It is often argued that before implementing the Shari’a, Muslim-majority states must first address issues of society, e.g., eradicate poverty, reduce unemployment, eliminate corruption, and ensure the security of it’s borders and people. Today, we see this reasoning being used in Syria, which has, since the fall of the Assad-regime in December 2024, taken a passive and pragmatic role in implementing the Shari’a, with many of it’s leadership and the political analysis surrounding it, arguing that Syria is ‘not ready‘ to implement the Shari’a.

But this reasoning is deeply flawed, as these social and political ills are not conditions to be solved before the Shari’a can be implemented, but rather, the direct consequences of turning away from it.

To delay the implementation of the Shari’a on the pretext of addressing these crises (e.g., poverty, unemployment, corruption, security of state borders. etc.,) is to mistakenly want to cure the disease by means of what causes it, i.e., using poison as the antidote. For Muslims, and especially for those in positions of authority, it is neither acceptable nor rational to postpone the implementation of the Shari’a, when it is precisely the Shari’a that provides the framework for justice, stability, and the eradication of such problems.

The Qur’an is unequivocal in this matter. Allah says:

ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

Corruption has spread on land and sea as a result of what people’s hands have done, so that Allah may cause them to taste the consequences of some of their deeds and perhaps they might return to the Right Path. [Surah Ar-Rum, Verse 41]

The scholars of Qur’an have explained that the term “corruption”, in this context, encompasses the following attributes; a lack of blessings, economic instability and hardship in livelihood. Such are the fruits of turning away from the Shari’a, and this is directly linked to the “result of what people’s hands have done“, which includes constructing and living by man-made laws. The remedy is also contained in the verse: “perhaps they might return.”, and so, the way out of ‘corruption‘, in its holistic meaning, is to return to Allah, to His law, and to His methodology.

This is further illustrated in the following ayah:

وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًۭا قَرْيَةًۭ كَانَتْ ءَامِنَةًۭ مُّطْمَئِنَّةًۭ يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًۭا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍۢ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ ٱللَّهِ فَأَذَٰقَهَا ٱللَّهُ لِبَاسَ ٱلْجُوعِ وَٱلْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَصْنَعُونَ

And Allah sets forth the example of a society which was safe and at ease, receiving its provision in abundance from all directions. But its people met Allah’s favours with ingratitude, so Allah made them taste the clutches of hunger and fear for their misdeeds. [Surah Nahl, Verse 112]

With this, we note that Allah explicitly states that, when He bestows His favour upon a people, and the people respond with ingratitude (in this context the abandonment of His Shari’a), He replaces their safety and ease with fear and hunger. So, again, to those who say that the Muslim states must first address the needs of society, and then implement the Shari’a, we note that, in reality, the Shari’a itself addresses the needs of society, and delaying it’s implementation only increases the needs of society.

The Prophet ﷺ confirmed this causal relationship. It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنه said:

قَالَ أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ: يَا مَعْشَرَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ خَمْسٌ إِذَا ابْتُلِيتُمْ بِهِنَّ وَأَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ أَنْ تُدْرِكُوهُنَّ لَمْ تَظْهَرِ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي قَوْمٍ قَطُّ حَتَّى يُعْلِنُوا بِهَا إِلاَّ فَشَا فِيهِمُ الطَّاعُونُ وَالأَوْجَاعُ الَّتِي لَمْ تَكُنْ مَضَتْ فِي أَسْلاَفِهِمُ الَّذِينَ مَضَوْا ‏.‏ وَلَمْ يَنْقُصُوا الْمِكْيَالَ وَالْمِيزَانَ إِلاَّ أُخِذُوا بِالسِّنِينَ وَشِدَّةِ الْمَؤُنَةِ وَجَوْرِ السُّلْطَانِ عَلَيْهِمْ ‏.‏ وَلَمْ يَمْنَعُوا زَكَاةَ أَمْوَالِهِمْ إِلاَّ مُنِعُوا الْقَطْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَلَوْلاَ الْبَهَائِمُ لَمْ يُمْطَرُوا وَلَمْ يَنْقُضُوا عَهْدَ اللَّهِ وَعَهْدَ رَسُولِهِ إِلاَّ سَلَّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ عَدُوًّا مِنْ غَيْرِهِمْ فَأَخَذُوا بَعْضَ مَا فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ ‏.‏ وَمَا لَمْ تَحْكُمْ أَئِمَّتُهُمْ بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَيَتَخَيَّرُوا مِمَّا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلاَّ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ بَأْسَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turned to us and said: ‘O Muhajirun, there are five things with which you will be tested, and I seek refuge with Allah lest you live to see them: Immorality never appears among a people to such an extent that they commit it openly, but plagues and diseases that were never known among the predecessors will spread among them. They do not cheat in weights and measures but they will be stricken with famine, severe calamity and the oppression of their rulers. They do not withhold the Zakah of their wealth, but rain will be withheld from the sky, and were it not for the animals, no rain would fall on them. They do not break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, but Allah will enable their enemies to overpower them and take some of what is in their hands. Unless their leaders rule according to the Book of Allah and seek all good from that which Allah has revealed, Allah will cause them to fight one another.‘ [Sunan Ibn Majah 4019]

This hadith, amongst other things, outlines the precise consequences of abandoning the Shari’a. I provide two examples from the aforementioned hadith, below:

Immorality, e.g., fornication, including that of the same-sex, left unpunished and unregulated brings new diseases. For example, in May 2022, The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) stated that “all of the new Monkeypox cases, three in London and one in the north east of England, self-identify as gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men (MSM)“. Additionally, in an academic article, we read: “Since the late 1990s chlamydia has been the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Europe and the United States… Chlamydia first became recognized as a specific STI in the 1970s, but it took until 1988 for it to become notifiable.”

Breaking the covenant with Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, i.e., abandoning the Shari’a, invites foreign domination. For example, in recent times, and since the decline of the Ottoman Caliphate in the early 19th Century, and its replacement with the Republic of Türkiye, Britain and France carved up the former Ottoman-controlled region through the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), controlling Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, while maintaining influence over Egypt. France continued its colonial presence in North Africa, ruling Algeria until 1962 and exercising authority in Morocco and Tunisia. In the post-Cold War era, the U.S. led invasions of Iraq (2003–2011) and Afghanistan (2001–2021), as well as the NATO intervention in Libya (2011). Furthermore, and beyond formal invasions, Western influence persists through military bases in Gulf states. Therefore, across a mere century of abandoning the Shari’a, we note a pattern, that the absence of Shari’a-led Muslim states has, indeed, coincided with foreign domination.

This century of humiliation, and occupation reminds us of the following narration, where the Prophet ﷺ said:

للَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ ذُلاًّ لاَ يَنْزِعُهُ حَتَّى تَرْجِعُوا إِلَى دِينِكُمْ ‏

Allah will make disgrace prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return to your religion. [Sunan Abi Dawud 3462]

Allah affirms this in the Qur’an:

وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَٱتَّقَوْا۟ لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَـٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَـٰكِن كَذَّبُوا۟ فَأَخَذْنَـٰهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ

Had the people of those societies been faithful and mindful of Allah, We would have overwhelmed them with blessings from heaven and earth. But they disbelieved, so We seized them for what they used to commit. [Surah Al-A’raf, Verse 96]

In the context of our discussion, this verse directly addresses the question: Are societal issues obstacles to implementing the Shari’a, or proof of its absence? The verse establishes a causal link: neglecting the Shari’a produces societal ills and Allah gives the example of ‘seizing’, i.e., destroying those societies, while adherence to His Shari’a, i.e., being faithful and mindful of Him, brings blessing and stability. Therefore, waiting to “fix society first” is a misunderstanding; the proper remedy for these ills is the faithful implementation of Shari’a itself.

Additionally, the argument for ‘fixing’ society first, treats the Shari’a as a secondary matter. It reduces His command to the realm of ritual, while assigning the affairs of this world to human invention. Yet, the Shari’a was revealed to rectify both this life and the next, to govern worldly affairs and prepare the soul for the Hereafter.

Furthermore, The One who created human beings knows their needs more perfectly than they know themselves, just as the engineer who designs a machine knows exactly how it should function and what maintenance it needs. Allah reminds us of this, in the Qur’an:

أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ

How could He not know His Own creation? For He alone is the Most Subtle, All-Aware.[Surah Mulk, Verse 14]

Even the Sahaba (the companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) were reminded of their limitations:

وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ لَوْ يُطِيعُكُمْ فِى كَثِيرٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ

And keep in mind that Allah’s Messenger is still in your midst. If he were to yield to you in many matters, you would surely suffer the consequences.[Surah Hujurat, Verse 7]

This verse speaks directly to the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم, who had the purest of hearts, the soundest of minds, and were the least inclined to follow their desires, yet Allah warns that if His Messenger ﷺ were to follow their choices, they would fall into hardship. If that is true of the best generation, what will be the condition of those who build their lives and societies upon the laws of people who neither possess purity of heart nor Taqwa?

So, the evidence for re-establishing the Shari’a above everything is overwhelming, and failing to do so, will mean that we remain in a vicious cycle, seeking to cure our problems with that which complicates them.

اَللّٰهُمَّ اَرِنَا الْحَقَّ حَقًّا وَّ ارْزُقْنَا اتِّبَاعَهٗ وَ اَرِنَا الْبَاطِلَ بَاطِلًا وَّ ارْزُقْنَا اجْتِنَابَهٗ

O Allah, show us the Truth as Truth and grant us the ability to follow it; and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to refrain from it.[3/497 شرح منتهى الإرادات]