The collection of Islamic law, based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah, is called the shar’iah, or path to be followed. It is a combination of personal morality, civil, and criminal law. The word Shar’iah actually portrays a camels path to a watering hole, which can be compared to our path to Allah. The Qur’an describes laws and moral teachings, or the “straight path”. Since 651 CE, when an official version of the Qur’an was established, it has remained largely unchanged. We honor the spoken and written Qur’an, and don’t let copies of the book touch the ground. The Qur’an doesn’t talk about many modern issues, so scholars continually interpret the law. All Muslims agree on the basic principles of Islamic law, but we all interpret it differently. Our law places our actions into 5 different categories. Actions forbidden by God, actions discouraged by god, but not forbidden, actions allowed by God, actions suggested by God, but not commanded, and actions commanded by God. Sometimes the law is very specific: we can’t eat pork, drink alcohol, or gamble. Other things aren’t so specific: the Qur’an tells us women to “not display their beauty.” Because of this we usually wear modest dress, and hair scarves. For more about modesty read our article on “Hijab fashion”.Shari’ah also talks about Muslims’ duties toward other people. These are broadly grouped into 5 catagories. Criminal, commercial, family, and inheritance law.
When you sin, a Muslim is held responsible for it on judgement day. The only way to be forgiven is this four step plan.
1) Feeling sorry about it.
2) Repenting of the sin, by asking forgiveness of Allah.
3) Atoning for the sin.
4) Sincerely promising to God that you will never commit this sin again.
Our law helps us to live by the rules of the Qur’an. Today, most Muslim countries apply only some parts of Islamic law, but the shar’iah continues to adapt to modern ways of life.
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