Sharia Law
Muslims around the world believe that Sharia is God's law, and in some countries Sharia is the official law of the land.
Sharia is the sacred law of Islam. In the Western world, where Islam is just beginning to be discussed and understood by the general public, the topic of Sharia law has been accompanied by controversy and confusion. Muslims believe that Sharia is founded on two sources of Islamic law - the divine revelations of Allah revealed in the Qur'an, and the teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. All Muslims believe that Sharia is God's law, but they do not agree on what exactly Sharia law entails. Traditionalists, fundamentalists, and modernists all have different views and understandings of Sharia, and scholars who hold to different schools of Islamic thought also have different interpretations. In addition, individual countries and cultures interpret Sharia law differently.
Much of the controversy and confusion lies in the fact that Sharia deals with topics that are already addressed by secular laws - issues such as crime, economics, and politics, in addition to personal issues such as hygiene, diet, sexuality, fasting, and prayer. In countries where Sharia is the official law, it is applied by gadis, or Islamic judges. The imam is the person who leads communal prayers, and he has different responsibilities depending on how the Sharia law is interpreted. He may be a religious leader, scholar, or political leader.
Some people believe that the introduction of Sharia law is a goal for Islamist movements throughout Muslim countries and eventually the entire world. Some of the Muslim minorities in Asia have already recognized Sharia for adjudicating community and personal affairs. In western civilizations, Muslim minorities have used Sharia family law in their own conflicts, but attempts to impose Sharia on a large-scale have been met with violence and sometimes warfare. Some have described Sharia as a complicated and diverse intellectual tradition, rather than being a well-defined set of particular rules and regulations that one can apply easily to life situations. Others believe that although Sharia is based on extensive literature, its foundations are not authorized by a single body, and therefore it is based on shared opinions of the Islamic community.
Most Muslims regard themselves as being part of either the Shia or Sunni sect of Islam. There are different schools of thought and study within these two sects. They have common characteristics, but they differ in the details. Traditional Sunni Muslims believe in the basic code of the Qu'ran, but they also add the consensus of the companions of Muhammad and Islamic jurists when considering certain issues. When there is no concrete rule established in the sources, scholars use different forms of reasoning to derive specific laws from the essence of the Qu'ran's divine principles, combined with precedents set by previous rulings. Other sources such as community, public interest, and others are also used in addition to Sharia, whenever allowed.
Shi'a Muslims also believe in the "basic code," but the reject consensus and specific innovations and analogies to the code, saying they do not have value on their own. Shi'a jurisprudence has a recurring theme of logic, which Shi'a think they mention, believe, and value more than most Sunnis do. They do not think of logic as a source for making laws; rather, they think of it as a way to see whether a derived work aligns with the Qur'an.
Muslims countries including Turkey, Mali, and Kazakhstan are declared secular states. In those countries, it is prohibited for religious law to interfere with state affairs, laws, and politics, and Sharia law is limited to only family and personal matters. However, there are many countries where Sharia law is more influential and plays a greater role.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Morocco have legal systems that are strongly influenced by Sharia, although authority is ultimately given to the country's constitution and local laws. Although some of these countries are governed by authoritarian leaders, they do conduct democratic elections. Most have modernized their legal systems and now have laws that are significantly different from classical Sharia laws. However, Saudia Arabia and some other Gulf states do not have legislatures or constitutions, and use classical Sharia law. Although Iran has a parliament, it also shares some of the characteristics of countries ruled solely by Sharia law.
Although there are many various interpretations of Sharia, and there are different perspectives about each interpretation, most Muslims agree that Sharia is God's will for human beings. Therefore, Sharia must be, in its purest sense, an unchanging and perfect set of laws for living. And as such, the refinement and continuing growth of Sharia is an effort that is underway to reflect God's will for humankind more perfectly.
Much of the controversy and confusion lies in the fact that Sharia deals with topics that are already addressed by secular laws - issues such as crime, economics, and politics, in addition to personal issues such as hygiene, diet, sexuality, fasting, and prayer. In countries where Sharia is the official law, it is applied by gadis, or Islamic judges. The imam is the person who leads communal prayers, and he has different responsibilities depending on how the Sharia law is interpreted. He may be a religious leader, scholar, or political leader.
Some people believe that the introduction of Sharia law is a goal for Islamist movements throughout Muslim countries and eventually the entire world. Some of the Muslim minorities in Asia have already recognized Sharia for adjudicating community and personal affairs. In western civilizations, Muslim minorities have used Sharia family law in their own conflicts, but attempts to impose Sharia on a large-scale have been met with violence and sometimes warfare. Some have described Sharia as a complicated and diverse intellectual tradition, rather than being a well-defined set of particular rules and regulations that one can apply easily to life situations. Others believe that although Sharia is based on extensive literature, its foundations are not authorized by a single body, and therefore it is based on shared opinions of the Islamic community.
Most Muslims regard themselves as being part of either the Shia or Sunni sect of Islam. There are different schools of thought and study within these two sects. They have common characteristics, but they differ in the details. Traditional Sunni Muslims believe in the basic code of the Qu'ran, but they also add the consensus of the companions of Muhammad and Islamic jurists when considering certain issues. When there is no concrete rule established in the sources, scholars use different forms of reasoning to derive specific laws from the essence of the Qu'ran's divine principles, combined with precedents set by previous rulings. Other sources such as community, public interest, and others are also used in addition to Sharia, whenever allowed.
Shi'a Muslims also believe in the "basic code," but the reject consensus and specific innovations and analogies to the code, saying they do not have value on their own. Shi'a jurisprudence has a recurring theme of logic, which Shi'a think they mention, believe, and value more than most Sunnis do. They do not think of logic as a source for making laws; rather, they think of it as a way to see whether a derived work aligns with the Qur'an.
Muslims countries including Turkey, Mali, and Kazakhstan are declared secular states. In those countries, it is prohibited for religious law to interfere with state affairs, laws, and politics, and Sharia law is limited to only family and personal matters. However, there are many countries where Sharia law is more influential and plays a greater role.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Morocco have legal systems that are strongly influenced by Sharia, although authority is ultimately given to the country's constitution and local laws. Although some of these countries are governed by authoritarian leaders, they do conduct democratic elections. Most have modernized their legal systems and now have laws that are significantly different from classical Sharia laws. However, Saudia Arabia and some other Gulf states do not have legislatures or constitutions, and use classical Sharia law. Although Iran has a parliament, it also shares some of the characteristics of countries ruled solely by Sharia law.
Although there are many various interpretations of Sharia, and there are different perspectives about each interpretation, most Muslims agree that Sharia is God's will for human beings. Therefore, Sharia must be, in its purest sense, an unchanging and perfect set of laws for living. And as such, the refinement and continuing growth of Sharia is an effort that is underway to reflect God's will for humankind more perfectly.
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