Islamic Systems

Introduction

Modern history has made a clear separation of church and state since the time or the Romans. In the name of “democracy” and various “new world orders” many laws and regulations regarding society have been instituted only to cause misery and despair for the people. The laws which were found in the religious books of these societies were discarded. The legislators, seeking dominance over the people of their own society and of other countries, instituted their own laws to reach their specific goals. All this was done under the slogan of “what's good for the country is good for the people.”

Surely we must believe that the lawmakers try to make laws that benefit mankind and not drive him to the depths of desperation and even violence. What happened? Why have these man-made laws failed to satisfy the needs and desires of their societies? Why have agreements between countries been broken? Why have devastating wars broken out at various periods? Why is there so much turmoil in the world today at all levels of society? The governments cannot satisfy each other, or their own people.

As we study Islamic fundamentals, we find that it is the only scheme that combines all aspects of life into a complete and perfect system. This system includes not only religious obligations and duties and worship but rules and regulations for the conduct of daily life, family life, social life, national life, and international life.

Allah, the All Wise, left no rock unturned when revealing His final Word to mankind. The religion of Islam is more than just a religion. It contains all of the needs of society in every possible aspect of life. Religion and politics have no division in Islam. For Islam is a complete social system which includes laws and regulations for all levels of activity. Business, trade, international relations, taxes, social welfare, punishment for various crimes, etc. are all explicitly covered in Islam.

We may say this is only an idealistic opinion. As we study the history of Islam, we see that not only the Holy Prophet of Islam, (s), but Imam Ali (a) were successful in establishing and ruling over a pure Islamic state. The rules and regulations they used did not have to go through any voting and approval stages, for God Almighty had perfected these laws. No parliament or congress wasted the money of the people to sit and make laws that at best were imperfect.

This small booklet explains briefly the various systems that make up the Islamic state. We pray that the readers will find this material enticing so as to encourage them to study further the immense subject of Islam.

Al-Balagh Foundation