Pakistani intelligentsia favours a common shariat code in the country to face the situation created by different schools of Muslim personal law.
The consensus emerged at a seminar organised by Nawa-i-Waqt at Lahore in May 1988 to discuss the merits of a book, “Islamic Jurisprudence in the Modern World,” by Dr. Mohammad Yusuf Gouraya, Director of the Wakf Department.
While conceding that the main sources of Islamic law were the holy Quran and Hadith (traditions of the holy Prophet), the speakers agreed with author Gouraya’s view that Islamic laws shouid be reviewed by ‘ijtehad’ (re-interpretation) of these two sources in consonance with the needs of the modern times.
Justice Ataullah Sajjad said that Islam gave the right of inheritance to women for the first time in the world.
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Professor Abdul Jabbar Shakir pointed out that the ‘muqalli- dana (mentality of following blindly) created by the monarchs, continued for centuries and the Islamic legal system lost its capability to face new challenges and was washed away at the advent of the wave of consciousness.
Agreeing with Allama Iqbal’s view that ‘ijma’ (consensus) was impossible in view of the plurality of religious sects in Islam, and an elected parliament could perform the task, Prof. Shakir said he did not see people of the mental calibre needed to interpret the original sources of Islamic law in the present day (Pakistan) parliament.
He said it was good that Dr. Gouraya wrote his book in English. One did not know what would have happened to him if his books were written in Urdu, he added.
Justice Shaikh Aftab Husain, former Chief Justice of the federal shariat court, pointed out that the importance of Hazrat Umer, second Caliph of Islam, lay in that in some cases he by-passed the ‘hadith’ (traditions of the prophet) when he found it expedient to do so.
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Similarly, he said Imam Malik, founder of one of the four schools of Muslims, gave precedence to the practice in ‘madine’ over ‘hadith’ without saying the ‘hadith’ was wrong.
Justice Husain said present-day Muslims were not bound by the ‘qiyas’ (analogy) and ‘ijtehad’ (interpretation) of a gone-by age.
Justice Zakiuddin Pal, former judge of Lahore High Court, pleaded that the government provide a free atmosphere and abundant funds for research.
He also said that Mr. Gauraya’s books should be translated into Urdu. “It is true he would be criticised. He would be abused. But all this will have to be tolerated. And we are with him,” he said.
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Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Shaikh Anwarul Haq, who had confirmed executed Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s death sentence, said the door of ‘ijtehad'(interpretation) should be kept open and advantage should also be taken of ‘ijma’ (consensus) to meet the needs of present-day Pakistan.
Mr. Anwarul Haq said, since Pakistan was a multiple or plural society, laws which did not give fullest protection to non-Muslim Minorities should not be enforced in the country.