Volume 10 Surah 12 - 15 - Enjoy Islam

Yūsuf (Joseph) | BROTHERS’ REUNION
It was not Islamic jurisprudence, with all its codes and rules, that gave birth to
Islamic society. It was the other way round. Islamic society faced up to jāhiliyyah and
in the process gave birth to Islamic legal codes which were derived from the basic
principles of Islam. The reverse can never take place. Islamic laws are not formulated
on paper, but in the practical life of the Muslim community. Hence, it is absolutely
essential that a Muslim community first comes into existence to provide the
environment where Islamic law takes its roots and begins to be implemented.
In such a situation matters are totally different. There may be a need in such a
society for banks, insurance companies, a family planning policy, or there may be no
need for one or more of these. We cannot predict in advance what that society may or
may not need in order to tailor laws to meet these needs. Moreover, the laws we have
neither fit nor satisfy the needs of non-Islamic societies, because Islam does not
accept these societies in the first place. It does not concern itself with their needs
which arise from their own systems, nor does it trouble itself with finding solutions
for them.
It is the divine faith that provides the social basis, and it is the responsibility of
human beings to adjust their lives to fit it. Such adjustment can only come about
through an active movement that aims to establish the basic principle of God’s
oneness and His Lordship over mankind, and also to liberate humanity from
submission to tyranny. All this comes about through the implementation of God’s
law in their lives. Inevitably, such a movement will face resistance and persecution.
The cycle will also continue with some believers weakening and reverting to
jāhiliyyah, while others remain steadfast, losing some of their numbers as martyrs
while the others persevere until God gives them victory. At this point Islamic society
comes into existence, with its advocates having distinguished themselves with its
colours and values. Their lives will then have different needs, and the methods to
satisfy those needs will also be different from those available in non-Islamic societies.
Deduction and construction of rules will begin to meet the needs of that society, and
the legal code that is born then is one that lives in a practical environment that has
definite needs.
Suppose that an Islamic society comes into existence. It collects zakāt and
distributes it to its rightful beneficiaries; its people deal’ with each other on the basis
of mutual compassion and a close, caring relationship within each local community,
and within the whole of society. Moreover, people have no room for extravagance
and arrogant rivalry in worldly riches, but instead uphold all Islamic values. How
are we to tell today whether such a society will ever need insurance companies when
it has all these values that ensure common social security? If it needs insurance
companies, how are we to know whether the present ones, which operate in un-
Islamic society and meet its needs, will fit the insurance needs of such an Islamic
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