The Law (Shariah)

There is a shariah law in the Quran but nothing like what we are told it is within mainstream Islam today. What the shariah law is known as today is influenced by Hadith narrations.

The word shariah comes from the trilateral root shin-ra-ayn which carries definitions such as: legislate, make laws, legalize, legitimize, lawful.

The actual word 'shariah' is only used once in the Quran, but there is a similar word that means the same thing that I wanted to address first. And that word is (shir'atan).

Shir'atan — A Law Prescribed

"…To each of you We prescribed a law (Shir'atan) and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good…"

So we all were given a (shir'atan) law to follow according to the Quran. The believers, the people of the book, all of us. And it was not all exactly the same. Some of it was a little different depending on the people you were from.

Shari'atin — The Ordained Way

Now the actual word 'Shariah' — or more accurately spelled (Shari'atin) — can be found in one place.

"Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way (Shari'atin) concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know."

So in 45:18 Allah is saying that He put Muhammad on a way that was ordained, a 'Shari'atin.' And he was supposed to follow 'it.'

What is 'it' in this context? Well Allah is telling Muhammad to follow the way (Shari'atin) that He put him on.

And according to Quran 10:15, the Messenger says, 'I only follow what is revealed to me.'

"…I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day."

So if this Shari'ah (sharīʿatin) is something the Messenger was commanded to follow, and the Messenger himself says that he only follows what is revealed to him, then that points to one conclusion: this way (sharīʿatin) that Allah placed upon the Messenger is revelation itself. It was revealed to Muhammad.

What Allah Ordained for All of Us

"He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus…to establish the religion and not be divided therein."

The word 'ordained' in this verse is (Shara'a) which comes from the same root word as (Shari'atin) used in 45:18 and (Shir'atan) used in 5:48.

And it's saying that Allah ordained (shara'a) for all of us what He enjoined upon Noah, and what was REVEALED to you (Muhammad). So the revelation is what was ordained upon all of us. That is the shariah. What was revealed. Not something different from revelation.

What Was Revealed to the Messenger?

"Say, 'What thing is the greatest testimony?' Say, 'Allah is a witness between me and you, and this Quran has been revealed to me that I may warn you with it and whoever it reaches.'"

Notice how this verse says that the Quran was revealed to the Messenger — and nothing else. Nothing else is mentioned. It does not say 'the Quran and the Sunnah' or 'the Quran and the Hadith.' It simply says the Quran was revealed to him. That's it.

Now, if the Quran is what was revealed to the Messenger, and the Messenger himself says, 'I only follow what is revealed to me,' and the sharīʿatin that Allah placed him upon was something he was commanded to follow, then that can only mean: the sharīʿatin that he followed was the Quran itself.

And if that is the sharīʿatin that the Messenger followed, then that is the same sharīʿatin that we are all commanded to follow… the Quran alone.