The sources of Islam on which all beliefs, principles and rulings are based are represented by the two Revelations: the Qur’aan and Sunnah. This is what is implied by Islam being a divinely-revealed religion: its pillars are based on infallible texts that were sent down from heaven, which are represented in the verses of the Holy Qur’aan and the texts of the saheeh Prophetic Sunnah. Imam al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: No view is binding unless it is based on the Book of Allaah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Everything other than them should be based on them. End quote. [Jimaa’ al-‘Ilm].From these two sources the scholars derived other principles on which rulings may be based. Some scholars called them the sources of sharee’ah or the sources of Islamic legislation. They are: ijmaa’ (scholarly consensus) and qiyaas(analogy). Imam al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: No one has any right whatsoever to say that something is halaal (Permissible) or haraam (prohibited) except on the basis of knowledge, and the basis of knowledge is a text in the Qur’aan or Sunnah, or ijmaa’ (scholarly consensus) or qiyaas(analogy). End quote. Al-Risaalah (39).
Coming to the second question, Shari’ah Laws Must be practiced today and till the end of days en shaa Allah because it’s an essential part of what Islam is sent to accomplish in our life.
Unlike how anti-Islam media and Islamophobics intentionally present it to the public to demonize Islam specially in the western countries Shari’ah Laws aren’t just the jurisdiction legislation same as the jurisdiction legislation are not just about the Huddud (the capital sentences for specific criminal acts) rather Shari’ah Laws are the laws which addresses every aspect of any Muslim’s life starting from how to make wudu (ablution) and preform Salah (prayers) all the way till the international relationships between the state of Islam and the other nations around it.
So if a Muslim isn’t applying Shari’ah Laws he is certainly not even preforming Salah (prayer) correctly – that if he is performing it at all – because for instance preforming Salah (prayer) is a Shari’ah Law and the 2nd pillar of the 5 pillars of Islam according to Shari’ah Laws and making wudu (ablution) before preforming Salah (prayer) is also a Shari’ah Law, and so on.
So basically if he isn’t learning and applying Shari’ah Laws he is just a Muslim by name or birth because he won’t even know how to make wudu (ablution) properly or that it’s a condition for preforming Salah (prayers) correctly not to mention the other aspects of his daily life as a Muslim wither it’s business, marriage, divorce, inheritance.. Etc, and Islam wasn’t sent to give us titles rather it was sent to be The Guidance and a full life system to be followed because it benefits everyone wither he is a Muslim or a non-Muslim in every community no matter how different their backgrounds, beliefs or religion are till the end of days en shaa Allah.
This is the answer in the shortest words possible.
If you are interested in reading more about both points mentioned earlier please continue reading the rest of my answer and i apologies in advance for how long it is so please bear with me.
As presented earlier, In Islam we have 2 legislations’ sources:
- The holy Quran: Allah’s spoken words which He revealed upon prophet Muhammad peace and blessings upon him.
- Saheeh prophetic Sunnah: the correct and authentic acts and sayings of prophet Muhammad peace and blessings upon him which were narrated to us in the form of saheeh Hadith (authentic sayings) through a chain of narrations known to us by each name of its narrators, their biography and how truthful and honest they are.
When it comes to Sunnah, it’s inseparable from the holy Quran in Islam and following it is obligatory on every Muslim because the explanation of the meaning of a word, a sentence or a verse from the holy Quran for which man needs an explanation, most of which bear reference to 4 cases:
- Mujmal (comprehensive) verses.
- Amah (general) verses.
- Mutlaq (unbounded) verses.
- Mushkil (difficult) verses.
Then comes the sunnah and:
- Tuffasil (Details) the verses called Mujmal.
- Tukhassis (Specifies) the verses called ‘Amah.
- Tuqayid (Bounds) what is Mutlaq.
- Tuwadih (Clarifies) the verses called Mushkil.
That is, in reference to The prophet’s:
- Qaul (the saying),
- Fi’l (deed),
- And Iqrar (the acts he confirmed).
With that said and coming to your second question, The reason why it’s a Must to apply Shari’ah Law today and everyday is because it’s the campus by which every Muslim could know how to properly practice Islam and what is Halal (permissible) to do and what is Haram (prohibited) to give up and avoid.
And as i mentioned earlier Islam isn’t just a title or a heritage, it’s belief and practice. And as Allah swt tells us in several places in the holy Quran, salvation in Islam has a simple and straightforward equation which is (belief + doing righteous deeds).
Allah swt says in chapter 2:
( 82 ) But they who believe and do righteous deeds – those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.
So if someone believes yet doesn’t do righteous deeds while s/he can they most likely would end up in hell unless Allah swt forgives them from day one in the hereafter if He pleases and out of His mercy. If not then at least He will send them to hell to fulfill their punishment 1st then takes them out and send them to paradise for the rest of their eternity.
And if someone do good deeds without believing they will be rewarded for it in their lifetime yet once they die it would be over for them and they would go straight to hell for eternity with no chance of getting out or going to paradise no matter how much good deeds they did.
So being a Muslim without practicing Islam – which can’t be done correctly except in the light of Shari’ah Laws – is being a Muslim by name or birth and that has nothing to do with Islam’s message or why it was sent.
This is why an essential part of following the message of Islam is to apply its teachings in our daily life the best we can within our capacity because this is how we would fulfill the purpose of our life and why Allah swt created us in the 1st place and that is to worship Him as He pleases and to be a successive authority here on earth.
Allah swt says in chapter 2:
( 30 ) And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.”……
And when it comes to “Why”, Allah swt says in chapter 51:
( 56 ) And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
And says in chapter 2:
( 22 ) [He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].
So Allah swt makes it clear to us that we are created to worship Him alone without associating any partners with him in the way He ordained to us Alhamdu llah Allah swt didn’t create us aimlessly or neglected us leaving us wondering why are we here and what is the purpose of life.
And as Allah swt is The All-knowing, The All-Justice, The Sustainer He created this universe for us as an asset to sustain our life, study His signs and be able to validate and be sure of His existence in any moment of doubt and go through this test successfully by truly being a successive authority as He ordained for us.
That said, now when it comes to “worshiping Allah swt”, it’s important to tell you how it’s defined according to Islam:
The word ibadat(service, worship) in this verse (i.e Quran 51:56 quoted above) has not been used in the sense of only Prayer, Fasting and other kinds of such worship so that one may understand that the jinn and men have been created only for performing the Prayer, observing the Fast and for praising and glorifying Allah. Although this sense also is included in it, this is not its complete sense. Its complete sense is that the jinn and men have not been created for the worship, obedience and carrying out of the orders of any other but Allah.They are not there to bow to any other, to carry out the orders of any other, to live in fear of any other, to follow the religion enjoined by any other, to look upon any other as the maker and destroyer of ones destiny, and to supplicate to any other than Allah for help. (For further explanation, see E.N. 63 of Surah 34. Saba; E.N. 2 of Surah 39. Az-Zumar; E.N. 30 of Surah 45. Al-Jathiyah).
So, worshiping Allah swt in Islam is not just praying and fasting. These are obligatory acts of worship on every capable Muslim as they are the 2nd and 3rd pillar of the 5 pillars of Islam which starts by taking Shahada “testimony of faith”, but it’s not what’s worshiping Allah swt fully means.
Worshiping Allah swt means to willingly acknowledging Him and applying His teachings and commandments in our daily life to make our world a better place which results of us being a successive authority here on earth en shaa Allah.
So for instance:
- When someone owns a business and be honest regarding what he sales for the sake of Allah swt, he is worshiping Allah swt.
- When he sells merchandise which benefits the society and is legal according to Islamic laws for the sake of Allah swt even if it pays less than the harmful ones, he is worshiping Allah swt.
- When he is patient regarding a late payment which an unfortunate customer can’t pay while they are in need to his services for the sake of Allah swt, he is worshiping Allah swt.
- When he doesn’t deal with money interest, when he pays his annual charity money, when he helps those who need money aids, when he hires someone who needs a job.. Etc. for the sake of Allah swt, he is worshiping Allah swt.
- When he provides for his familyand attends to their needs for the sake of Allah swt, he is worshiping Allah swt.
- When he makes sure to spend time every day with his wife and kids and treats them with kindness, love and respect for the sake of Allah swt, he is worshiping Allah swt. And so on.
And when everyone applies the commandments of Allah swt and prophet Muhammad peace and blessings upon him in his/her life they become a huge asset in their personal, professional and social life making a good use of the resources which Allah swt created for them to facilitate their task in a way that pleases Allah swt, they start making this world a better place fulfilling the purpose of their existence.. being a successive authority.
That simple.
With that said, note that sadly and unlike what most non-Muslims think none of the Muslim countries today represents how Shari’ah Laws should be applied nor represent what the state of Islam was or should be.
Muslim countries apply only small bits and pieces of it providing nothing but a distorted image for what non-Muslims mistake for Shari’ah Laws. This is why you can see our countries are becoming lower and lower and divided by the second since the falling of Khilafah (caliphate) state of Islam in 1923 instead of leveling up to what the state of Islam used to be in the earlier centuries after we received the message of Islam which is called the golden age of Islam.
This is why i always say to non-Muslims don’t judge Islam based on what you see many of us Muslims do today or what the Muslim countries are doing or through media in your countries because you will learn nothing but a distorted image of Islam which probably would go against the teachings of Islam in many ways. Rather read the holy Quran [and Tafseer (commentary) books] and Sunnah (prophet Muhammad’s acts and sayings) because there is no one have practiced Islam and represented it pure and clear like prophet Muhammad peace and blessings upon him did then followed by Al-Khulafa’ Ar-Rashedeen (the righeous caliphs) our masters Abu Bakr Al-Sedeek, Omar ibn Al-Khatab, Othman ibn ‘Afaan and Ali ibn Abi taleb, then the rest of prophet Muhammad’s companions and who learned and followed them called At-Tabe’een (the followers) then Tabe’y At-Tabe’een (the followers of the followers) then those who followed them correctly till the resurrection day en shaa Allah.
I have addressed these points more details in previous answers for questions which ask:
- Was Islam created for the worship of Allah or for the benefit of man?
- Is religion required to have law and order in any civilization?
- Why do i need Islam when i already know what’s right and wrong without a religion telling me how to live my life?
- Is it mandatory to follow the Sunnah of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) or the holy Quran is enough ?
- Why are religions designed to care only for human’s well-being and ignore the planet’s?
- Who says kill all the infidels, Allah swt or Islamophobics?
- Why does Islam and the Quran ban all forms of alcohol?
- What do you think of the hijab?
Here is a free pdf copy from “The Glorious Quran” translation for the meanings of the holy Quran: Download
Feel free to download and read it if you are interested en shaa Allah.
In case you are not a fan of PDFs you can read it online through here: Al-Qur’an al-Kareem – القرآن الكريم
I have also talked about how we prove that the holy Quran is Allah’s words in a previous answer to a question which asks:
I would recommend that you read a book called:
- “A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam”: Download
- “General Introduction to Islam”:Download
- “SEALED NECTAR” one of the most simple and detailed book about biography of prophet Muhammad peace and blessings upon him: Download
- Quran and modern science: Download
- Various Articles: Sharing The Message Of Islam
- Video lectures: Watch on YouTube
These references would give you more information about Islam en shaa Allah.
Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions you might have regarding what you read in these posts, references or Islam in general, i would be more than happy to help en shaa Allah.
I wish you all the best. Have a pleasant day.
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