Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
12. The Relevance of the Quran and Sunnah in Modern Times
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and situation in which the teachings were revealed. That is why the
prophets were given different Shariah at different times.
In the above verse, Shariah means detailed law and Minhaj
means its method. Since these two things relate very much to
circumstances, they change with the changing situations. For
instance, the principle of marriage between Adam’s sons and
daughters were different from the principles given to other
prophets. Similarly, the respective political methods followed by
Yusuf (Joseph) and Musa were different from one another. This
difference was due to the difference in time and circumstances.
If we look at the teachings of Islam from this angle, we shall
find that there is no conflict between these teachings and the
demands of modern times and that Islam is practicable in the
modern age in the full sense of the word.
The real and basic demand of Islam is that man should believe
in one God. He should worship Him alone. He should embody
truth, honesty, justice and other moral values. In short, within his
own private sphere, he should fully obey God. Obviously, these
teachings of Islam do not clash with the demands of modern times,
which are equally practicable today.
Another part of Islam pertains to social laws. For instance,
deterrent punishments. These kinds of laws similarly do not clash
with the demands of modern times. For commandments such as
these do not mean that Muslims should start implementing these
commands in whatever circumstances they find themselves. On the
