The Islamic Law
The Islamic law, also called Sharia, is a code of conduct derived from the religious precepts of Islam, which guides Muslims in social, economic, and political matters. The purposes of Sharia (Maqāṣid) are the preservation of five essentials of human well-being: religion, life, intellect, offspring, and property. It includes invariant elements that are the canonical rules immutable in time and space and variant elements that Muslim jurists are able to enact, according to the analysis of particular and evolutionary situations.
The two main sources of Sharia are:
These two sources represent foundations for determining the conformity of any action with the rules and purpose of Sharia. However, Sharia remains open to possible interpretations and development. Thus, two other sources are also used as of Sharia:
The two main sources of Sharia are:
- The Qur'an: The holy book of Islam records the message of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), it is considered to be the most sacred source in terms of law. Any element drawn from other legal sources must absolutely be in full conformity with the word of God in the Qur'an.
- Sunnah: This term encompasses all the teachings transmitted by the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) through his words, expressions, deeds, and tacit approval.
These two sources represent foundations for determining the conformity of any action with the rules and purpose of Sharia. However, Sharia remains open to possible interpretations and development. Thus, two other sources are also used as of Sharia:
- Ijmaa (Consensus): In its technical dimension, Ijmaa means the agreement of all competent jurists in any particular generation, acting as representatives of the community on a point of law. In practice, the Ijmaa acts as proof if there is no element of the Qur'an or the Sunna that makes it possible to decide on a case, and could in principle elevate a ruling based on probable evidence to absolute certainty.
- Qiyass (Analogical reasoning): this technique consists of assigning, on the basis of a common underlying characteristic, the legal ruling of an existing case found in the texts of the Qur'an, Sunnah and / or Ijmaa, to a new case whose legal ruling could not be addressed in the scripture. This while remaining true to the spirit of traditional sources of Islamic law.
