Friday 17 May 202
3.6 Shari’ah Law
Learning Objectives
Know and understand the origins of Shari’ah law and the roles of
judges and scholars
Know and understand the divergent ways Shari’ah law is used in in
Sunni and Shi’a Islam
Assess and analyse the implications of these different views for
questions of authority in Islam today
The meaning, purpose and relevance
of Sharia law
The word ‘sharia’ means ‘straight path’.
Sharia law is the law of Islam.
It sets the code of law for Islamic living.
Both Sunnis and Shi’ahs have similar interpretations of
Sharia law.
Sharia law is based on both the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
These are its main sources.
Sharia law governs a Muslim person’s whole life as it is
based on revelation from God.
For Muslims, Sharia law applies the insight of the Qur’an
to new situations and it explains to them how to properly
obey Allah.
The roles of judges and scholars
The primary sources of the Sharia are the Qur'an and the example of the
Prophet Muhammad.
Scholarly consensus
The basis for scholarly consensus being a source of law is the Qur'anic command to
resolve matters by consultation, as God stated, "Those who answer the call of their
Lord, established prayer, and whose affairs are by consultation." (42:38) Scholarly
consensus is defined as being the agreement of all Muslim scholars at the level of
juristic reasoning (ijtihad) in one age on a given legal ruling. Given the condition
that all such scholars have to agree to the ruling, its scope is limited to matters
that are clear according to the Qur'an and Prophetic example, upon which such
consensus must necessarily be based. When established, though, scholarly
consensus is decisive proof.
QIYAS
Qiyas is the legal principle introduced in order to derive a logical
conclusion of a certain law on a certain issue that has to do to the
welfare of the Muslim. The word Qiyas means “comparing with” or
“judging by comparing with a thing”.
In Islamic law, Qiyas it refers to analogical deduction from the
Qu’ran, the Sunnah and Ijma. In other words, Qiyas is a legal
principle that extends an Islamic ruling from an original case to a
new case because the new case has the same effective cause as
the original case.
This can confirm Qiyas’ authentications that when Prophet (pbuh)
choose Muaz Bin Jabal as Governor, he asked him what he will do if
a problem arises. He said that he will follow the Qu’ran and if is
not clear there then he will consult the Sunnah of the Prophet
Muhhamd (pbuh) and in case if he fails to satisfy then he will use
his own judgement (Qiyas). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged
him on listening to his reply.
Another hadith tells:
“Judge upon the Book of Allah, upon the
Sunnah of the Prophet and if you do not find it
in that, then use your personal opinion ”
Qiyas also means a shari’ah value from an
original case to a new case because the latter
has the same effective cause as the former.
There is no clear authorities of Qiyas in the
Qur’an . However, the scholar quoted several
proofs from the Qur’an and sunnah as well as
the practice of the companions as an indirect
evidence to support the utilization of Qiyas:
3 (a) Outline three of the
sources of Shari’ah law
The most important source is the Qur’an (1) Examples
from the life of Muhammad
(1) Qiyas which is analogy based on the teaching of the
Qur’an
Ijma is the consensus of opinion among scholars
Ijtijad is the use of conscience (1).
*(d) “Shari’ah law is out of
date.”
Arguments for the statement:
• Some Muslims may think that Shari’ah law was developed
too long ago from even older sources so does not relate to
today’s situations concerning riba so that many Muslims are
unable to buy their houses with a mortgage
• Shari’ah law may not be seen to deal with modern
developments like technology and scientific advances which
could cause problems for younger people when making
decisions
• Shari’ah laws covering food and dress may no longer be
relevant as food is now prepared hygienically and modern
dress can be modest and fit in with Qur’anic teaching so that
young Muslims do not feel ostracised from western society.
Arguments against the
statement:
• Shari’ah law is the law of Allah and therefore
can never be out of date as Allah cares for all
people in all generations and knows what is
going to happen and what the needs will be
• In Sunni Islam the ‘ulema are scholars who
can interpret Shari’ah law so that any
difficulties can be sorted out regardless of the
country or culture
• In some forms of Shi’a Islam the Imam
receives direct revelation to interpret Shari’ah
law and thus it can never be out of date.
