T h e V i s i o n o f I s l a m
18
faithful are bound to follow only those Islamic laws which were
revealed before their having reached political power. The carrying
out of the rest of the laws becomes obligatory only when the
faithful can, from the seat of government, enforce these laws with
authority. The revelation of the Shari‘ah laws, in accordance with
the gradual expansion of the Islamic field of activity, itself shows
that these laws are not required to be obeyed in the absolute sense,
but only in relation to circumstances. These are always determined
in relation to the actual circumstances of the individual or group
addressed.
The truth is that social and political commandments are
directed only at those groups of believers who are in a position to
carry them out. Believers with a limited sphere of power are not
required to enforce religious laws on a social or national level. A
system can be implemented in practice only by those who have
already accepted it. This implementation, moreover, will be
according to their capacity of acceptance.
One clear principle of the Shari‘ah is that “God does not charge
a soul with more than it can bear” (2:286). That is to say, no one is
charged with a responsibility which is beyond his capacity to fufill.
To assign responsibility to anyone which is beyond his capacity
is not God’s way. Then how can believers be asked to obey laws,
which they are not in a position to comply with? If, taking into
account all the details of religious laws, the claim is made that it is
obligatory for believers to carry out and enforce all these laws in all
circumstances, it will amount to saying, for example, that it is the
responsibility of each and every Muslim to try to acquire all those
financial assets on which
Zakat
(almsgiving) has been fixed, so that
he may carry out the duties in relation to
Zakat
.
All the commands of religion are of equal value in terms of
form, but their applicability is determined by circumstances.
For instance, one command of the Quran is to “pray regularly,”
another is to ‘pay
Zakat
.’ Apparently both these commands are
equal in importance just as both are in the imperative tense. But
their relevance to different individuals is not always the same.
