Sharia

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Sharia (Arabic: شريعة) is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which the public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence.

Sharia deals with all aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, and social issues.

There is not a strictly codified uniform set of laws that can be called Sharia. It is more like a system of several laws, based on the Qur'an, Hadith and centuries of debate, interpretation and precedent.

Contents 1 Sections of Sharia law 2 Laws and practices under Sharia 2.1 Marriage laws 2.2 The penalty for theft 2.3 The penalty for adultery 2.4 Festivals 2.5 Dietary laws 2.6 Muslim apostates 3 Notes 4 References 5 See also 6 Other websites

[change] Sections of Sharia law

Sharia law is divided into two main sections:

1. The acts of worship, or al-ibadat, these include:
   1. Ritual Purification (Wudu)
   2. Prayers (Salah)
   3. Fasts (Sawm and Ramadan)
   4. Charities (Zakat)
   5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
2. Human interaction, or al-mu'amalat, which includes:
   1. Financial transactions
   2. Endowments
   3. Laws of inheritance
   4. Marriage, divorce, and child care
   5. Foods and drinks (including ritual slaughtering and hunting)
   6. Penal punishments
   7. Warfare and peace
   8. Judicial matters (including witnesses and forms of evidence)

See mu`amalat laws according to 5 major schools of jurisprudence and The Majallah

[change] Laws and practices under Sharia

[change] Marriage laws

• The Muslim man who is not currently a fornicator can only marry a Muslim woman who is not currently a fornicatress or a chaste woman from the people of the book.
• The Muslim fornicator can only marry a Muslim fornicatress.
• The Muslim woman who is not currently a fornicatress can only marry a Muslim man who is not currently a fornicator.
• The Muslim fornicatress can only marry a Muslim fornicator.
• The woman cannot marry without the consent of her guardian. If she marries, her husband becomes her new guardian.
• The guardian may choose a suitable partner for a virgin girl, but the girl is free to contest and has the right to say 'no'.
• The guardian cannot marry the divorced woman or the widow if she didn't ask to be married.
• "Do not marry unless you give your wife something that is her right." It is obligatory for a man to give bride wealth (gifts) to the woman he marries.[1]

[change] The penalty for theft

In accordance with the Qur'an and several hadith, theft is punished by imprisonment or amputation of hands or feet, depending on the number of times it was committed and depending on the item of theft. However, before the punishment is executed two eyewitnesses under oath must say that they saw the person stealing. If these witnesses cannot be produced then the punishment cannot be executed.In addition, there are several conditions related to the theft, stolen items, and circumstances. All of these must be met under the scrutiny of judicial authority.^{[Qur'an 5:38][1]}

[change] The penalty for adultery

In accordance with hadith, stoning to death is the penalty for married men and women who commit adultery. In addition, there are several conditions related to the person who commits it that must be met. One of the difficult ones is that the punishment cannot be enforced unless there is a confession of the person, or four male eyewitnesses who each saw, simultaneously, the penis of the man inside the vulva of the woman. All of these must be met under the scrutiny of judicial authority. For unmarried men and women, the punishment prescribed in the Qur'an and hadith is 100 lashes.

[change] Festivals

There are two festivals that are considered Sunnah.^[2][3]

1. Eid ul-Fitr
2. Eid ul-Adha

Rituals associated with these festivals are:^[2]

• Sadaqah (charity) before Eid ul-Fitr prayer.^[4]
• The Prayer and the Sermon on Eid day.
• Takbirs (glorifying God) after every prayer in the days of Tashriq (see footnote for def.)^[5]
• Sacrifice of unflawed, four legged grazing animal of appropriate age after the prayer of Eid ul-Adha in the days of Tashriq.^[6]

[change] Dietary laws

Main article: Halal

Islamic law does not present a comprehensive list of pure foods and drinks. However, it sanctions:^[7]

1. prohibition of swine, blood, meat of dead animals and animals slaughtered in the name of someone other than God.
2. slaughtering in the prescribed manner of tazkiyah (cleansing) by taking God’s name.
3. prohibition of intoxicants

The prohibition of dead meat is not applicable to fish and locusts.^[8][9][10] Also hadith literature prohibits beasts having sharp canine teeth, birds having claws and tentacles in their feet,^[11] Jallalah (animals whose meat carries a stink in it because they feed on filth),^[12] tamed donkeys,^[13] and any piece cut from a living animal.^[14][7]

[change] Muslim apostates

In most interpretations of Sharia, conversion by Muslims to other religions, is strictly forbidden and is termed apostasy. Muslim theology equates apostasy to treason, and in most interpretations of sharia, the penalty for apostasy is death.

In many Muslim countries, the accusation of apostasy is even used against non-conventional interpretations of the Quran. The severe persecution of the famous expert in Arabic literature, Prof. Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, is an example of this. In some countries, Sunni and Shia Muslims often accuse each other of apostasy. The current civil strife in Iraq is explained by many in terms of the extremely harsh religious opposition between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq.

[change] Notes

[change] References

• Human Rights and Islamic Law
• Laleh Bakhtiar and Kevin Reinhart (1996). Encyclopedia of Islamic Law: A Compendium of the Major Schools. Kazi Publications. ISBN 1567444989
• Muhammad ibn Idris al- Shafi'i (1993). Risala: Treatise on the Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence. Islamic Texts Society. ISBN 0946621152
• Khaled Abou El Fadl 2003). Reasoning with God: Rationality and Thought in Islam. Oneworld. ISBN 1851683062
• Cemal Kafadar (1996). Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20600-2
• Omid Safi (2003). Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism. Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1-85168-316-X
• Mumisa, Michael (2002) Islamic Law: Theory & Interpretation. Amana Publications. ISBN 1-59008-010-6
• Daniel W. Brown (1996). Rethinking traditions in modern Islamic thought. Cambridge University Press, UK. ISBN 0-521-65394-0
• Human Rights Documents Archives
• Weiss, Bernard G. (2002). Studies in Islamic Legal Theory. Boston: Brill Academic publishers. ISBN 9004120661. 

[change] See also

• Irth, farā'iḍ, or wasāyā - Islamic Laws of Inheritance")
• Islamic Rulings - A list of the most controversial rulings in Islam
• Zakat - Payment of portion of one's wealth for charity

[change] Other websites

• Shariah as a Political Tool in Indonesia
• Applying Islamic Principles in the Twenty-first Century: Nigeria, Iran, and Indonesia U.S. Institute of Peace Report, September 2005
• BBC Religion & Ethics - Islam - Sharia
• CBS News - Saudi Arabia's Beheading Culture - 25/06/04
• Council On Foreign Relations - Islam: Governing Under Sharia - 14/03/05
• The Daily Telegraph - Poll reveals 40pc of Muslims want sharia law in UK - 19/02/06
• Dhimmitude.org
• Execution of a teenage girl, BBC News, July 27, 2006
• Free Muslims Coalition - Anti-Terrorism Resources: Can Sharia (Islamic Law) work in the 21st Century? - A critique by Muslims
• Human Rights and Islamic Law
• Position of Islam on Homosexuality
• The International Society For Human Rights - Sharia in Nigeria
• The Islamic Sharia Council UK
• The Rationale in Sharia Injunctions
• The Purposes of the Shari`ah
• Sangstar: The Stoning - 35 m 8s video by Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
• Shariah.net
• Shari'ah, Laws and Islam: Legalism vs. Value-orientation by Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
• What is Sharia? - Definition/Description Potpourri by Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
• Why No To Political Islam - Why Sharia Law must be Opposed
• Iran Executes Gay Teens In Public Hanging
• New law and old prejudices threaten Nigeria's gay community
• Saudi Arabia and homosexuality: news
• Punishing Gays under Islam