SCRIPTURAL RULINGS ON BLASPHEMY: THE SHARI’AH PERSPECTIVES

GANIYU, Gafari Ibitoye
Department of Religious Studies,
University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt,
River State, Nigeria.
Corresponding Email: ganiyugafari2012@gmail.com

Abstract
Shari’ah refers to a set of Islamic religious law that governs aspects of day-to-day life of a muslim in addition to religious rituals. Therefore, Shari’ah is the recourse of Muslims in every case. Blasphemy is one of the categories that usually bring about religious misunderstanding which in turn affect peaceful cohesion. This paper at hand reviews religious take on blasphemy
as well as factors that determine individual’s reaction whenever it occurs. It gives instance of the one that occur without any fatality and the nature of the people involved compared to the one that ends with causality. The writer was of the opinion that islamicaly, the case of
blasphemy has always been left for Allah to decide since the lifetime of the holy Prophet Muhammad. Some cases of how the Prophet himself pardoned those that insulted and even attempted his murder were cited. Recommendations were proffered on how to handle different
cases of blasphemy. The paper concluded with its position on some recent cases of blasphemy in Nigeria and the anti-ethical Islamic approaches which is a disrespect to constituted authority. Recommendations are proffered in line with Shar’ah perspectives, which includes improved regulation of religious activities and religious preachings, need for peaceful
coexistence among citizens of any nation amongst others.
Keywords: Blasphemy, scriptural rulings, shariah perspectives