Thank you for your reply. I feel I still need a bit of more clarification here. 

In your reply you said:

In matters other than worship, the Shari`ah only gives guidance in those spheres where the human mind was prone to making such errors of judgment which were likely to have a negative impact on the cleansing of the human mind, body or soul, whether at the individual or the collective level.

Well the rules of punishment are not the matters of worship but they are still addressed in Qur'an and Sunnah in a very detailed manner.

Don't you think that the Ummah is in more need of directions about leadership rather than how much to cut off from the hand of a thief? 

You then said:

The effect of this freedom of choice given in the referred Qur'anic directive is that the collectivity, on the basis of the opinion of the majority, may alter its political system. We can devise system of government today different from that of Khilafah.

As you know the Muslim scholars are now a days in a trouble of attempting to justify some of the Islamic punishments for the Muslim youth who have found these not quite reasonable in the 21st century. 

For the matters like punishments the directions are set up comprehensively in a way that there is almost no way to adapt and alter the directions to better suit the conditions of the time. However when it comes to leadership of the Ummah, suddenly the Shari`ah adapts a democratic way and leaves the Ummah with little directions. This is while leadership can affect all the aspects of Muslim lives, including worshipping. 

I think there are many Muslims (including many scholars) who had preferred to see more directions about leadership and less about punishments in Islam. Of course the Shari`ah is not to please people, but isn't it true that it needs to address the most important issues of life (especially those that affect the human-God relation) with a reasonable priority? Immediately after the passing away of the holy prophet people elected a Khalifah. This means how urgent and important is the issue. Isn't that strange that the prophet never addressed this issue in a clear way? 

Many thanks for your time and sorry if my wording is a bit too direct. 

Abu Yaheya
United Kingdom

Answer

Whether it be politics or the penal law, the Shari`ah has given all directives that were decided by the absolute wisdom of the Almighty as essential and practicable for the people. Keeping this basic principle in perspective, I believe that the extent of directives given by the Shari`ah in each separate sphere of human life, whether more or less, is the most appropriate one. 

We must keep in mind that the Shari`ah gives directives in interpersonal spheres - which includes both politics as well as the penal law - only where man is prone to making such errors of judgment which are likely to negatively effect his individual and/or collective morality and the process of cleansing his mind, body and soul and, thereby, deprive him of his chances of success in the hereafter. 

It is clear that, barring the many other socio-moral aspects entailed in the promulgation of punishments, the determination and administration of punishments or a lack of it clearly relates to the moral principle of delivering justice, with a view not only to the perpetrator but also to the aggrieved. Man's academic history bears adequate evidence to the point that he has not only been prone to extreme differences of opinion in this case, but has also been prone to extreme philosophical imbalances even in his approach towards the issue. It is, therefore, that the Qur'an has stipulated the maximum punishment that may be administered upon a perpetrator and that too only in the case of some of the more basic crimes against life, property, honor and chastity. 

In contrast to the kind of differences that can arise in determining and implementing punishments for various crimes and the kind of moral effects these differences are likely to have on the individuals as well as on the collectivity, I cannot think of any major philosophical differences, entailing similar moral effects, arising on the issue of how to select our leaders, especially when it has already been prescribed that the said system should be one based on consultation, providing equal rights to every individual who is a part of that collectivity. 

In view of the foregoing, my answer to your question is that the Shari`ah has not given more elaborate directives relating to the selection of leaders, because it was not necessary to do so. 

You write:

However when it comes to leadership of the Ummah, suddenly the Shari`ah adapts a democratic way and leaves the Ummah with little directions. This is while leadership can affect all the aspects of Muslim lives, including worshipping.

I fully agree with you on the point that leadership can affect almost all aspects of life. I really do not think that any Muslim or even non-Muslim would disagree with you on this point. However, it should be remembered that the appointment of truly great leaders is not a product of an elaborate system of selection or election. 

You write:

I think there are many Muslims (including many scholars) who had preferred to see more directions about leadership and less about punishments in Islam. Of course the Shari`ah is not to please people, but isn't it true that it needs to address the most important issues of life (especially those that affect the human-God relation) with a reasonable priority? Immediately after the passing away of the holy prophet people elected a Khalifah. This means how urgent and important is the issue. Isn't that strange that the prophet never addressed this issue in a clear way?

I beg to differ with you on the point that the Prophet (pbuh) did not address the referred issue in a clear manner. I believe that even though the immediate appointment of the leader is a clear corollary of an organized collective life, yet, seen in the perspective of the political background and history of the Arabs, it was only the positive stress given by the Prophet (pbuh) on the immediate appointment of the leader, which prompted the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) to make the appointment, without any delay. 

I hope this helps.

With fond regards, 

Moiz Amjad
May 17, 2003