2. DEFINITION
• Shar’u Man Qablana ( ﻗﺑﻠﻨﺎﻣﻦﺷﺮﻉ ) means
the body of rules ordained by Allah for the
nations before the Muslim ummah through
revelation to their Prophets and Apostles.
3. • 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.
4. • “…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
5. • “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).”
6. • 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)
7. • 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
8. • 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”.
9. – 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”.
•
10. – 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”.
11. • “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
12. 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
13. • “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)
14. • 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.
15. • 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
16. 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)
17. • (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.
18. • 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).”
19. • Examples of animal with undivided hoof:
hare
rabbit
goose
20. • 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…”
21. – 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.”
22. – 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.
23. • (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.
24. • “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)
25. • 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)
26. 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
27. • 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)
28. 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
