“According to the views of Islamic scholars, the Constitution of Pakistan,

1973 is in line with Islamic teachings. Discuss”

PROLOGUE
The constitution of Pakistan 1973 was enforced on 14th Aug 1973. It consists of 280 articles
and 7 schedules with Objective Resolution forming the preamble of the constitution besides
20 amendments which have been made since then. It is regarded as the landmark
accomplishment of Bhutto’s era as it was a unanimous act of the parliament with the
complete consensus of all the political parties. However, many twists and turns have been
witnessed ever since its enforcement but still, it is the supreme law of the land and the
instrument which reigns supreme in the governance of the state.

Need Of A Seperate State

There are different theories as to why the Muslims of India demanded a separate homeland
for themselves in the first half of this century. Some believe that it was for economic reasons
and others maintain that it was purely on religious compulsions. However, the fact remains
and there is no denying it that it was in the name of Islam that Pakistan emerged on the map
of the world and the ground norm of the new state and its society, which came to be known as
the ideology of Pakistan, was nothing but Muslim faith.

OBJECTIVE RESOLUTION
The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan passed the Objectives Resolution in 1949. This
Resolution was designed, in part, to serve as a framework for the drafting of Pakistan’s first
constitution, an exercise that proved difficult.
It took nine years from Partition for the Second Constituent Assembly finally to agree upon a
draft of a constitution.
The Objectives Resolution, which, about two decades later, was declared by the Supreme
Court in the ​Asma Jilani Case as ​“our own ​grund norm​”, appeared to strike a middle ground
between the assertive demands for a theocratic state and the recognition by the political
leadership that the Constitution of Pakistan must be reflective of the principles of Islam as its
guiding lights. This was also the first formal declaration that the Constitution and ideology of
Pakistan was not to be secular but Islamic.
Within and outside the Constituent Assembly, a heated debate nevertheless continued on
whether the Constitution would be secular or Islamic and on at least one other subject, that of
provincial autonomy ​In its decision, the court ruled that the Objectives Resolution as
preamble does not hold over the ​“normal written constitution.” From the decision of Chief
Justice Hamoodur Rehman:

The Objectives Resolution of 1949, even though it is a document which has been generally
accepted and has never been repealed nor renounced, will not have the same status or
authority as the constitution itself until it is incorporated and made a part of it. However, in
1985 the “restored constitution” of President Zia incorporated the text of the Objectives
Resolution as Article 2-A:
“The principles and provisions set out in the Objectives Resolution reproduced in the Annex
are hereby made substantive part of the Constitution and shall have effect accordingly.”

Scope Of Resolution
The Resolution’s main objective states that the Pakistani Constitution was not to be modeled
after any European statue or constitution. Instead, it would be based on Islamic democracy
and ideology. In fact ​“Bismillah” and the opening sentence of ​“sovereignty belongs to
Almighty Allah”​, have been incorporated in every subsequent Pakistani constitution,
creating a dichotomy within the system by introducing on one side a federal parliamentary
system that decides the law, and on the other hand prescribing what the laws would be and
what would remain ​“within the limits prescribed to Him”​.

ISLAMISATION OF EXISTING LAWS:

The present constitution declares that all existing laws shall be brought in conformity with the
injunctions of Islam as laid down in the holy Quran and Sunnah.

SPECIAL INSTITUTION OF ISLAMISATION:

Two special institutions for Islamisation under the constitution have been established:-
(i) Federal Shariat court.
(ii) Islamic Ideology Council. Case law ​(P.L.D 1989 SC 613) It was held, the legislature has
no authority to enact a law in any field including those relating to taxes which is repugnant to
the injunction of Islam and no other functionary including tax authorities has the power to lay
down any un Islamic rule.

ISLAMIC PROVISION OF CONSTITUTION 1973:

Following are the some of the Islamic provisions made in the constitution meant to enable the
Muslim to order their lives according to the teaching of Islam as set out on the Holy Quran
and Sunnah.

1 SOVEREIGNTY OF ALLAH:
The main salient feature of the constitution of Pakistan is that it presents an important
principle that sovereignty belongs to Allah alone. Who has already legislated through the
Holy Quran as interpreted in the Sunnah. He has delegated it to the state of Pakistan through
its people. But it should be exercised within those limits. Which have been prescribed by him,
and it should e exercised as a sacred trust.
The modern Western democratic model is built upon the concept of ‘sovereignty of the
people’.By contrast, the Islamic system is predicated on the core concept of ​Tawhīd
(Oneness), defined as witnessing and bearing testament that ‘there is no God but ​Allāh​’.
Consequently, ​Allāh holds a unique position in Islamic politics, His will provides the
commands and guidelines that shape the lives of all members of the ​Ummāh​, and, in essence,
sovereignty can be vested in Him alone:

​“Say O Allāh, Lord of all dominion! Thou grantest dominion unto whom Thou willest,
and takes away dominion from whom thou willest . . . . Verily, Thou hast the power to will
anything.”

2 NAME OF SATE:
Constitution of 1973 has declared Pakistan as Islamic federal state to be known as the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan. This provision clearly enunciates that the nature of the 1973
constitution is Islamic.

3 STATE RELIGION:
According to the constitution of Pakistan, Islam shall be the state religion of Pakistan.
The earliest structures of Islamic government correctly drew on the principles laid down in
the Qur’ān and the ​Sunnah,​ and notwithstanding the rules of government that developed in
the centuries after the era of the Holy Prophet and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, it is the
community, not the individual, that is fundamentally the rightful final arbiter in matters of
governance. The central role of the community has been set forth and recognized in the most
preliminary and basic Islamic teachings:
“And (as for) the believers, both men, and women – they are close unto one another: they
(all) enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and are
constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto Allāh and the
Prophet.”

4 OBSERVANCE OF ISLAMIC PRINCIPLE:

It is stated in the preamble of the constitution that principles of democracy, opportunity,

equity, tolerance, and social justice, as articulated by Islam, might be completely watched.

5 PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER TO BE MUSLIM:

It was made compulsory for the president and prime minister to be a Muslim by faith and
belief and to profess faith in the finality of prophethood.
This nexus, within the Islamic framework of governance, between vicegerency and
consultation is equally acknowledged by Western scholars:
​“Popular vicegerency in an Islamic State is reflected especially in the doctrine of mutual
consultation (shūrā). Because all adult Muslims, male and female, are vicegerents (agents
of God), it is they who delegate their authority to the ruler and whose opinion must be
sought in the conduct of the state.”
Under the Western democratic conception, this notion closely resembles the idea of
representative government in which the electorate places its trust in elected representatives.
Not only that, the electorate, by vesting its trust in the ruler, plays the role of an active
participant in the day to day affairs of the state through the formation of the ​Majlis
ash-Shūrā​. The existence of such an assembly is, in essence, participatory democracy.

6 DEFINITON OF MUSLIM:
Clear definition of Muslim is laid down in the constitution. According to this constitution, it
is necessary, besides having belief on oneness of Allah, prophethood, Day of Judgment and
books of God, to prefer the finality of prophethood. This clause was not included in the
earlier two constitutions.

7 ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE:

It is also declared in the constitution that State shall enable the Muslim of Pakistan,
independently and on the whole, to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental
principles and basic, a concept of Islam.

8 PROVISIONS OF ISLAMIC TEACHING:

The government will take all possible steps to promote the education of Islamiayt and the
Holy Quran.

9 CORRECT AND EXACT PRINTING AND PUBLISHING OF HOLY QURAN:

The state shall be responsible to secure correct and exact printing and publishing of the Holy
Quran.

10 LEARNING OF ARABIC LANGUAGE:

It is also declared in the constitution that special facilities shall be provided for the learning of
Arabic languages.

11 PROTECTION OF ISLAMIC VALUES​;

It is also stated in the constitution that Islamic values shall be protected in the country.

12 PROTECTION OF MINORITIES:
The State might protect the real rights and interest of minorities.

13 STRENGTHENING BONDS WITH MUSLIM WORLD:

The State should attempt to protect and fortify fraternal relations among Muslim countries
based on Islamic unity.
14 PROPER ORGANIZATION OF ZAKAT, AUQAF AND MASJID:
The state shall Endeavour, as respects the Muslim of Pakistan secure the proper organization
of zakat, Auqaf and, Masjid.

15 EXISTING LAW SHALL BE BROUGHT INTO CONFORMITY WITH ISLAM:

Important Islamic provisions declared that no law shall be enacted which is repugnant to the
injunctions of Islam as laid down in the holy Quran and the Sunnah and that existing laws
shall be brought into conformity within injunction of Islam as laid down in the holy Quran
and Sunnah.

16 ISLAMIC IDEOLOGY COUNCIL:

Islamic ideology council will be set up to make recommendation to parliament and the
provincial assemblies for bringing the existing laws into conformity with the injunctions of
Islam and as to the stages by which such measures should be brought into effect.

17 INTEREST-FREE BANKING:
It was emphasized in the constitution that all steps will be taken to introduce interest-free
banking system in the country in the light of Islam.

18 WELFARE STATE:
In the constitution of 1973, the concept of a welfare state has been adopted

CONSTIUTIONAL ARTICLES RELATED TO ISLAMIC PROVISIONS

The 1973 Constitution for the first time declares Islam as the state religion of Pakistan
(Article 2).
The Head of State, the President, has to be a Muslim ​(Article 41).
The 1973 Constitutions also provides that no law is to be enacted which is repugnant to the
injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Qurān and the ​Sunnah and that existing laws must be
brought into conformity with such injunctions ​(Article 227).
The President is required to appoint within ninety days after the commencement of the
Constitution a Council of Islamic Ideology to make recommendations to the Parliament and
Provincial Assemblies for bringing the existing laws into conformity with the injunctions of
Islam and as to the stages by which such measures should be brought into effect ​(Articles
228 and 230).

Amendment
From among the several amendments made to the 1973 Constitution during the Bhutto era,
one that stands out for having been made in order to appease the ​ulama and the religious
lobby was the addition of ​sub-clause (3) to the definitions contained in ​Article 260 in order
to secure the removal of Ahmedis from the community of Muslims.

THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS SCHOLORS

The Islamic aspects of the Constitution of 1973 have been discussed by Dr. Afzal Iqbal.
He discussed important features of Islamic Constitution of 1973. He denoted Bhutto’s
measures of Islamization with his policy of placating and outwitting the religious and
conservative opposition.

Mahmood Azam Farooqui suggested that the question ‘what was Islamic or not’ should
be left to Supreme Court and an Ulama Board be appointed to help judges for the judges
trained in Islamic teachings were available. ​Ahmad Raza Qasuri said that the meaning
of Pakistan “la ilaha illalaho Muhammad ur Rasool Allah” could not be accomplished
unless constitution was made on the basis of Quran and Sunnah and unless Quran and
Sunnah were practiced

Maulana Abdul Hakeem explained the contradictions between Islamic socialism and
Musawat Muhammadi by quoting an example from Quran where Allah advised to the
companions of the prophet to use word “unzurna” instead of “raaina” and advised the
government to use Musawat-e-Muhammadi instead of Islamic socialism because
non-believers mostly used the word socialism for their system. Both Maulana Zafar
Ahmad Ansari and Maulana Abdul Hakeem held the view that nowhere was
mentioned in the constitution that “obedience to law is the basic obligation of every
citizen.” They held a view that either this clause be deleted or it should be added that ‘if
it is not against the Quran and Sunnah’
Article 17 that was related to freedom of trade, business or profession. Mufti Mahmud that
professions should be subjected to the injunction of Islam along with the law. Maulana Abdul
that the words “if such profession or occupation, or lawful business is not express provisions
of the Holy Quran or Sunnah” be added after the 1st paragraph of the article which allowed
any type of lawful profession. They both only that profession which was not prohibited by
Islam should be allowed. Syed Abbas Hussain Gardezi said that if these amendments were
accepted then they would have to take fatwa from Ulama before starting any type of
business, and there were many schools of thought which would have a different opinion
about any business

Ghulam Ghous Hazarvi presented an amendment in article 18 the freedom of speech and
expression in respect of Islam along with other subjects. His amendment was happily
accepted by law minister by mere replacing the suitable wording.
In article 19 (a), Maulana Abdul Hakeem demanded that the freedom of professing, practice
and propagate of any religion be restricted in the subject to that there would be no hindrance
in the preaching of Islam and no one be allowed to become apostate.

Ghulam Nabi Chaudhry demanded to change word ‘secure’ with the word ‘set up’ in the
(c) of clause 2 of 31. He argued that the word ‘secure’ was not sufficient for collecting Zakat
properly because Zakat was one of the important pillars of Islam and only the proper system
of Zakat could relieve from other modern systems in which people pay tax honestly.

Article 48 gave the powers of pardon to the president which was not acceptable for Ulama.
Chaudhry Zahur Ilahi demanded that the president ’s powers to pardon should be subjected to
the Quran and Sunnah and law. Maulana Abdul Haq wanted to make it conditional by
inserting the following words, “ the cases relating to penalties fixed by Islam (Hadud) and
the law of equality (Qisas),” at the end of the article. Mian Mahmud Ali Qasuri demanded
that president must consult that matter with ‘supreme judicial council’

EVALUATION
It can be said, in conclusion, that Pakistan’s sustained political and economic emancipation
would only be possible if its Constitutional development is driven by the principles of
democracy, the guarantee of fundamental rights, ​Sharī‘a laws formulated through ​Ijtihād
aimed at ensuring that they are cohesive rather than divisive, equality of all citizens
regardless of their race, religion or creed.
Nevertheless, all religious scholars endorsed that the Constitution of Pakistan is absolutely in
accordance with the Islamic Shariah and there is no law repugnant to the principles of Islam.
Federal Government also obtained a Fatwa from country’s most prominent clerics to declare
that the Constitution of 1973 is based on Shariah. Pakistan’s Constitution is mindful of the
fact that it seeks to rule a diverse populace divided along religious, cultural, ethnic and
sectarian lines. It lays down a general rule that no law shall be made against the dictates of
the Ouran and Sunnah. The entire legal system of Pakistan is, therefore, within the confines
of Shariah. Our Constitution forbids any law which contradicts the teachings of Islam and
sovereignty of Allah. Hence, there should be no controversy or division of opinions regarding
the Constitution of 1973.

REFERENCES
Islamization Of The Constitution By Mahboob Hussain
Constitutional and Political History Of Pakistan By Hamid Khan
http://www.criterion-quarterly.com/islamic-polity-and-the-constitutional-process-in-pakistan/
http://www.al-mawrid.org/index.php/articles/view/islamic-provisions-in-the-constitutio
https://historypak.com/the-constitution-of-1973/