‘Sharia can change with time’

By Zakir Hussain

PESHAWAR: Laws do not stay static and can be modified or changed according to the requirements of life and society, said Dr Manzoor Ahmed, a famous intellectual and member of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), on Saturday.

Delivering a lecture on “Enforcement of Sharia in a Changing Society” at the Peshawar Press Club on Saturday, Dr Ahmed said that word Sharia had not been frequently used in the Holy Quran and that it meant “way of leading a life”. He said the message that Allah had given to different prophets was that there was no god but Allah and that they (prophets) should pray to Him.

Dr Ahmed, former chairman of the Department of Philosophy, Jamia Karachi and founder vice chancellor of the Hamdard University, said the Sharia changed with times. “It is the religion that does not change,” he said.

Equating Sharia laws with Muslim laws, he said the Muslims laws that had existed 1,400 years ago had suited the people of that time. He said the industrial revolution and the cyber age had left great impact on society.

“If laws stay static, society cannot move forward. Therefore, society will have to change laws and the paradigm for legal structure,” said Dr Ahmed. He said the Holy Quran was a source of knowledge not law and that the only source of law was Allah Almighty. Dr Ahmed said that interest was forbidden in Islam because it was used to exploit the people. Dr Ahmed said legislation was the responsibility of the civil society.

He said laws should be made for the benefit of people. “Laws don’t breed morality but they stop crimes in society,” he said. Dr Ahmed declined to comment on the role of the CII.

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