Shari’ah is Not Fiqh

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shari’ah is simply Divine Law.  It consists of two portions, regulating the relationship between Creation and the Creator, and the relationship among Creation.  If shari’ah were a house, its foundation is mercy, its walls are justice and its roof is God-consciousness.  When it leaves any of this, it ceases to be shari’ah. 

What people often mistake for shari’ah is jurisprudence, fiqh.  Whilst shari’ah is Divine, jurisprudence is human commentary, and is not.  Whilst shari’ah cannot be wrong, jurisprudence can, and can also be corrected. 

And that is why the Prophet (s.a.w.) said that we are all born upon fithrah, that God-consciousness and connection to the Divine inherent in all when Allah (s.w.t.) Blew His Ruh into Adam (a.s.).  Shari’ah is within us and calls us to acts of mercy, that outrages us at miscarriages of justice, and causes us to seek knowledge.  If there is a doubt in a ruling, then do as the Prophet (s.a.w.) says “istafta qalbak,” “question your heart.”  And if our heart says it is wrong, we should listen to it, no matter the legal opinion of mortals, and that is shari’ah.