It is not important what one jurist says versus the other. Some jurists would toe the 1,000-year-old party line, whereas the "progressive" ones would argue that the Qur'an is archaic, so we have to go beyond the Qur'an. The primary fault is with the former, to misrepresent the Qur'an. The secondary fault is with the later that thinks that the former has more authority to interpret the Qur'an.
The Qur'an is
the Source of Wisdom for all humanity. Let's not become victims of conservative
types and the liberal types. Relax. We are not talking about a petty god who
would create nonsensical rules. We are talking about:
Allah, the One True God. There is no god but He, the Living, the Originator of life, the Self-subsisting Sustainer of all creation. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtakes Him. All that exists in the Highs and the Lows, in the Heavens and the Earth, belongs to Him Alone. Who can stand beside another in His Court, save as a witness of Law? His Knowledge transcends time and space. No one can compass a trace of His Knowledge but through His Laws. His Throne extends over the Highs and the Lows. No fatigue touches Him as He benevolently guards His dominion and creation. He is the Glorious, the Supreme. (2:255.)
Hasten to Allah. (51:50.) There is NO other choice for humanity.