Islam Rediscovered
13. The Shariah and Its Application
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But after the migration and the conquest of
Makkah, the situation changed. Now chapter nine
of the Quran, titled ‘Repentance’, was revealed
which conveyed a “declaration of immunity by God
and His Messenger to the idolaters with whom you
have made agreements.”
After the revelation of this chapter, when the time
of Hajj (pilgrimage) came, the Prophet sent a
delegation of his companions to Makkah to make a
public pronouncement of this declaration from God.
From this example we find that when the
da’wah
or
the communication of the message was required in
regard to the idolaters, the verses dealing with
da’wah
were revealed. In this way, the knowledge of
the very order of revelation sufficed to indicate
what had to be done and when.
But the position of later-day Muslims is different. Now
the state of affairs is that the entire Quran is in our
hands in the form of one collected volume, containing
both kinds of verses together. Muslims have, therefore,
to discover from their own
ijtihad
which of the
injunctions are addressed to them in the particular set
of circumstances in which they find themselves.
