Sources of Sharia

Overview

  • Sharia (literally, in Arabic, “the path towards the watering place”) or Islamic law is the legal system of the religion of Islam that sets out a system of duties or code of conduct for individuals to follow so that they may live their life in a fulfilling and beneficial manner.

Practical Guidance

Nature and scope of Sharia

Although the phrase “Islamic law” is widely and commonly used, Sharia is often the preferred term to demarcate from Western or Christian concepts of ‘law' and associated assumptions, for example:

  • the Sharia is inherently non-secular and does not distinguish between religious and governmental institutions, authorities and ordinances,

  • the Sharia is both a legal system and a moral framework, rather than, for example, a legal system underpinned or influenced by a moral framework, and

  • the Sharia regulates both public and private spheres, affecting not only individuals' relationships with their neighbours and the state but also their relationships with Allah (God or the divine), their private or personal affairs and their own conscience.