The explanation of Sharia
:salam2:
I am not sure if this topic is discussed before and if it is so i am sorry mods,
Sharia (Arabic: 'شريعة transliteration: Šarīʿah) is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on fiqh (Islamic principles of jurisprudence) and for Muslims living outside the domain. Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, family, sexuality, hygiene, and social issues.
Before the 19th century, legal theory was considered the domain of the traditional legal schools of thought. Most Sunni Muslims follow Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki or Shafi`i, while most Shia Muslims, the Twelvers, follow the Ja'fari school of thought.
Etymology
The term sharia itself derives from the verb "shara'a" (Arabic: شرع), which according to Abdul Mannan Omar's (raziallah)("Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an" connects to the idea of "system of divine law; way of belief and practice".[Qur'an 45:18]
Legal scholar L. Ali Khan explains that "the concept of sharia has been thoroughly confused in legal and common literature. For some Muslims, sharia consists of the Qur'an and Sunnah. For others, it also includes classical fiqh. Most encyclopedias define sharia as law based upon the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and classical fiqh derived from consensus (ijma) and analogy (qiyas).
Definitions and descriptions
- "the real effective way out of all sufferings and problems,"
- "Muslim or Islamic law, both civil and criminal justice as well as regulating individual conduct both personal and moral. The custom-based body of law based on the Koran and the religion of Islam. Because, by definition, Muslim states are theocracies, religious texts are law, the latter distinguished by Islam and Muslims in their application, as Sharia or Sharia law."
The primary sources of Islamic law are the Qur'an and Sunnah.
To this traditional Sunni Muslims add the consensus (ijma) of Muhammad's(Pbuh) companions (sahaba) and Islamic jurists (ulema) on certain issues, and drawing analogy from the essence of divine principles and preceding rulings (qiyas). In situations where no concrete rules exist under the sources, law scholars use qiyas — various forms of reasoning, including by analogy. The consensus of the community or people, public interest, and others are also accepted as secondary sources where the first four primary sources allow.
Origins
At the heart of Islamic law lies the teachings of God and the acts and sayings of the Prophet, Muhammad(pbuh) therefore, sharia, Islamic law, is founded on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. However, sharia was not fully developed at the time of Rasool's death, but rather it evolved around the Muslim community or Ummah through which it would serve
When sharia began its formation in the deserts of Arabia about 1,400 years ago, the time Islam was born, a sense of community did not exist. Life in the desert was nomadic and tribal, thus the only factor that tied people together into various tribes was through common ancestry. However, the nature of Islam challenged that ideology and brought all those who professed their submission to Islam into the Ummah. Additionally, Islam was not just a religion but a way of life that transformed those who were once enemies into neighbors. Laws had to be instilled so the doctrines of sharia took root. All who are Muslim are judged by sharia – regardless of the location or the culture.
However, people do not change overnight nor do their habits of everyday life – sharia was indeed guided through its development by lifestyles of the tribes in which was initially absorbed into Islam. Thus, through the understandings of the tribe, Islamic law would be a law of the community – for the community by the community – even if initially proposed by an individual "for they could not form part of the tribal law unless and until they were generally accepted as such." Additionally, Noel James Coulson, Lecturer in Islamic law of the University of London, states that "to the tribe as a whole belonged the power to determine the standards by which its members should live. But here the tribe is conceived not merely as the group of its present representatives but as a historical entity embracing past, present, and future generations." So, while "each and every law must be rooted in either the Qur'an or the Sunnah," without contradiction, tribal life brought about a sense of participation. Such participation is further reinforced by Muhammad(pbuh) who stated, "My community will never agree in error" and thus, later recorded as a hadith.
After the death of Muhammad(PBUH), sharia continued to undergo fundamental changes, beginning with the reigns of caliphs Abu Bakr (raziallah)(632–34) and Umar(raziallah)( (634–44) in which many decision making matters were brought to the attention of Muhammad's(pbuh) closest comrades for consultation. In AD 662, during the reign of Muawiya b. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, life ceased to be nomadic and undertook an urban transformation which in turn created matters not originally covered by Islamic law. Each and every gain, loss, and turn of Islamic society has played an active role in developing sharia which branches out into fiqh and Qanun respectively.
Dear brother and sisters i have collected the material from various places so if there is any mistakes please forgive me. And only Allah (azwajal) have the perfect knowledge.
