Peace all
I know this thread is probably elsewhere in various forms, but I would appreciate some discussion on this from the perspective I'm going to present here.
From my reading on the history of the purification rituals, it appears there are two schools of thought from the earliest Islamic days. They have their foundations in two areas of thought.. spiritual and cultural.... and the Shariah, literally means the way leading to salvation and felicity. According to the Qur'an there is a pathway for every nation and a method (Sura 5:48). Allah has prescribed a way for all people to act and each action carries a value which has to be found and followed. They underscore the importance of individual and social obligations to self, others and to God.
Herein lies the problem as I see it. From my reading, The Shariah has developed not only from the Qur'an itself, but over 2 centuries of discussions and debates. It has developed through both judicial and learned men's discussions (fiqh) and is based on both a primary source and a secondary source. All agree on the Quran and the Prophet's own words as the primary source, but over the centuries there has been great debate over the secondary sources, some of which have come from wanting to show a totally unique non Judaistic-Christian form of worship.
Sunnah was in the early muslim days, prescribed from many sources.. for some it was the determination of a political authorities for oters it was the customs of a city.
Purification rituals therefore are not only for the removal of impurities and defilement but also in the following of the religious examples of the prophet or his companions, and the cultural rights and wrongs in the specific areas the law is followed.
Now.. my question.. if Shariah means the pathway to salvation and therefore the obligations of the rituals and the Islamic Shariah must be followed to produce the weight of the good deeds for the balance to be in the side of the right to enter paradise.. why is there such a human element to it? The rules prescribing behaviour are not only in the Quran, but are also manmade.. therefore they are subjective and many of them are the focus or the stress of a particular branch of Islam
Let me conclude this by suggesting a biblical answer to this question. The Bible is very specific that man stands condemned not only by the standards of God .. the absolute holiness of God, but also by his own cultural rules of right and wrong.
Please take a moment to read Romans chapter 3 and take particular note of these verses
vs 9
What then? are we better off? No, not at all, for we have charged, that all, both jews and gentiles are under the power of sin.
vs21
But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets.
Now, please read Romans 5:13
sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned where there is no law.
You see.. every culture has it's own way of doing things which it distinctly it's own culture. Islam is no exception to this. Lady Fatima can be in Australia but know herself a Muslim, as can Alexei in Lebanon and OneGod wherever he lives. The laws that you live under make you uniquely Muslim.. but were those laws prescribed to give you salvation or to show you how impossible it is to live under those laws at the desired state of undefiliment?
It is the very laws or cultural norms, rights and wrongs, which show we need a change of heart attitude to be found righteous. It's apart from the works we do, for those works are done in the spirit of the requirement of human laws and cultural norms...but they SHOW US why we need God, why without His intervention, we are unable to save ourselves.
Romans 5:20-21 sums it up nicely
Law came in, with the result that the trespass (sin) multiplied, but where sin increased, grace abounded more and more, so that just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification through faith in Jesus Christ, leading to eternal life.
it's worth thinking about and I'm looking forward to your thoughts
Carol