Islamic Systems

Definition

If we look at a school and ponder on it, we find that it contains a headmaster, an assistant, and staff. Each of them performs specific duties. In school there is a schedule to arrange and organise lessons, breaks, and official holidays. For each class there is a monitor who keeps order. There is a program organising time, conditions for accepting students, and their relations with the school and other students. If one of the students breaks a rule, he/she will surely be questioned and punished for it. All of these criteria and other rules related to school affairs are called the School Order.

Thus, each school has an order. Without it the school could not run efficiently and the student would not learn anything. The school would be in a state of disorder and confusion and would not provide successful and useful projects.

We can compare school order to the life of a small society which needs such a system. Indeed the great human society, made up of families, villages, cities, states and provinces, are more in need of a concise system and law to organise the relations among the individuals and to solve their problems.

We know that man is a social creature who lives with a mother, father, wife, children and other relatives and friends. He lives in villages and cities. He has neighbours, friends and relatives. He lives in a bigger society of people whose number may reach millions. He will have relations and ties with these people as a whole, such as family relations, marriage, divorce, alimony, heritage, the relation of obedience, respect and co-operation.

He will also interact with individuals and groups of other societies and deal with them in selling, buying, working, earning a living, Cupertino and other affairs. Sometimes it may happen that differences arise and problems among people develop.

Problems develop among individuals of a family or in a society. Problems arise in buying and selling or some encroachment upon the rights of another. Man's emotions cause him to beat someone, or steal someone's property, and deprive someone of his rights.

All of these relations, ties and problems of society need organisation and solutions so that human society does not exist in a state of confusion, conflict, and problems. People should not lose their happiness or their society.

Allah, the All Wise, sent messengers and apostles with Divine Books and Messages to organise the human society and solve its problems. He sent these prophets to acquaint society with the Creator and to worship Him alone as He ought to be worshipped, so that people could live in happiness and benevolence.

It is clear, through proofs and certainty, that our Prophet Muhammad (s) is the Last of the Prophets and his Message completes and finalises all previous heavenly messages. After 124,000 prophets, Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (s) as the final guide for humanity, to bring it out of the darkness, into which it had fallen, to light.

The Prophet (s) came with the Holy Qur'an as the main source for the social system. It is the Holy Qur'an which directs Muslims on how to organise society by explaining family order, social relations, economic systems, judicial policies, politics and law and order. In fact, it teaches these things to all humanity, but the Muslims are ordered to follow these rules. This complete set of guidelines and rules solves the problems of the society and shows man how to worship Allah, the Most High.

Thus, the Holy Prophet (s) explains for us, through his actions and traditions (sunnah) and his progeny, the Ahlul-Bait (a), these Islamic systems. By obeying the Holy Qur'an, Muslims can live a happy and peaceful life in this world and gain the reward in the Hereafter. They also achieve justice and dignity living in the light of brotherhood and love.

“And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rates, and obey Allah and His Messenger; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.” Holy Qur'an (9:71)

It becomes clear that Islam provides various systems which organise life including social, political, judicial and ritual procedures so that people can live happily, without problems, conflicts and misery. It also overcomes oppression, poverty, ignorance, infidelity and corruption. The Islamic system is a collection of laws, orders and instruction which organise the life of people and society.

Among the main systems of Islam which concern organising the life of humanity we find:

1. Ritual System.

2. Political System.

3. Economic System.

4. Social System.

5. Jihad (Holy Struggle) System.

6. Judicial System.

A brief explanation of each of these systems will acquaint the reader on how to practice Islam, how to live a happy life by following its principles and how to avoid the man-made systems and laws.

Man-made laws and systems are different from the Divine Systems which were sent with the prophets and messengers (a). The man-made systems mislead the people and turn them away from Divine Systems. The results of following these laws of man are the spread of poverty, corruption, infidelity, fear and oppression, wars and enmity among the nations, the domination of colonialists over the oppressed and downtrodden, and other miseries and problems which mankind is suffering from today.