The Role of Shari'a

• Shari'a


  Law in different contexts and parts of life for Muslims
• Shari'a has been used as

  • Civil law
  • Religious law
  • General moral guide
• Shari'a has been interpreted very differently in different parts of the world
• Human interpretations of shari'a in the light of new circumstances have been made
• This is an area about which different views are held
• Some Muslims question the validity of this approach
• Matters where Muslims choose shari'a law

  • Civil matters, such as in the writing of a Nikah wedding contract
  • Family matters
• Shari'a courts exist in some countries, including the UK, for those who choose to use them to resolve relevant matters
• Categories of action in religious matters derived from shari'a

  • Wajib (compulsory)
  • Haram (forbidden)
• Shari'a as a general moral guide

  To tell the truth and be fair in trade and business
• Shari'a courts


  • Similar to secular courts, with a judge (qazi) and witnesses
  • Different in that evidence from women and non-Muslims is given less weight in cases
• This has led to criticism
• Approaches to shari'a in different countries

  • Strict versions imposed using literal interpretations of the practices of seventh century Arabia (e.g. Iran, Saudi Arabia)
  • Secular law used (e.g. Turkey)
  • Dual system (e.g. Pakistan)
• Imitation (taqlid)


  Early scholars (mujtahids) made rulings which later scholars copy and apply to new questions
• Many do not like to make fresh rulings because they do not know enough about Muhammad's examples compared to the scholars of early times, so they prefer to imitate them
• Fresh re-interpretations (ijtihad)


  Some make fresh re-interpretations to answer new issues
• Shi'a scholars have always accepted reasoning (aql) but some Sunnis reject ijtihad since the teachings of medieval scholar Al-Ghazali, who said that the gates of ijtihad were closed