Socio Political Thought Of Shah WaliAllah Rahmatullahi Alaihi

shari'ah of the Prophet Muss (peace be upon him) it was necessary
to turn the face towards Bayt al-Maqdis in prayers, while under the
shari'ah of our Prophet it is towards Ka'bah. In the shari'ah of the
Prophet Miis$, the punishment of stoning alone (both for adulterers
and fornicators) was prescribed while our shari'ah came with
the prescription of stoning for the married offenders and lashes for
others. The shari'ah of MI%% (peace be upon him) provided for
qi@ alone, while our shari'ah provided for both qisd~ and diyah.
Similarly, there has been variation [between different religiously prescribed
codes of law] in the timings of worship, their etiquettes and
ingredients. In short, the peculiar states in which various categories
of virtuous acts of piety and irtijEqdt have been prescribed constitute
the shari'ah and the method of reform.
105. It should also be borne in mind that the acts of obedience commanded
by God in successive religions are in fact acts emanating
from certain psycho-spiritual states that are beneficial or harmful
to the soul in the Life Hereafter. These acts either promote those
states, or explain them, or those states are reflected and exemplified
in those acts, and the latter are nothing but apparitions of the former.
There is no doubt that the criterion and the very basis of all acts of
obedience are these states. Whoever fails to comprehend them shall
also fail to make a perceptive appreciation of these acts. He then
might become content with an insufficient degree of appreciating and
applying these acts. He (for example) might offer prayers without
recitation of the Qur'Bn, rendering his exercise futile. It is, therefore,
necessary that directive guidance be provided by the possessor of
the most authentic knowledge, the highest knowing personality, who
can precisely define the hidden and doubtful matters with clear indications
to make them so clear and tangible as to be comprehended
by every big and small so that they remain in no doubt concerning
those matters. Then the people may be required to act accordingly,
and may be held accountable on the authority of God's evidence,
according to their capacities.
106. Also sinful acts sometimes are confused with acts that are not sinful.
For instance, the polytheists said: "Trading is only like usury".22
This happens either due to lack of knowledge or on account of
some worldly ends which corrupt their understanding. This problem
calls for some clear indications by which a sinful act may be
distinguished from a non-sinful act. If there were no fixed timing,