Sources of Shariah

Shariah – The Law

 Faith (Aqidah) Relationship b/w man and Creator (beliefs)
 Shariah (‘the road’) Set of rules to govern life intended by Creator
(Will of Allah)
Transformation of beliefs into daily practices / actions
 Morals (Ikhlaq) Personal behavior

Needs
 Individual / collective life Desires
Inclinations
 Social, political, economic, cultural
Components of Shariah

 Ibadat (rituals) Ways to perform rites and rituals to

understand relationship with Allah (SWT)

 Muamalat (transactions) Rules for social, political and economic

activities
 Sub-set of Muamalat refers to commercial and financial dealings
Sources of Shariah

 Primary Sources Quran and Sunnah

 Ijtihad (from Jihad) Investigation of jurists (experts) to extract solution
from primary sources
 Ijma’ When jurists reached a consensus on a matter
 Qiyas (analogy) Forming opinion (reasoning)on similar situation of
incident in past
Consensus is not reached and there could be a difference of
opinion
Schools of thought

 Approaches / Methods (Madhahibs)

 Interpretation of beliefs, practices and laws within a framework
 Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali and Jafari

 Actions / practices are divided into 5 categories SIRAT UL MUSTAKIM

 Obligatory (Farz)
 Recommended (Wajib)
 Indifferent (Mustahib)
 Reprehensible (Makrooh)
 Forbidden (Haram)
Objectives (Maqasid) of Shariah

 Acquisition of wealth? Happy life?

 Wealth in all forms belongs to Allah SWT Allah’s vice on earth

 Spiritual and humanitarian goals
 Primary objective: protection and preservation of
 Religion
 Life
 Family unit
 Wealth and Property Halal income, discourages concentration of wealth with few
 Intellect Acquiring knowledge
 Honour
 Secondary objectives
 Justice and equity in society
 Helping the fellow beings, spreading goodness, stopping evil deeds
 Peace and security
 High moral values

 Leads to better individual, better society, better government

 Socio-economic development
 Overall prosperity