Siyasah Shari'ah and the Discretionary Actions of the Ruler: Examining the Work of al-Qarafi in al-Tamyiz and al-Subki in al-Fatawa in Classical Islam

Mohd Zakhiri Md Nor (Assistant Professor School of Law College of Law, Government and International Studies Universiti Utara Malaysia 06010 Sintok, Kedah Darul Aman)

Media Syari'ah: Wahana Kajian Hukum Islam dan Pranata Sosial
Vol 17, No 2 (2015)

Sharīʿah law is a revealed law and the ruler applies the Siyāsah Sharīʿah in administering the state according to Allah ordained. The question is whether this discretion of the ruler remains open in exercising the Siyāsah al-Sharīʿah. This paper focuses on the application of siyāsah syarīyyah and discretionary actions of ruler in classical Islam. It is also to examine the work of al-Qarāfī in Tamyīz and al-Subkī in Fatāwā al-Subkī in classical Islam. The paper first outlines the nature of siyāsah al-Sharīʿah from Sharīʿah perspective. The next part of the paper examines the roles of the ruler in exercising the siyāsah al-Sharīyyah. The context of the study is the work of al-Qarāfī and al-Subkī in Classical Islam. The paper concludes by outlining several recommendations for determining the parameters of the application of siyāsah al-Sharīʿah and discretionary actions of ruler in the contemporary Islamic state. The methodology adopted in the research is purely qualitative, engaging in doctrinal archival research of classical literatures and cases on the discretion actions of ruler in the application of siyāsah al-Syarīʿah. Since there is scarcity of resources on the subject matter, this study is deemed to be significant in filling in the gaps of the application of siyāsah al-Syarīyyah and discretionary actions under the Sharīʿah laws.