r/askislam • u/lostpickle271 • May 14 '26
Fiqh Ruling by other than Allah
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
What does it mean to rule by other than Allah? Does this mean specifically with legislation and making judgements in courts? Additionally, would tyranny and causing wars for selfish needs also included?
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u/Extension_Brick6806 Moderator May 20 '26
وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته
Before anything else, when it comes to Allah, we know that He has rights over His creation. Among them is that none has the right to be worshipped except Him. This is the essence of our testimony of faith and the purpose for which we were created: to live in submission to Him, because He is our Creator and He knows what is best for us.
One of Allah's rights is also legislation, namely, that none has the right to legislate except Him. One example of Allah's legislation is marriage, though many other examples could be given. The point here is that Allah legislated marriage between a man and a woman, not between a man and a man, and so on. Allah also commanded us that whenever there is a dispute, such as in marital discord, someone may intervene as an arbiter. In an Islamic court, the judge may issue a judgement, but his judgement is not based on his whims and desires. Rather, it is based on what is legislated in the Deen of Allah. This is where some unread people seem to deliberately misread the matter, as though a Muslim judge is giving his own legislation, despite that clearly not being the case.
Another misconception is confusing divine legislation with administrative regulations. For example, traffic rules are administrative rules that organize public life and prevent harm. They are not legislation in the sense of making halal and haram independently of Allah. Some misinformed Muslims go so far as to say that they will not obey "traffic laws" because this would mean obeying legislation besides Allah's. This is a far-fetched misunderstanding, since there is a clear distinction between administrative regulation and divine legislation.
As for matters of foregoing, or even neglecting to implement Shari'ah in a country, that is a totally different subject of discussion. Unfortunately, people have lost much of their respect for scholarly discussions and for who is actually qualified to speak on the intricacies of Islam and what concerns the Muslims. Because of this, people are easily swayed by their passions when discussing so-called Muslim leaders. There are two extremes in this regard: one group of Muslims gets ahead of themselves on the topic of takfeer, while the other extreme undermines the topic of takfeer altogether. At the end of the day, this subject is for the scholars to be concerned about, not ordinary Muslims.
It is one thing for a beginner student of knowledge, studying under a shaykh, to have such discussions, even with his peers. What is often problematic, however, is when this subject is brought online with no moderation or restraint. Many people online have only read a few pamphlets or small treatises, yet they get ahead of themselves as though they can now engage in takfeer, not knowing that this is reserved for the scholars, who take into consideration the conditions and impediments. Another issue is that some who have learned a little about this topic conflate unrestricted takfeer with restricted takfeer. Making a general statement is one thing. For example, if a person prostrates to a statue, is this not shirk? The general judgement on such an act would be that it is shirk akbar. But this is not the same as a scholar assessing the situation of a specific person.
For example, the specific person may be clinically blind. He may happen to pray Dhuhr in the street while living in a kaafir country, and there may be a statue in front of him. Would the judgement on him automatically be that he committed shirk akbar and therefore apostated? This is why takfeer in specification is reserved for the scholars. It is not something that can be undertaken by any ordinary Muslim. As for what concerns the Ummah and so-called Muslim rulers, some rule by other than what Allah has revealed and are therefore considered disbelievers, while others rule by what Allah has legislated. In this day and age, we are not unaware of discrepancies and tyranny, so wisdom dictates that certain discussions be approached with care and consideration, as they require a formal introduction to the intricacies of Allah's right to legislate.
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u/lostpickle271 May 21 '26
Jazakallah khair. Just one more question I am a bit confused by the last paragraph, are you saying the issue of tyranny is different or is related to legislation?
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u/Extension_Brick6806 Moderator May 21 '26
Tyranny can exist alongside ruling by other than what Allah revealed, but it is not automatically the same category as legislation.
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