The Eternality of Islamic Guidance and the Dynamic Nature of Human Life
Islam provides guidance for all dimensions of human life and remains valid until the Day of Resurrection. Accordingly, we must examine, in every domain, what the command of God is.
Human life is not static; it continuously traverses new dimensions. A comparison between the present day and ten or one hundred years ago clearly shows that numerous unprecedented issues have emerged. With regard to these matters, it is necessary to understand what God’s ruling is. This raises the question: who is responsible for discerning these rulings? The esteemed jurists (fuqahāʾ) of Islam have written extensively in all arenas that have been practically relevant.
Divine Limits, Accountability, and Societal Harm
God states in the Qurʾan: “Whoever disobeys God and His Messenger and transgresses His bounds—He will admit him to a Fire, wherein he will abide eternally” (Qurʾan 4:14).
The violation of God’s limits is not confined to a single domain but extends to all aspects of life, insofar as divine law establishes normative boundaries throughout human conduct, the transgression of which entails accountability. A society that does not pursue the divine limits will inevitably suffer harm.
The Role of Islamic Seminaries (Ḥawzas) in Emerging Issues
Today’s newly emerging issues are deeply interwoven with human life. Numerous questions exist across various fields, and anyone who seeks to be a servant of God and to implement divine rulings must understand what the divine limits are in these matters.
The Islamic seminaries (ḥawzas) must therefore take effective and substantial steps in this regard. These issues must be incorporated into the core of the seminary curriculum, including:
- Standard textbooks
- Advanced jurisprudential courses (dars-e khārij)
Until this occurs, the dimensions and horizons of these discussions will not become clear.
The Prerequisite of Jurisprudential Mastery
Engagement with newly emerging issues presupposes mastery of established jurisprudential debates.
- The Danger of Incompetence: Without the necessary foundational skills, scholarly intervention is more likely to be destructive than corrective. Some well-intentioned individuals, who have not yet attained the requisite scholarly competence, are drawn into these new discussions because of their appeal, a development that will result in losses and harm.
- The Seminary as an Originator: It would be most desirable for the seminary, on the basis of its mastery of Islam and its legal principles, to serve as the designer and originator of many of these issues, rather than merely responding to matters imposed by others.
Conclusion: The Self-Evident Necessity of Government
The codification of laws without government is meaningless. For this reason, the establishment of government is self-evident in the Sharia, since a law without an enforcing authority lacks any real meaning.
