Examining The Sharia Law Religion Essay

Examining The shariah Law Religion EssayFor each, we be possessed of appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had immortal conk outed, He could have made you maven community. But that He may turn in you by that which He has given you. So vie one with some another(prenominal) in good works. Unto God you will every return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ. rule book, 548IntroductionAfter the tragical events of 9/11, Islam has predominantly been under increased enquiry and scrutiny. The status of women has been targeted greatly, often labelling Islam as oppressive towards women.HistoryIn Arabic, sharia literally mode the way to the watering hole, symbolically meaning that in the harsh and k nonty environment of the Arabian desert, following the path to the watering hole would fasten survival. Hence, in a sacred context, if the sharia law was followed devotedly then it would lead the faithful into a pleasurable afterlife. shariah law Law (or Isl amic Law) is establish up two creations The playscript which Muslims moot to be the direct watchword of God sent down from nonpargonil Gabriel to the prophesier Mohammed. The second foundation is the Sunnah and Haddith.The Sharia is un-codified yet systematic levelheaded system. Un-codified beca practice session it has not been pen down or collected to create one or to a greater extent authoritative legal manuals, but neertheless it is systematic be grounds it is a fathomable system of doctrines found on religious beliefs.It is essential to understand that although the Sharia is systematic legal system, it does not have clear and well outlined sets of rules and regulations that whoremaster be easily applied to corporeal life situations. This is where the position of the Ulama (religious scholars) is vital, because they ar ones who dedicate their lives to studying the Sharia and in that respectfore get along the authority to interpret the Sharia to resolve legal pr oblems and apply it to real life situations.As the scholar Knut S. Vikor describesThe Sharia is best understood as a sh ard opinion of the Islamic community, based on a literary works that is extensive, but not necessarily coherent or authorized by any single body.Believers of Islam believe that the Prophet Mohammed (c. 570 632) was the last and sterling(prenominal) of the Prophets that God has sent to reveal the consecrate playscript. They believe that his didacticss complement and clarify the contents of ahead prophets whose message were held to be distorted or lost over the years. The Prophet Mohammed is regard as the ultimate role model and his life is an ideal to Muslims on how the ideal Islamic life should be lead but they do not worship him. On the contrary, they believe from the sanctum Quran, that Angel Gabriel revealed verbally to the Prophet Mohammed, that God is omnipotent, unique, ascribing no divorceners and no equal, thus Muslims never treat the Prophet as a Divinity.Prophet Mohammed was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia around c. 570. As he became older, he became a monger and by the age of 25 he married Khadija bint Khuwaylid, a replete businesswoman who was 15 years his senior. In around 610, Mohammed was meditating alone in a cave and according to Haddith complied by al-Bukhari, Angel Gabriel in the form of a man appeared before the Prophet. Gabriel ordered Mohammed Recite Mohammed replied I am not able to read. The angel then gave him a bone-crushing dramatise that it reached the limit of his selection and then released him. Again the angel ordered him Recite Mohammed again replied I am not able to read. After a third embrace and release, the angel ordered Mohammed Recite Mohammed then recited the followingRecite in the name of thy Lord who created-created man from clots of blood.Recite Your Lord is the Most cock-a-hoop One, who bythe pen taught man what he did not know.This then was the premier(prenominal) revealing of the divin e Quran which later formed the first porta verses of Surah (chapter) 96 of the Quran. It took a period of 23 years for the entire revelation of the Holy Quran to form as we know it today. According to Muslims, they believe that the Prophet himself was illiterate and therefrom his literate followers would write the revelations with whatever they could place their hands on, pieces of paper, stones, palm-leaves, shoulder-blades, ribs, and bits of leather. An authoritative version of the Quran was produced after the Prophets finis in 632.The QuranThe Quran consists of 144 Surahs which, instead of being displace in chronological order, they are grouped in order of their duration where the longer chapters at the beginning and shorter chapters towards the end (with the exception of the opening chapter Al-Fathia).And although the al-Qaida of Sharia comes partly from the Holy Quran, in actuality it does not contain some(prenominal) exact rules of law. According to the scholar Mohammed Hashim Kamali, he concluded that less than 3 percent of the Holy Quran actually dealt with legal matters. These findings were in addition corroborated with another(prenominal) scholar by the name of N.J. Coulson who also concluded thatThe Quran is in no sense a comprehensive legal code. No more than 80 verses deal strictly with legal matters while these verses cover a wide range of topics and introduce many novel rules, their general resultant is simply to modify the existing Arabian customary law in certain alpha particulars.Despite the low numbers of legal rulings from the Quran itself, it is the legal principles in which the Holy Quran brings forward that creates the fundamental reputation of Sharia Law and that Muslims jurists draw from the moral and ethical determine, which forms the Islamic message that comes from the Holy Quran, to make judgements and informed opinions on many legal matters that the Quran does not cover.For example, the main theme that is seen througho ut the Holy Quran is judge (Adl) and this plays a central part in the Sharia. Adl literally means placing things in the right place where they belong. The Sharia tries to establish Adl by adjudicating grievances and arbitrating disputes to the individuals involved, but also seeks to institute Adl as a whole throughout the community by establishing equilibrium of benefits and advantages in society.We sent our Messengers with evidences and revealed the Book and the balance through them so as to establish justice among people 5725 Holy Quran.The Quranic standards of Justice are objective and irrespective of tribal, racial, national, national or religious backgrounds and differences. There at least fifty- three illustrations in the Holy Quran where people are addressed to be just to others at all levels, in personal or public affairs, in words and conducts, with friends or foes, Muslim or non-Muslim, all must be treated in fairness and with justice.O believers Stand out firmly for jus tice as witnesses to God, even if it be against yourself, your parents and relatives and whether it be against rich or poor. 4 one hundred thirty-five Holy Quran.And when you speak (make sure that you) speak with justice. 6152 Holy Quran.The Sharia does not only controls legal rights and responsibilities of the Muslim people, but it also provides moral guidance of life and human activity in general. Thus the Sharia is split into two main classifications Ibadat (devotional matters) and muamalat (civil transactions).Ibadat is the rules concerning matters and the relationship between man and God. It is important to note that these religious obligations are directed towards the individual and fall removed the scope of the courts jurisdiction.Whereas muamalat is concerned with the separation of the Right of God (haqq Allah which refers to the rights of the community or public rights) and the Right of Man (haqq al-abd which refers to private rights).Under the umbrella of Ibadat, there are the 5 legal pillars of Sharia a The testimony that there is no god but God and that Mohammed is the Messenger of God (Shahadatayn) b The performance of petition (Salat) c The payment of alms-tax (Zakhat) d The performance of pilgrimage (Hajj) and finally e fasting during the month of Ramadan (Sawm). here(predicate) Islam focuses in instilling qualities of justice, trustworthiness, and righteousness through these acts of devotion (Ibadat). Ibadat are part of educating the believer to refrain from causing harm to others and purifying the mind and core group from corruption, selfishness and over indulgence in material purists.Surely prayer keeps one away from indecency and evil, and certainly the remembrance of God s the greatest (form of devotion) 2945 Holy Quran.Furthermore, performing Salat in convention enforces the doctrine of unity, equality and solidarity among worshipers. These doctrines are continually present in the suspire of the legal pillars fasting, alms-tax, and the performance of the pilgrimage all teach self disciple, sacrifice, and esthesia towards others. More importantly, there is a greater emphasis on teaching avoidance of lying, degrading conduct, hypocrisy, oppression and so on.The Sunnah HaddithAfter the Holy Quran, the next authority of the Sharia is the Sunnah and Haddith. The Sunnah in Arabic is translated to the trodden path and is the teachings of Prophet Mohammed which contains the legal, religious and social duties of Islam. The Haddith is the traditions and sayings of the Prophet which was preserved by his closest Companions. The Haddith and Sunnah are both very much intertwined and therefore extremely difficult to separate. The difference between the two is that the Haddith are based on the life of the Prophet Mohammed and therefore makes a biographical theme of Sharia Law. The Sunnah is then the formation of the religious, social and legal obligations ab initio deriving from the Haddith.There are several thousand Had dith collections, with al-Bukhari (d. 870) and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 875) are considered to be the most reliable Haddith collectors in Sunni Islam who listed around 16,475 Haddith combined (which in their entirety exceeded half a million) . Shia Islam has four official collections of its own.The main denunciation of these collections of Haddiths is that because it has been passed from generation to generation, it could have been transmitted via a defective and interrupted arrange of vectors or it could be well cognise that the Haddith comes from an unreliable and untrustworthy transmitter and therefore the Haddith cease be deemed undependable as a line of law.FiqhFiqh is defined as a system created in accordance to the principles situated out by revelations and the Prophets example. It is a term often used in concert as equal to Sharia and but not necessarily the same. Where the Sharia comes from mainly divine revelations in the Quran, Sunnah and the Haddith, Fiqh comes fr om human understanding and cognition that is developed by legal schools, individual jurists and judges through legal reason and issuing a legal verdict (fatwa).Thus Fiqh is expound as mere superstructure and a practical manifestation of commitment to the values of morality and faith and as a result created a prefatorial scheme and scale of values in which human conduct could be evaluated Obligatory (Wajib), Recommended (Mandub), Permissible (Mubah), Reprehensible (Makruh) and forbid (Haram). Only the Obligatory and Forbidden categories of the scale are legal and actually derive from the Quran and Sunnah, whereas the other three are non-legal and supplementary to aid believers and promote moral virtues. judicial Reasoning by Analogy (Qiyas)Qiyas is the way in which Sunni legal scholars can apply traditional laws that derives from the Quran, Sunnah and Haddith by defining laws from a known ruling to a new ruling. (Shiite scholars on the other hand despise Qiyas as a source of law. ) The best example that shows legal reasoning can be shown from the Quranic ruling on the prohibition of wine.Wine and games of chance, idols and divining arrows, are abominations devised by Satan. Avoid them, so that you may prosper. 590 Holy Quran.From this Quranic verse, we see the legal ruling on the consumption of wine and by analogy, if wine made from grapes are forbidden, then wine made from dates are forbidden as well, as it too can cause intoxication.We can deduct from this analogy by using the same Quranic verse that the use of narcotics are also illegal as it too can cause intoxication and so on.