veiled4allah: starting with what's essential

I do not think God placed us on earth as his vice-regent solely to ensure men have beards, women wear "burqas," and music is banned. God made us His representative so that life, religion, lineage, intellect, and property be protected. Furthermore, Islam demands that the "forest" always be seen for "the trees." For example, Caliph Omar (God be pleased with him) suspended the punishment for theft during a time of extreme famine, because it is not just for the government to punish someone for theft out of want when the government can not provide for its citizens. If Islamic law is established in a community that lacks clean water, then I believe the Shari'ah would demand that clean water facilities be established as the first priority, not ensuring Muslim men have beards of appropriate length. The gross misapplication of Shari'ah by some Muslims has led to its mischaracterization as a backward, barbaric system of government. This has done an enormous disservice to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Let us take the Taliban as an example. Whilst they were in power, "religious policemen" made sure men wore beards of a certain length, women were covered head-to-toe, and no one laughed in public, all in the name of "establishing God's law." Yet, women and girls were barred from working or going to school. Is this not an affront to God's law? Does this not violate the principle of protection of the intellect? Is not equality of men and women an essential aspect of Islamic law? In Saudi Arabia, another country that espouses "Islamic law," there is also a "religious police" to ensure Saudis follow Islamic law. In fact, 15 schoolgirls died in a school fire in Mecca in March 2002 because, according to Civil Defense workers, members of the "religious police" barred the girls from exiting because they were not properly dressed. Is not the preservation of life one of the utmost principles of Islamic law? Did not the Qur'an state that is someone saves a life, it is as if they have saved the lives of all of humanity (5:32)?

In Nigeria, a woman was condemned to death by stoning for adultery. This was despite the fact that she was not married at the time of the alleged sexual encounter, and thus, the punishment of stoning does not even apply. She received this sentence despite the fact that many Islamic scholars do not even accept pregnancy as a high enough burden of proof of sex out of wedlock. She was sentenced to death despite the fact that there were not enough witnesses to the alleged sexual encounter as required by Islamic law: the man in the case was released due to "lack of evidence." Is not due process an essential component of Islamic law?

Those who neglect acquiring mastery of the maqasid do so to their own peril as it would make them liable to error in ijtihad [striving to find the correct answer]. Included among these were the proponents of pernicious innovation (ahl al-bid'ah) who only looked at the apparent text of the Qur'an without pondering over its objective and meaning. These innovators (an allusion to the Kharijites) held on to the intricate segments of the Qur'an (almutashabihat) and premised their conclusions on them. They took a fragmented and atomistic approach to the reading of the Qur'an which failed to tie up the relevant parts of the texts together. The leading ulama have, on the other hand, viewed the Shari'ah as a unity in which the detailed rules should be read in the light of their broader premises and objectives.