Where there is a conflict between dictates of the Sharia and the law of the land, what is the responsibility of a Muslim?
Sharia dictates are commonly categorised into devotional responsibilities (ʿibādāt) and social responsibilities (muʿāmalāt). Sharia social responsibilities were constructed to regulate social practices and transactions in order to minimise injustice and potential abuse. A social responsibility that is promulgated by the Sharia is the necessity to honour oaths and promises. Citizens of any nation state take an oath to honour the law of the land they reside in, and therefore, if there is conflict between the Sharia and civil law pertaining to social responsibilities, then the law of the land takes precedence. This is on the proviso that the law of the land is not in conflict with general precepts of justice and equal rights. For example, whilst the Sharia does not have a notion of ‘minimum wage’, the law of many countries stipulates the notion of minimum and this ought to take precedence.