Feasibility Study of Converting Sharia into Law

Since the introduction of the concept of law into Iran, i.e. the constitutional age, the issue of converting Sharia into law has been the focus of Muslim thinkers. In this regard, disagreements have arisen - especially among Shiite jurists - about whether or not to authorize human-made legislation. Subsequently, some faqihs[1] have forbidden the conversion of sharia into law, and others have found it necessary to implement sharia provisions in the context of present-day laws with the aim of operationalizing and enforcing those helpful Islamic rulings that have been neglected or not used. The present article uses a descriptive-analytical method to answer the main question of whether it is possible to convert the sharia orders into statutory law [esp. for the present issues that are new due to the dynamic nature of the world and societies]. Then, the arguments on legislation are presented by proponents and opponents from the people's representatives (members of parliament) and the arguments on converting sharia into law is discussed. The study leads to concluding that in sharia-based political systems, the principle of human-made legislation is permissible by the parliament, but the desirable situation is when the current parliament be active only in planning and identifying issues, since the responsibility of discovering, recognizing, modifying, and formulating religious rulings in the age of the Major Occultation is on the shoulder of faqihs. Moreover, the study discusses that legislating sharia is outside the scope of the parliament. Until the desired outcome is reached, however, the current system of the Islamic Republic of Iran can be considered a transitional period with minimal legitimacy provided by the legislature wherein the parliament plays an active role in legislating sharia and that the Guardian Council of the Constitution prevents the law from violating sharia