Major legal systems Islamic law

Islamic law is divine revelation The Islamic legal system is the most widely used religious law, and one of the three most common legal systems in the world All the injunctions of Islamic Law are revelation from Allah It comes to regulate three different factors: the relationship between the individual and his Lord, the relationship between the individual and himself, the relationship between the individual and others.

Origins of Islamic law Sharia Law is founded on the teachings of Allah and the acts and sayings of Muhammad as found in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Sharia was not fully developed at the time of Muhammad's death, but rather it evolved around the Muslim community Before the 19th century, legal theory was considered the domain of the traditional legal schools of thought.

Muhammad (570 – 632) At age 40 he received his first revelation from God Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes He and his followers in Mecca migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622 This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar

Islamic law Sharia – religious law of Islam Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) – is an Arabic term meaning "deep understanding" or "full comprehension". It refers to the body of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources and the process of gaining knowledge of Islam through jurisprudence Islamic Law holds the distinction of being comprehensive and general in its scope

Division between Shia and Sunni The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself Sunni Muslims make up the majority (90%) of Muslims all over the world. Significant populations of Shia Muslims can be found in Iran and Iraq

Legal schools (madhhab) It is claimed that the schools of thought were developed in the 9th and 10th centuries as a means of excluding dogmatic theologians, government officials and sects from religious discourse. Sunni Islam was initially split into four schools: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and Hanbali. Shia Islam was split into three schools: Ismaili, Jafari and Zaidi. Taqlid – accepting and following the verdict of scholars of jurisprudence without demanding an explanation of the processes by which they arrive at it, hence adherence to one of the classical schools of jurisprudence

Personal validity of Islamic law Legal systems are generally described as being either of personal or territorial validity – being either applicable to the person, independently of the locus, or to the territory, with no consideration of the person’s background. Modern legal systems follow the territorial principle Islamic law must be followed by Muslims Sometimes territorial aspect may also play its role (criminal law)

Sources of Islamic law The primary sources of Islamic law are the Qur'an and Sunnah. Sharia has certain laws which are regarded as divinely ordained, concrete and timeless for all relevant situations. It also has certain laws which derived from principles established over time by Islamic lawyers Traditional Sunni Muslims also add the consensus (ijma) of Islamic jurists on certain issues, and drawing analogy from the essence of divine principles and preceding rulings (qiyas).

Qur’an The Qur'an is the first and most important source of Islamic law – believed to be the direct word of God as revealed to Muhammad The verses revealed in Mecca deal with philosophical and theological issues, whereas those revealed in Medina are concerned with socio-economic laws. The verses of the Qur'an are categorized into three fields: "science of speculative theology", "ethical principles" and "rules of human conduct". The third category is directly concerned with Islamic legal matters which contains about five hundred verses

Sunnah The Sunnah is the next important source, and is commonly defined as "the traditions and customs of Muhammad" or "the words, actions and silent assertions of him". It includes the everyday sayings and utterances of Muhammad, his acts, his tacit consent, and acknowledgments of statements and activities. Justification for using the Sunnah as a source of law can be found in the Qur'an. The Qur'an commands Muslims to follow Muhammad. Much of the sunnah is recorded in the Hadith.

Consensus The ijma , or consensus amongst Muslim jurists on a particular legal issue, constitutes the third source of Islamic law. Muslim jurists provide many verses of the Qur'an that legitimize ijma as a source of legislation. Muhammad himself said: "My followers will never agree upon an error or what is wrong", "God's hand is with the entire community". In history, it has been the most important factor in defining the meaning of the other sources and thus in formulating the doctrine and practice of the Muslim community. This is so because ijma represents the unanimous agreement of Muslims on a regulation or law at any given time.

Analogical reason Qiyas or analogical reason is the fourth source of the sharia for the majority of Sunni jurisprudence. It aims to draw analogies to a previously accepted decision. Shiites do not accept analogy, but replace it with reason The general principle behind the process of qiyas is based on the understanding that every legal injunction guarantees a beneficial and welfare satisfying objective. Thus, if the cause of an injunction can be deduced from the primary sources, then analogical deduction can be applied to cases with similar causes.

Ijtihad Islamic legal term that means “independent reasoning” it requires a “thorough knowledge of theology, revealed texts and legal theory; an exceptional capacity for legal reasoning; thorough knowledge of Arabic.” By using both the Qu'ran and Hadith as resources, the scholar (mujahidin) is required to carefully rely on analogical reasoning to find a solution to a legal problem Today, there are many different opinions surrounding the role of ijtihad in modern society, and whether or not the “doors of ijtihad are closed.”

Public interest Al-maslahah al-mursalah – means that which is in the best interests of the general public. According to this source of Islamic law, rulings can be pronounced in accordance with the "underlying meaning of the revealed text in the light of public interest". In this case, the jurist uses his wisdom to pursue public interest. This source is rejected by the Shafi'ites, Hanbalites and Zahirites from Sunni jurisprudence.

Local custom The term urf, meaning "to know", refers to the customs and practices of a given society. Although this was not formally included in Islamic law, the sharia recognizes customs that prevailed at the time of Muhammad but were not abrogated by the Qur'an or the tradition. Practices later innovated are also justified, since Islamic tradition says what the people, in general, consider good is also considered as such by God. According to some sources, urf holds as much authority as ijma (consensus), and more than qiyas (analogical deduction).

Fatwa The technical term for the legal judgment or learned interpretation that a qualified jurist or mufti can give on issues pertaining to the Islamic law Fatwas generally contain the details of the scholar's reasoning, typically in response to a particular case, and are considered binding precedent by those Muslims who have bound themselves to that scholar Sunni Muslims claim that fatwa is not binding