Perhaps the most important factor in the stability of any nation, after a strong executive power that may bring peace, is a fair and just judicial system that protects the rights and property of the people. The Islamic political theory has also touched on the matter of justice, its importance and its formation.

AlMawerdy, in his book AlAhkam AlSultaniya, addressed the topic of the judicial system in the chapter On the Mandate of the Judiciary (Position). ElMawerdy states that it is not permissible for anyone to assume a judiciary position unless he has fulfilled the 7 conditions for it. The 7 conditions he lists for the position of a judge are:

1. The individual must be a man: He must be a male and he must have passed the stage of puberty. ElMawerdy mentions, however, that Abu Hanifa stated that a woman may be a judge in the instances in which a woman’s testimony is accepted, and that she may not be a judge instances in which a woman’s testimony is not accepted.
2. The individual must be sane and rational.
3. The individual must be a free.
4. The individual must be a Muslim. With regards to this condition, ElMawerdy states that it is not permissible for a disbeliever to take up a judicial position neither over Muslims nor over disbelievers. Yet he also states that Abu Hanifa did allow disbelievers to take up judicial positions among people of his own faith. (i.e. a Christian being a judge between Christians, a Jew being a judge between Jews)
5.  The individual must be just: He must be honest, trustworthy, controlled when both during times of anger and satisfaction, as well as other traits that suggest the man has a good sense of justice and fairness.
6. The individual must be free of defects in his hearing and vision
7. The individual must be knowledgeable in the rulings and science of shariah. AlMawerdy states that the fundamentals of shariah rulings that the individual must know are 4:

1)      He must know the Quran so that he may know what it contains regarding rulings, and understand the various categories of rulings contained in the Quran.

2)      He must know the confirmed sunnah (traditions) of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon him)

3)      He must know the interpretations of the salaf (the predecessor scholars after the Prophet his companions), including what they reached a consensus upon and what they disagreed upon, so that he may follow the consensus, and use diligence to make a judgment on what was disagreed upon.

4)      He must have knowledge of analogy so that he may derive a ruling on something that has not been addressed based on similar matters.

ElMawerdy also addressed an issue related to the corruption of the judicial system, the giving of ‘gifts’ to judges. In his book, he states that it is not acceptable for one who has taken a judicial position to take a gift from a litigant, nor anyone working with him even if he is not a litigant. He also states that if the judge does accept a gift without giving the equivalent of the gift in return, then he should transfer it to Bait al Mal (the national treasury).

ElMawerdy advised in his book against the delaying of cases, and prohibited the overseeing of a judge in a case involving one of his parents or offspring.

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The religion Islam has its own economic system that is quite different from the world economics because Islam tends to provide its own systems guiding the Muslims in every sphere of life. The basics of this Islamic economic system are laid down in the Quran and Sunnah (traditions) of Prophet Muhammad. These basics are not just available in theory but they have practical examples from the life of Prophet and his companions. The system given by Islam is just and it ensures maximum benefit to all people by prohibiting the concentration and extra accumulation of wealth by the people.

The major economic principle of Islam lies on the concept of prohibition of Riba (interest), whereas the modern world economy relies upon the value of interest. In such an interest based system, there is no share to protect the rights of the poor classes and the rich are allowed to gain a specific amount of interest on their money. Islam, on the other hand, provides alternatives for the interest based system, including the profit sharing, selling goods for a reasonable cost, hiring, renting and getting a small amount of profit between a stockholder and an entrepreneur.

Islamic economics intend to achieve moral growth, encouraging unity, social justice, just and impartial distribution, and transmission of capital and providing basic human necessities. Therefore, Islam promotes reasonable profit and restricts Riba (interest), “O you who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if you are indeed believers.” (Surah Baqra 2:278) and the Muslims who continue to deal with interest are committing sin according to Islam and in a Hadith, it has been said that “Riba is of seventy different kinds, the least grave being equivalent to a man marrying his own mother”. (Ibn Majah, baihaqi)

The major aim of the Islamic economic system is to  bridge the gap between different economic classes and financial sectors of the society. Therefore, in order to ensure it, Islam has introduced the system of Zakat. This welfare system makes it  obligatory for every Muslim whose annual income is greater than the amount of 85 grams of gold to donate 2.5 percent of his wealth as contribution for the benefit of poor. This system of Zakat helps in solving the economic imbalance that exists in the modern society.

Moreover, the Islamic system of economics restricts the accumulation and keeping of luxury items and advises the Muslims to lead a simple life, not an extravagant one. It lies on the concept that every human being has the right to equal financial and social needs and these rights must be protected by the modern states. Similarly, the people who are disabled and poor and not in a condition to earn and work properly must be taken care of through the money generated by Zakat and Usher.

In today’s world, in most of the Muslim countries and the Western world, the prevalent system is the interest based capitalist system. The concept of Islamic banking has started emerging recently, which must be adopted and Riba must be completely avoided in order to ensure the prevalence of the Islamic economic system in the modern world.

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As you begin understanding Islam more, you will begin discovering that is a beautiful religion that provides its followers with guidance for every aspect of their life. You’ll also find instructions about marriage in the Qur’an and sayings by the holy prophet, known as Hadith.

There is no doubt that marriage structures are an essential unit of our society and the foundation of creating a family. Healthy and happy families are needed for the preservation of our race in a cohesive manner. Marriage in Islam also has moral, psychological, social, and spiritual benefits.

The Holy Prophet explained:

“Marriage is my practice and precept. Those who don’t follow this practice aren’t following me.”

And

“When a Muslim man has finally married; he has fulfilled half of his Islam religion.”

Marriage is very important for every Muslim, and there are responsibilities, goals, and structures for both partners. This will provide the married couple with information and peace of mind about everything they need to know, especially when there is a problem in their marriage. There are three main reasons why Muslims get married and they are:-

• To enable both men and women to live peacefully and experience happiness.
• To have children and they both should provide a righteous environment when it comes to their upbringing.
• To create a strong legal union that protects both partners from moral or social degradation.

It is essential to understand that a critical moral value in the Muslim world is chastity; purity of individuals and society. In Islam, marriage protects the man from natural urges whether they are physical or emotional. Fulfilling uninhibited physical desires aren’t permitted in any way by adultery or fortification which are some of the greatest sins.

Also, a man who practices Islam shouldn’t marry a woman to fulfill his sexual or physical desires only. He should do so with the intention of taking care of a women and providing her with everything she possibly needs. This is the main reason why a legal contract is signed during Muslim marriages. Keep in mind that sexual relationships before marriage are not permitted for both the Muslim men and women.

In Islam, building a successful marriage entitles selecting the right wife or husband. The selection should be done with the intention of spending the rest of your life with the same person. Some of the factors that are taken into consideration when selecting a life partner is the background of the family, partner’s age, education, or interests. Even though, some Muslim marriages are arranged, many of these marriages have proven to be very successful. Time has changed now and many Muslim people are beginning to choose their partner themselves.  It is against Islam to force a woman to marry even if the marriage is arranged.

There are important prohibitions when it comes to marriage in Islam. There are some women that a Muslim man is forbidden to marry such as his mother, sister, aunts, and nieces. A Muslim man is also not allowed to marry two sisters at the same time. Marrying an idolater in Islam is also completely forbidden.

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The D.C. transit system must allow a pro-Israel ad that equates Muslim radicals with savages, a federal judge ruled Friday. A spokesman for the Metro system said it would comply with the judge’s decision and that the advertisements would go up over the weekend.

"The result is absolutely correct," said David Yerushalmi, a lawyer representing the American Freedom Defense Initiative, the organization behind the advertisements. "There simply was no way under the First Amendment jurisprudence that we have today that this ad should not have gone up when contracted."

The one-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Mary Collyer follows a similar court order in New York that cleared the way for anti-jihad ads to go up in that city’s subway system last month. The ads read: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."

Associated Press, 5 October 2012

See also "CAIR: Take action against anti-Muslim hate in DC Metro stations", CAIR press release, 5 October 2012

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The world is moving towards the worst financial mislay and the last year’s recession is also due to wrong policies. It causes the bankruptcy of millions of people in the world. The economic crack down affects everyone serving in any field. The most effectual one is the middle class and lower class people. The foremost reason of this crunch is the financial systems. They offers loan and asked you to return it with some profit or interest. They secured their lendings as well.

The problem started when it’s time to return. They need profit at any case whatever, the financial condition of the borrower at that time, either the loan adds any financial benefit to him or not. In case of lose; still you have to return the loan with profit/interest. Such miserable conditions end to bankruptcy of the borrower.

The substitute way of this dilemma is a system which shares not only profits but loses as well. Financial systems whose mission is not only profit maximization but also to contribute in the society and to develop a welfare society as the image given by the Islam.

Over the last few decades, Muslims are trying to construct a banking system based on the Shari’ah laws and give an ideal system to the world. It’s not only based on the commercial basis but also to help the society in the positive manner. The best financial system is given by Islam that works for the mankind welfare. The current Islamic system also working on Shari’ah rules, and offer loans on the basis of both profit and loss sharing. The share of profit as well as loss made the Islamic banking to be trustworthy. They have different modes of financing. These modes have their own set of principles, philosophy and conditions which made them to use as a Islamic modes because they are coherent with the Islamic laws and Shari’aa.

Musharikah financing, the word arises from the Arabic word means “sharing”. In the business concept it deals with the sharing of profit and loss. Like in the joint venture all the partners will share the profit and loss in the proportion of their investments. IJARAH is the LEASING mode, Mudarabah financing In this mode of financing, in which the investment is solely from the Islamic bank. The full money is being given by the bank. Murabahah is in the Islamic Fiqh refers to a particular kind of sale, and this mode deals with selling.
Hence Islam offers the best Islamic financial system which not only eliminates interest but also solve all the financial problems.

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All of us have been created as humans and we are not far from being. All of us depend upon in one or other way on each other. No one in the world can stand alone. As people are independent so conflict arise when the personal interests come or when they think their rights as individual are infringe upon others. Well these conflicts sometimes aggravate to high levels. Sometimes it happens that one party is strong while the other is quite weak not able to define even its basic rights although right. And the strong one may get the benefit.

To solve such and other problems system of judiciary was introduced. As it was and is necessary to main discipline in the society and to prevent superimposition of wrong on the right. For this very reason judicial systems were established in Islam. In the past that is in times caliph the head of the very state was the one who used to appoint the judge on the basis of criteria defined in Islam to govern and maintain their affairs; for protection of the their independence and these also appoint the political and the governors. Also the caliphs were subject to the verdicts of these judges.

The criteria for appointment of judges has been defined in Islam and also the laws regarding Islamic judicial system are also define din Islam. Hence the sources of the laws of judicial system are Quran and Sunnah. However we have these two authentic sources with details in all aspects. But there occur lots of problems regarding understanding of these two and that create lots of differences in governing of laws. The basic problem is the difference of language. That is the Quran and Sunnah is in Arabic language. There are scholars who have command on the language but still others need to learn Arabic language so that they can also understand what is written and said in Quran and Shunnah. It is not difficult to learn Arabic as it is being taught in each Muslim academy. It is not necessary to learn Muslim language that is Arabic but it help you develop much better understanding as all the available Islamic literature is written in Arabic.

Lots of researches have been done in order to know about the judicial system of Islam and its benefits. There are many countries including non Muslim countries also that are implementing Islamic laws owing to their benefits. Many people have study and learn Islam and also have study and learn Muslim culture just because of the very beneficial effects on in human life.

Besides Quran and Sunnah, Fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence is another primary source for interpretation of Islamic laws. Fiqh again depends on four major things that are: understanding of Quran; understanding of Sunnah; Ijma i.e. collective reasoning and Ijtihad i.e. individual reasoning.

Hence there are lots of details available in Islam in this regard and to understand these thorough learning is required. If implemented Islamic judicial systems is the best to attain discipline in the society and will bring equity for all.

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Prosecutors call Tarek Mehanna a dangerous radical, but he says he's being punished for not turning into an FBI informant.

Guardian, 10 April 2012

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