implementation of sharia law in malaysia: perception of utp studnets.pdf
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written by Nik Muhammad Aqil bin Rosilan, Haziq Azmi, Shafiq Nash, Mifdhal Hussein Amjath Hussein. This paper is about the readiness of Malaysian people toward implementation of Syaria Law. year 2013TRANSCRIPT
ISLAMIC STUDIES (MPW 2143)
SEMESTER SEPTEMBER 2013
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
TITLE:
Implementation of Sharia Law: UTP Students’
Understanding and Perception
LECTURER: USTAZ M. PISOL MAT ISA
GROUP MEMBERS:
No. Name Student ID Program
1 Ahmad Haziq Bin Azmi 18338 Petroleum Engineering
2 Nik Muhammad Aqil Bin Rosilan 18428 Petroleum Engineering
3 Muhammad Shafiq Bin Nasaruddin 18081 Petroleum Engineering
4 Muhammad Mifdhal Hussain bin Amjath Hussain 18426 Petroleum Engineering
5 Muhammad Faiz bin Mohd Shariff 18385 Petroleum Engineering
DATE RECEIVED: __________________________
CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………….1
2.0 LITERATURE RIVIEW…………………………………………………………………………. 2-6
3.0 METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………………………………………7
4.0 RESULT…………………………………………………………………………………………… 8-11
5.0 DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………………………………. 12-14
6.0 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………15
APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………...................... 16-20
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………. 21-22
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Sharia is always be defined as "islamic law" thus people tend to misunderstand it as
same with the other conventional law. However Sharia is more than the other man-made
law. Sharia is not only covers about crime and punishment, which most people
misunderstood it with, but it also covers the other 7 branches of Sharia such as dress code,
hygiene and purification, and marriage jurisprudence. In other words, Sharia is actually a
way of life or guideline for a living as the word Sharia means a path to an uninterrupted
water source. Sharia law is a form of mercy from Allah to his creation – man-kind as it brings
justice and promotes a good living among men. Allah s.w.t declares in the Quran in surah
Yunus verse 57: “O mankind! There hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a
healing for the (diseases) in your hearts, and for those who believe, a guidance and a
Mercy.”
Also, Sharia facilitates the individual and the community to establish a relationship
with god and one another and its rules and regulations are designed to benefit and protect
all members of the society (Hussain, 1998). It is a law that protects the basic human
necessities which are faith, life, progeny, property, and intellect. These basic necessities,
also called human rights, need to be protected in order to maintain harmony in the society,
therefore, Sharia protects these necessity of all members of the society regardless the
religion, race, colour as well as ethnicity. This protection under Syariah ensure freedom of
religion, affirm the sanctity of life, validate the importance of family, guarantee the security
of assets, and uphold the power of reasoning.
This study presented a survey of students’ perception and understanding of the
implementation of Sharia Law. The objectives of this study are:
1. To determine the students’ perceptions regarding the implementation of Sharia Law
especially in Malaysia.
2. To open their rigid thinking of Sharia Law and give clear understanding towards the
implementation of Sharia Law.
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 2
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
The understanding towards the Sharia Law and its importance to be implemented
seems to be decreasing among the Muslims around the world. With the secular education
practiced around the world even in Islamic countries, the Muslims and non-Muslims were
taught that the Sharia law is not suitable to be implemented during this era of modern and
technology. The enemy of Islam did not give up their hope in preventing the people around
the world to have a clear understanding towards the Sharia law. In this recent time, when
people talk about implementing Sharia law, others people starts to think of the negative
side of implementing it because they do not have clear understanding about the beauty of
Sharia (Aisha, 2009). Without clear understanding, people judge Sharia law as a discriminate
and violent law that would not give any good news to them. Sharia law covers all the aspect
of human life. It consists of more than 8 sub-divisions such as hygienic and purification law,
economics law, theological obligations, marital jurisprudence, criminal jurisprudence,
military jurisprudence, dress code and other topics include customs and behaviour, slavery
and the status of non-Muslims (Nehemiah, 2013).
Military is one of the elements that completes Islam as a religion that covers all
aspect of human life. Revelations regarding the permission to fight or participated in war
was stated clearly and specifically in several places in the holy Quran. “To those against
whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged, and verily,
Allah is Most Powerful for their aid.” (Al-Hajj :39). According to Joel (2010), the references to
defending the faithful from harm in surah Al-Hajj Ayah 38, to those on the receiving end of
violence in Ayah 39 and those who have been driven from their homes in Ayah 40 reveal
very clearly that Allah’s permission to undertake armed combat was not for offensive war,
but self-defence and self-preservation when attacked or oppressed. In defending the
religion, the Muslims should also follow the rule including not to kill or harm the non-
combatant and destroy the lands, and always mind not to exceed the limit allowed (Rizvi,
n.d.). Interestingly, it even extols the defence of houses of worship, including the churches
of Christians and the synagogues of Jews. Indeed, most of the verses which urge struggle
(jihad) against enemies relate to the self-defensive wars mentioned, with the remaining
verses relating to the broader need to protect the ummah from both the local spiritual
pollution of idolatry as well as the external threat to unsafe borders around the perimeter of
the ummah. However no verses in the Qur’an encourage or permit violence against
innocent people, regardless of faith, and no verses encourage or permit war against other
nations or states that are not attacking the Islamic ummah. Muhammad accepted that
combat for the defence of Islam and Islamic interests would sometimes be unavoidable, but
always he told to his followers not to look forward to combat, but if it were to come upon
them then they should pray for safety and be patient (Joel, 2010).
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 3
One of the controversial parts of the Sharia law that has been questioned by the
westerners is the criminal jurisprudence. Sharia law is one of the solution to ensure the faith
of the guilty and the innocent. Most of peoples will assume that sharia law was the extreme
punishment in all laws. But, before someone need to be sentenced, the will be many
procedure that we should considered. There were many branch of laws in sharia such as
Hudud , Tazir, Qisas, and Diyya. The term "Shari'ah" is rooted from the word "Shara 'a'
mentioned several times in the Quran as the Word of Allah, “And We created you in on a
Shari'ah (rules and laws) of business (religious), then follow syari'at and do not follow the
desires of those who do not know.” (Al-Jaatsiah :18). “For every nation of you, We (Allah)
gave him the rules and laws as well as a complete way of life.” (Al-Ma'ida : 48). The word
"hudud" is a word more than "limit". The purpose and wisdom in implementing hudud
Islam, as contained in the above sense, is for the good of mankind to survive the
punishment of the world and a very important survivor of torture in the hereafter. In the
jurists gave this as the definition of hudud; penalty prescribed punishment must be carried
out to fulfill the rights of Allah. Besides, In the Quran Allah s.w.t. saying "Qisas" is the
sentence which says: "O those who believe it was prescribed for you Qisas for those who
kill. (Al-Baqarah :178). Thus this is the suitable answer to counter the perception that sharia
law is extreme, because Allah S.W.T provide Qisas in order to save life. On the other hand ,
ta'zir in the Quran Allah says which means: "And you help them, and lend to Allah a
beautiful loan. Indeed, I (God) will cover your sins and I will admit you to Gardens under
which rivers run.” (Al-Ma'ida :12). From the verses in the Quran, ta'zir in this relationship
seems to make Islamic law is included in the law from the government and civil society in
helping to prevent criminals from committing sins.
Muslims throughout the world have extremely high standards of personal hygiene,
because Islam places great emphasis on both physical and spiritual, cleanliness and
purification. Muslims are required to take care of their personal hygiene by assuring that
they are well groomed, and that their bodies, clothing, and surroundings are clean. Prophet
Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, informed his companions
and thus all of us, about the importance of cleanliness when he said, “cleanliness is half of
faith.”(sahih Muslim) and as stated in the Quran “Truly, God loves those who turn unto Him
in repentance and loves those who purify themselves.” (Al-Baqarah: 222). Personal hygiene
is desirable at all times but certain aspects of personal hygiene are not only important but
also compulsory. According to scholars, cleanliness consists of three kinds, purification, or
ritual washing in order to perform prayer; keeping the body, clothing, and environment
clean; and specifically removing the dirt or grime that collects in the various parts of the
body, such as teeth, nostrils, under the nails, in the armpits and around the pubic area
(Aisha, 2009).
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 4
Generally, there are many theological obligations that all of them are included and
considered in the sharia law. Every obligation which opposed the way it should be done
according to the sharia will not be accepted and worst it could also be a sin. One of the main
obligations of Muslims is to do ‘Solah’ or prayer. ‘Solah’ is the formal worship in Islam and
one of the five fundamental requirements that a Muslim is obligated to perform. ‘Solah’ is
given the highest priority in the Holy Quran (Gazette, 1993). There are many benefits of
‘Solah’ described in the Book of Allah The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his
progeny) said: “The first thing that Allah made obligatory upon my Ummah was the five
prayers; and the first thing from their acts of worship that shall be taken up will be the five
prayers; and the first thing that they will be questioned about will be the five prayers”
(Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18859). Meanwhile, fasting is another unique moral
and spiritual characteristic of Islam. Literally defined, fasting means to abstain "completely"
from foods, drinks, intimate intercourse and smoking, before the break of the dawn till
sunset, during the entire month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year (El-Ashi,
n.d). Fasting in the month of Ramadan is obligatory upon every adult Muslim, male or
female, who has reached puberty, is sane and who is not sick or traveling (Islami City, 2001).
In Quran, Allah (swt) has said, “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was
prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) taqwa (self-restraint)” (Al-Baqarah :183).
There are many others compulsory and congregational obligations that a Muslim should
practice in their life with the guidance of sharia law.
Economic law of Islam is very important for Muslim’s economic development. It has
also been explained in the Quran, "so that this (wealth) may not circulate solely among the
rich from among you" (Al-Hasyr: 7). Economic law including Zakat, Riba, Sales and Takaful.
Riba is the Arabic verb of raba, meaning to increase. There are two main types of riba
recognized by all scholars the first type is called riba al-nasi’a and riba al-fadl. The first
mention of riba in the Quran was in Makka, and it discouraged collection thereof, without
explicitly prohibiting it: “That which you lend to increase in the property of others will not
increase with God; but that which you give out in charity, seeking God’s pleasure, it will
surely multiply” (Ar-Rum: 39). However, there was one scenario who are not themselves
devout Muslims, operationally respect Muslims’ religious observance and devise financial
solutions that avoid various prohibitions according to juristic opinion (Mahmoud, 2006).
Besides that, the objective of zakat is to cures the lust for wealth, infuses the feat Allah in
man’s heart and makes one amenable to good deeds. Holy Quran says: “And away from it
(Hell) shall be kept the most pious one, who gives away his wealth in order to purify him.” It
is obligatory of every adult free Muslim man and woman There are varies types of zakat
such as animals, minerals, woman’s Mehr, business goods, company, silver and gold.
According to Imam Abu Hanafi it is not obligatory on wealth and the insane person, since it
is an act of worship the intention is a must, somehow oppose Imam Malik, Shafie and
Ahmad B. Hanbal says that it has to be paid by the guardian (Hussain, 1998).
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 5
According to Rizvi (n.d.) one thing that differentiates between Islam and the other
religion is the dress code and ‘aurah’ and it is included as one of the sub-divisions under the
Sharia law. All the Muslims are ordered to take care of their dignity and cover their ‘aurah’
all the time for good reasons. A Muslimah has to cover all of their body except for their face
and palm as it would prevent them from being disturbed and she would be respected by
others. “Prophet, tell your wives, daugthers and the wives of the believers to cover their
bosoms and breasts. This will make them distinguishable from others and protect them
from being annoyed. God is All-forgiving and All-merciful” (Al-Ahzab :59). It is also forbidden
for them to wear thin, translucent or tight clothes that could show their body or even their
body shape. Meanwhile, for a male Muslim, they should aware of their ‘aurah’ between the
upper part of their umbilical and lower part of their knees. Both male and female Muslim
should also aware of their ‘aurah’ between the non-muhrim and muhrim as it appears that
some people still does not understand its’ simple concept. One of the main objectives that
Allah s.w.t order the Muslim to cover their ‘aurah’ was to preserve their dignity and to
prevent from adultery. Allah also mentioned in the Quran to stay away from zina from the
verse “Do not even approach adultery. It is indecent and an evil act” (Al-Isra’:32). Therefore,
the order of covering the aurah all the time was for the good of Muslims and not to burden
them.
The Shariah law also being implemented in animal slaughtering applied by Islamic
people who do the slaughter. According to Ibn Adam (n.d), the slaughtering of animals in
Islam should follow a certain rules and regulations in order to ensure the consumption of
the meat slaughtered will be beneficial to human body especially for the Muslim personal
relations with Allah The Almighty. In Islam, halal is an Arabic term meaning 'lawful,
permissible' and not only encompasses food and drink, but all matters of daily life. When it
comes to halal food, most people think of meat products only. However, Muslims must
ensure that all foods, particularly processed foods, pharmaceuticals and non-food items
such as cosmetics are also halal. Halal certification tells Muslims that the ingredients and
production methods of a product have been tested and declared permissible by a
certification body. In Islam, consumption of any intoxicants (specifically, alcoholic
beverages) is generally forbidden in the Qur'an through several separate verses revealed at
different times over a period of years. It was forbidden for Muslims to attend prayers while
intoxicated. In Surah Al-Baqarah, it was explained that even though intoxicants (alcohol) has
its own benefit to the man kind, but the implications of consuming it bigger than its benefit.
This was the next step in turning people away from consumption of it. Finally, "intoxicants
and games of chance" were called "abominations of Satan's handiwork," intended to turn
people away from God and forget about prayer, and Muslims were ordered to avoid. O you
who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, al-ansāb , and al-azlām
(arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shayṭan's (Satan's) handiwork.
So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.” (Al-Ma’ida:
90).
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 6
Marriage in line with the injunction of Shari’ah is a legal bond and social contract
between a man and a woman. The Arabic word Al-Zawajis used to refer to a legally
recognized marriage between two opposite partners (Nehemiah, 2013). The Holy Quran
says, “And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male
slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of
His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing” (An-Nur, 24:32). Based on the verse, the
imperative form of the word ‘nikah’ implies that either it is obligatory or highly
recommended. According to scholars, though marriage is a highly recommended act, it
becomes obligatory when there is a chance of falling into sin (Rizvi, n.d). Although, marriage
is a social necessity, it is only absolutely compulsory for an individual, depending on his
circumstance. It could be compulsory if a man has strong intimate desire and has the means
to maintain a wife, and a situation where he is unmarried. On the other hand, it could be
forbidden for a man who will not be able to consummate the marriage, and thereby
amounting to Zina. If one could not suite or has problems with his or her couple which could
not be solve by tolerating or other ways, the last way one should consider is divorce. There
are separate rules for divorce for men and women under the terms of Islamic law (sharia).
Although divorce being allowed in Islam is a sign of the lenience and practical nature of the
Islamic legal system, keeping the unity of the family is considered a priority for the sake of
the children. For this reason, divorce is always a last choice, after exhausting all possible
means of reconciliation (Huda, 2013). For example, Allah addresses men asking them to try
hard to keep the marriage, even if they dislike their wives, “live with them on a footing of
kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and God
brings about through it a great deal of good” (An-Nisa’: 19). Also the following verse is
addressed to women asking them the same thing, “If a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her
husband's part, there is no blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement between
themselves” (An-Nisa’: 128). Allah encourages the husband and wife to appoint arbitrators
as the first step to aid in reconciliation in the process of divorce. If the reconciliation step
fails, both the man and woman are guaranteed the right to divorce as established in the
Quran, but the difference lies in the procedure for each one. When a divorce is initiated by
the man, it is known as Talaaq and the divorce initiated by the wife is known as Khul'.
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 7
3.0 METHODOLOGY
Implementation of Sharia Law in Malaysia and the perception of Muslims students in
Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). A research has been conducted in order to identify the
perception and the level of understandings of Muslims in UTP about the Islamic Law which is
Sharia Law. The research also revealed the respondents’ opinions for the implementation of
Sharia Law in Malaysia. The Muslims students and staffs of UTP were the respondents for
the study and the survey was done around UTP.
The method used in the study involves primary data in which it was obtained
through questionnaires. The questionnaires were prepared based on information obtained
from the literature review. To effectively obtain the faster response from the university
students, the usage of technology is fully utilized as the survey is conducted online. The
survey questionnaires are answered by the targeted parties. The questionnaires were
leading the respondents to express the intensity of their understanding and opinions about
the case study.
The online survey was divided into three parts which are section A, section B and
section C. Section A contains basic questions about respondent background for instance,
name, course and year of study. Then, moving to the next section which is section B, we
have statement for respondents to choose from strongly agree to strongly disagree like “I
understand what is Sharia Law”, in order to make sure the level of understanding of
Muslims in UTP about the Sharia Law. Going to the last section, we started to identify the
respondents’ opinions about the implementation of Sharia Law in Malaysia based on various
statements given.
The survey was conducted for approximately a week with expected UTP’s residents
of 100 respondents. However, out of 100 respondents, only around 50% respond to the
survey which is approximately 52 people. Perhaps wider exposures manually and longer
time is needed to obtain more respondents.
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 8
4.0 RESULT
A survey was conducted among Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) students to
investigate the objectives of this study. The survey was done through a set of questionnaire
which consists of 3 sections with the total number of 20 questions. This questionnaire was
then published as an online survey form and was distributed to the students through
student’s group in Facebook as it is easier to reach people online and it ease the process.
This survey was conducted for 1 day (20-21/10/13) and was able to get 52 respondents
which consist of 36 males and 16 females from every programme and year of study.
As stated above, the survey form had three sections which are Personal Information,
Understanding of Syaria Law, and Opinion on Syaria Law Implementation. The main
objectives of the survey is to get students opinion but before their opinions is considered,
their understanding have to be known first in order to validate their opinion thus the second
section was designed to measure their level of understanding about the study. The third
section was created for the main objective that is to seek UTP students’ perception on
implementation on syaria law in Malaysia.
From the graph, the study found out that the
number of respondents who are agree with the
statement decreases as the statement becomes
more specific or narrowed. This shows that the
respondents understand what is Syaria Law in
general but they do not really understand when
it becomes deeper and deeper and what comes
to attraction is the number of respondents who
understands Hudud is more than the number of
respondents who understands Syaria Law itself.
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 9
From the result of the second section of the survey, we found out that 79% of the
respondents which is the majority, agree that they understand what is Syaria Law (31%
strongly agree, 48% agree). While for the question “I understand what ‘Hudud’ really is”, “I
understand what ‘Qisas’ really is”, and “I understand what ‘Takzir’ really is” the percentage
of people who are agree (including strongly agree) is 83%, 63%, and 40% respectively. The
study also asked the respondents whether they can differentiate between Hudud, Qisas,
and takzir and less than half of the respondents (46%) were able to differentiate them.
Apart from that, the study also gave statements like “there are more than 8 sections under
Syaria Law” – which majority or the respondents were neutral showing the respondents are
not sure or they do not know, “Syaria Law is only focus on crimes and punishments” – which
71% disagree (including strongly disagree), and “Syaria is the order from Allah s.w.t.,
therefore we should obey” –which 89% of the respondents agree with the statement.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
I understand what is syaria law
I understand what 'hudud' really is
I understand what 'Qisas' really is
I understand what 'Takzir' really is
I can differentiate between Hudud, Qisas, and Takzir
there are more that 8 section under shariah law
syaria law is only focus on crimes and punishment
syaria is the order from Allah s.w.t, we should obey
Understanding of Syaria Law
strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree
010203040506070
there are more that 8section under shariah law
syaria law is only focus oncrimes and punishment
syaria is the order fromAllah s.w.t, we should
obey
Overview of Syaria Law
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 10
In the third section of the survey, opinion on Syaria Law Implementation was asked. Many
of the respondents agreed that “Syaria Law suit to be implemented in Malaysia” (80%) and
“country that implementing Syariah Law lives peacefully” (70%) but 45% of the respondents
says that Malaysia’s constitutional is no higher than Syaria Law. When it comes to non-
muslims issue, the respondents were divided into 3, 29% agree, 31% was neutral, and 40%
disagree that “non-muslim should be considered under Syaria Law execution”.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Syaria Law suit to be implemented inmalaysia
country that implementing Syaria Lawlives peacefully
Malaysia's constitutional is higher thanSyaria Law
non-muslim should be considered underSyaria Law execution
people nowadays prefer civil law ratherthan Syaria Law
Syaria is unfair for some criminal cases
hudud is said to be violent and againstthe human right
Syaria Law, Faraid is biased towards male
Opinion on Syaria Law implementation
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 11
Majority of the respondents which is 62% agreed that “people nowadays prefer civil law
rather than Syaria Law” meanwhile most of the respondents disagree that “Syaria is unfair
to some criminal cases” (78%) and also disagree that “hudud is said to be violent and against
human right” (76%). The chart above shows that people say that Syaria Law is fair for all
criminal cases and hudud is not violent and against human rights and yet people still prefer
civil law better than Syariah Law.
As for the statement “Syaria law, Faraid is biased towards male”, both of the gender, male
as well as female, are contradicting each other. As predicted most of the male respondents
disagree with the statement (55%) and female respondents agree with the statement (50%).
33
6 5
15
6 8 4
40 39
05
1015202530354045
people nowadaysprefer civil law rather
than Syaria Law
Syaria is unfair forsome criminal cases
hudud is said to beviolent and against the
human right
Syaria Law and Humans' Rights
agree (+ strongly agree)
neutral
disagree (+strongly disagree)
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 12
5.0 DISCUSSION
This survey is conducted to investigate investigate the understanding of Universiti
Teknologi PETRONAS students regarding Syariah Law and their perception on the
implemention of Syariah Law in Malaysia. Nowadays, social medium like newspapers,
magazine, radio, television, Facebook and Instagram are very active discussing the
implementation of Syaria law. It is one of the big issues being discussed and being debated
by varies political parties. Somehow, the only issue that always being raised was ‘Hudud’
issue. Hence, it narrowing the understanding of UTP students towards Syariah Law itself,
which consists of varies section such as economic, military, dietary, politics, marital
jurisprudence, dress code and hygiene. This issues agrees with Nehemiah, (2013) in her
study which stated that Sharia Law covers all the aspect of life and it has more than 8 sub-
division, however, secular education nowadays taught most of the students in the world to
think rigid of Sharia Law. Different parties have their own evidence to defend themselves. As
an example, stated by our current Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin during
his talk in TV3 regarding ‘Hudud’ issue, he declare that it is compulsory and stated by Allah
S.W.T. to apply Syariah Law among all the Muslims in our daily life. Somehow he state that,
the time have not reach yet to implement ‘Hudud’ in Malaysia as we are living in multiracial
culture and religion. It takes time towards all Muslims in Malaysia to fully digest Syariah
Law.
Based on the research conducted, majority of the respondents are Muslims and most
of them have basic knowledge and understanding of Islamic Law which is Sharia Law such as
‘Hudud’. Somehow, when we narrowing the scopes by asking them on crimes punishment
such as ‘Qisas’ and ‘Takzir’, the level of understanding on the concepts are decreasing.
Different levels of understanding between these three concepts most probably because of
lack of exposure on ‘Qisas’ and ‘Takzir’ during school, family and media. This situation
supported by Aisha (2009), in her study she conclude that in this recent time, when people
talk about implementing Sharia law, others people starts to think of the negative side of
implementing it because they do not have clear understanding about the beauty of Sharia.
In such to enhance better understanding and lead Malaysia towards justness, almost every
week Harakah newspaper came out with ‘Hudud’ statement such as they strictly strive to
implement Syariah Law as guidance to all Muslims lives peacefully. Commands from Allah
S.W.T in Surah Al-Baqarah: 178, “O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal
retribution for those murdered – the free for the free, the slave for the slave and the female
for the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should be a
suitable follow up and payment to him with good conduct. This is an alleviation from your
Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment."
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 13
Besides that, when the statement being manipulated into deeper and deeper asking
the concept and understanding of Sharia Law, most of the respondents from UTP tend to
choose the neutral one. Based on the highest number of neutral answer, we can conclude
that, most of the Muslims here did not have enough knowledge about the holistic concepts
of Sharia Law. This is also might due to early education system which did not put a stress
and deeply on the Islamic Studies subjects for example during the primary school, it is not
compulsory to pass Islamic Studies subject included in the high level of examination such as
Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination. From the last statement given,
‘Sharia is the order from Allah S.W.T that we should obey,’ majority of the respondents
agree with that which indicates that Muslims here did not denied and agreed that Sharia
Law is from the order from Allah S.W.T that also be mentioned in the glorious Quran that
we compulsory to follow it. However, when we test them, which Law should be
implemented in Malaysia, majority still choose civil law instead of Syaria Law. This shows
that, as Islam country we are lacking of deliver the knowledge of the real Islam towards
Malaysian citizens and parents should enhance Islam’s knowledge with their children and
encourage them to deepen their Islamic Studies as what has been stated by Rizvi (n.d.) in his
research that weak emphasis of Sharia Law nowadays causing the people to have limited
knowledge regarding Sharia Law.
On the other hand, according to the survey that was branched to three sections. The
first section, test the understanding of the sharia law among UTP students, displays that 79
% of the respondents believes that they understand the sharia law. This result contrasts
with the statement of Joel (2010) which stated that most of the people have clear
understanding towards Sharia Law. However, after continuously ask question specifically
focus on hudud , takzir and qisas, many of them decided to be neutral. Hence, we can make
a hypothesis that, peoples may know the sharia law but not everybody deeply understand
what it is all about. Even though, minority of them understand Law of Syaria, but majority of
them around 80 % of the respondent agreed to implement the sharia law in Malaysia. They
might be influenced by nowadays crime because recently Malaysia had a lot of murdered
cases which occur more than two times per month. These factors widely open our minds to
implement the sharia law which the punishment of it is more justice and increase the
awareness of punishment by committing crimes than current law. This is highly prove by
Arab Saudi which implementing Syaria Law compared to United States having Civil Law with
total rape cases are 59 : 95,136 on 2002. Apart from that, Malaysia’s neighbor which is
Brunei Darussalam was already announced that they will implement the sharia law to
overcome the crime cases in their country. Thus, Malaysia should learn and collaborate with
Brunei to enforce Syaria Law implementation on our respective country. Somehow, the
survey shows that UTP students prefer civil law rather than sharia law.
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 14
Generally, from the survey we found that Malaysian afraid of having Syaria Law
because of having multiracial population. Only minority knows that it will be implemented
towards Muslims only, but majority assume that non-Muslims should be considered under
Syaria as well. The main factors contributing to this result was probably due to the lack
exposure regarding Sharia Law especially to the students in universities. In addition, it will
apply towards those who are really committing it because to sentence people based on
sharia law need a lot of evidence, proof, procedures and steps (Joel, 2010). Hence, to
neutralise this perception, government or Islam scholars need to explain to the citizens on
how the Sharia Law will sentenced an individual for some particular cases. Because in the
survey stated that majority (78%) disagree that some of criminal cases is unfair according to
Sharia Law.
Last but not least, Faraid is a division of the estate after the death of a Muslim who has
been prescribed under Islamic law on the legal heirs and entitled (as daughter, wife,
husband, mother, father, etc.). Due to question asked to examine UTP students
understanding of Faraid in Islam, ‘Syaria Law, Faraid is biased towards male’ about 55 % of
male respondent disagree and 50 % of female respondent agree with the statement. Yes,
roughly judgement without knowledge looks unfair, but deeply research will tell us the
truth. We can conclude that both of them are oppose to each other, defending their rights
against the Syaria Law. Most of them might use their emotional to judge something, without
deeply research on the fact and reasons of Islam doing it. The male Muslim will get bigger
part of the property compare to the female because they have to support the female by
giving them monthly money or ‘nafkah’ and they have to support the family (Huda, 2013).
However, the part which is received by the female is only for the use of themselves and they
have no other people to be supported. Malaysia government and especially JAKIM should
introduce the procedures and rules and regulations of Sharia Law to the society to enhance
them clear understanding of Syaria Law.
However, there are some limitations during the study conducted. The main
limitation of this study is the data collection and references, because there are only limited
online journals, articles and previous studies conducted by other researchers regarding this
particular topic in universities to make it as reference to this study. In addition to that, time
constraint is also another limiting factor which does not allow for field research to be carried
out extensively. Therefore, only limited studies from one side, which is the student have
been conducted. Wider perspective and more detailed data can be gained if the study was
conducted from the both side, the students and the managements of the university.
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 15
6.0 CONCLUSION
From the study conducted, more than half of the students surveyed agreed that
Sharia Law suit to be implemented in Malaysia and country that implementing Sharia Law
lives peacefully. However, it has been found that most of respondents understand Sharia
Law in general but they do not really understand when it becomes deeper. This study’s
objective is to investigate the students’ perception regarding the implementation of Sharia
Law and to give them better view regarding this matter. The results proved that most of the
students have less understanding regarding the sub-division under the Sharia Law and some
of them still have the rigid thinking regarding the Sharia Law. This result agrees with the
statement of Aisha (2009) in her study which stated when people starts to talk of Sharia
Law, they will first think about the cutting of people’s hand and other rule from their
negative point of view. It was probably due to the lack of information and exposure
regarding the full system of Sharia Law and the importance of implementing it. Having a
parking garage would be great for the students who have their own vehicles in the campus
as most of them would not have to take the risk of being summoned or clamped for not
parking in space provided. Therefore, future studies need to be conducted to investigate of
how the students really understand regarding the details of Sharia Law and the best way of
giving them clear understanding and better view of the implementation of Sharia Law
especially in Malaysia.
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 16
APPENDIX
Implementation of Syaria Law in Malaysia: UTP
Muslim's Understanding and Perception
* Required
Personal Information
Gender *
Male
Female
year of study *
foundation
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
final year
Programme *
PE
PG
ME
CV
CE
ICT
BIS
EE
Nationalities *
Local
Foreigner
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 17
Understanding of Syaria Law
1. I understand what is Syariah Law. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
2. I understand what 'Hudud' really is. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
3. I understand what 'Qisas' really is. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
4. I understand what 'Takzir' really is. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
5. I can differentiate between Hudud, Qisas, and Takzir. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 18
6. There are more than 8 section under shariah law. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
7. Shariah law is only focus on crimes and punishment. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
8. Shariah is the order from Allah s.w.t , we should obey *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 19
Opinion on Syaria Law Implementation
1. Shariah law suite to be implemented in Malaysia. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
2. Country that implementing shariah law, live peacefully. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
3. Malaysia's Constitutional is higher than Shariah Law. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
4. Non-Muslim should be considered under shariah law execution. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
5. People nowadays prefer civil law rather than sharia law. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 20
6. shariah is unfair for some criminal cases *
eg. rape, murder, stealing, polygamy
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
7. Hudud is said to be violent and against the human right. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
8. Shariah law, Faraid (Property Distribution) is biased toward the male. *
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 21
REFERENCE
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http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~muslims/fasting.htm
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http://www.huda.tv/articles/women-in-islam/351-laws-of-divorce-in-islam
Gazette, A. (1993). The Physical Benefits of Solat. Al-Islam, retrieved October 20, 2013
http://www.alislam.org/library/articles/salat.htm
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http://www.islamawareness.net
IslamiCity.Com (2001), retrieved October 21, 2013 from
http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=IC0311-2136.
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animals.shtml
ISLAMIC STUDIES [MPW2143] RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 22
Joel, H. (2010), The Qur’an and War: Observations on Islamic Just War, retrieved
October 20, 2013 from http://www.quranandwar.com/
Nehemiah. (2013). Islamic Marital Jurisprudence. Nairaland Forum.
http://www.nairaland.com/1455051/islamic-marital-jurisprudence
Rizvi, S.H.(n.d). Islamic Marriage. Work Islamic Network.
http://www.al-islam.org/islamic-marriage-syed-athar-husain-sh-rizvi/introduction
Shariati, A. (n.d). Hajj (Pilgrimage) Spiritualty. Costa Mesa: Jubilee Press.
http://www.al-islam.org/hajj-pilgrimage-dr-ali-shariati
WhyIslam.Org (2011), retrieved October 13, 2013, from
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Zakat, (1998). Retrieved October 23, 2013, from
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