The Shariah and Its Application

of the Quran, they should follow with unstinting devotion and dedication. Believers are urged “to listen to the Quran with attention, holding their peace.” (7:204) That is, they must pay full heed to the passage of the Quran revealed to the Prophet and then wholeheartedly carry out the command. The latter day Muslims have been charged with the added responsibility of inference (see the Quran, 4:83) and ijtihad (striving) as mentioned in the Hadith. That is, to reflect with the utmost honesty, sincerity and God-fearingness as to pinpoint which divine command is addressed to them in relation to the state of affairs in which they find themselves at that point in time, and then to strive to carry out that command without showing any reluctance. That is to say, in the first phase of Islam, the injunction of da’wah was revealed at the time when the performance of da’wah was required, the injunction of patience was revealed when patience was required and the injunction to do battle was revealed at the time when battle was required. Thus people were not faced with any confusion in understanding the injunctions as well as their application. But laterday Muslims find out the injunctions—of patience, da’wah and war—all together in one single book.