Mauao Man

Myth 4: “Sharia Law Is Just a Personal Code of Conduct”

📉 The Reality: Sharia Is a Total Legal System — Personal, Criminal, Political, and Global

The term "Sharia" (شريعة) is often whitewashed in the West as merely a set of spiritual guidelines — how Muslims pray, fast, and give charity. That’s only the surface. The full historical, jurisprudential, and doctrinal reality is that Sharia is a comprehensive, theocratic legal system. It governs every aspect of life — from individual rituals to capital punishment, from diet to warfare, from personal hygiene to international relations.

📚 I. What Sharia Really Is: A Total System of Governance

A. Definition

“Sharia” means “the path” or “the way.” It’s derived from:

The Qur’an
The Hadith (sayings/actions of Muhammad)
Ijma (consensus of scholars)
Qiyas (legal analogy)

It is not optional. It is seen as divine law — not a human legal construct.

Qur’an 5:44 —
“And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed — then it is those who are the disbelievers.”

Sharia is mandatory in Islamic doctrine. Rejecting it equals kufr (disbelief).

🧾 II. Sharia in Practice: Punishments, Courts, and Control

A. Criminal Law (Hudud punishments)

These are fixed punishments prescribed by Allah for certain crimes. Examples:

Theft → Amputation of hand

Qur’an 5:38 — “Cut off the hands of thieves, male or female...”
Adultery (Zina) → Stoning to death (if married) or 100 lashes (if unmarried)

Qur’an 24:2 — “The woman and the man guilty of fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes...”
Stoning is found in hadith: Sahih Bukhari 6815, Sahih Muslim 1691
Apostasy → Death penalty

Sahih Bukhari 6922 — “Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”
Blasphemy → Execution (based on Muhammad's own practices)

These are not symbolic. They have been historically enforced — and are still enforced in many Muslim-majority nations (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, parts of Nigeria).

B. Family and Gender Law

A Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man (Qur’an 60:10).
A Muslim man can marry Christian/Jewish women, but their children are legally Muslim.
Women’s testimony is worth half of a man’s (Qur’an 2:282).
Inheritance shares: males get twice what females get (Qur’an 4:11).
A man can beat his wife for disobedience (Qur’an 4:34).

Sharia codifies systemic gender inequality.

C. Blasphemy and Apostasy

Under Sharia:

Criticizing Muhammad = death
Leaving Islam = death
“Spreading mischief” (vaguely defined) = death or crucifixion (Qur’an 5:33)

There is no such thing as freedom of conscience or freedom of speech in traditional Sharia.

🌍 III. Sharia in Islamic History: Not Just Personal

A. The Four Sunni Madhhabs (Legal Schools)

Each of the four major Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali) developed legal codes that:

Covered marriage, divorce, contracts, crime, war, governance
Were enforced by Qadis (Islamic judges)
Presided over Islamic courts, issuing legally binding rulings

Sharia was the official law of the land in the Islamic caliphates and sultanates for over 1,000 years.

B. The Caliphate Enforces Sharia

The Khilafah (Caliphate) is not optional in classical jurisprudence — it's the Islamic government whose purpose is to enforce Sharia across the ummah.

Al-Mawardi (11th century Islamic jurist):
“The imamate (caliphate) is instituted to succeed the prophethood in protecting the religion and managing the worldly affairs.”

This includes:

Military jihad
Collection of jizya
Expansion of Islamic rule
Enforcement of Sharia in every domain

Sharia is a political and military system as much as it is “personal.”

🗓️ IV. Sharia Today: Modern Rebranding vs. Islamic Reality

A. The Apologetic Spin:

“Sharia just means how Muslims live their lives – like praying or not drinking alcohol.”

This is deliberate misdirection. While Sharia includes personal behavior, its full implementation always involved:

State-backed enforcement
Public punishments
Religious policing
Restrictions on non-Muslims (dhimmi status, jizya tax, church/mosque laws)

B. Current Sharia-Based Laws Exist

In many countries, Sharia is partially or fully implemented:

Saudi Arabia: full Sharia-based criminal law
Iran: stoning, flogging, apostasy laws
Pakistan: blasphemy punishable by death
Sudan (until 2020): death for apostasy

Even “secular” countries like Egypt and Jordan use Sharia as a source of legislation, especially for personal status and blasphemy laws.

🚫 V. There Is No “Moderate Sharia”

You can’t slice off just the rituals and call it a “personal code.”
The same sources that give you prayer and fasting also give you stoning and amputation.
All four Sunni schools agree on core hudud punishments and apostasy laws.

You either accept the whole system—or reject it. There is no in-between in traditional Islam.

🧨 Final Verdict:

Sharia is not a private, spiritual guideline.
It is a legal-political system that governs:

Crime and punishment

Warfare and governance

Gender relations

Religious freedom (or lack thereof)

Judicial procedures

Status of non-Muslims

Islamic history, legal schools, and primary texts all confirm: Sharia was always meant to be enforced — not just followed privately.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------About the Author

Mauao Man is a blog created by a New Zealand writer who believes in following the evidence wherever it leads. From history and religion to culture and society, Mauao Man takes a clear, critical, and honest approach — challenging ideas without attacking people. Whether exploring the history of Islam in New Zealand, the complexities of faith, or the contradictions in belief systems, this blog is about asking the hard questions and uncovering the truth.

If you value clarity over comfort and truth over tradition, you’re in the right place.