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{{Short description|Islamic law}}
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{{Distinguish|Saria (disambiguation){{!}}Saria|Shara (disambiguation){{!}}Shara|Shariyah (disambiguation){{!}}Shariyah|Shahriyar (disambiguation){{!}}Shahriyar}}
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{{Islam |texts}}
'''''Sharia''''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|ə|ˈ|r|iː|ə}}; {{langx|ar|شَرِيعَة|sharīʿah|path [to water]}}, {{IPA|ar|ʃaˈriːʕa|IPA}}), also [[Romanization of Hebrew|transliterated]] as '''''Sharī'ah''''', '''''Shari'a''''', or '''''Shariah''''', is a body of [[religious law]] that form the [[Islam]]ic tradition<ref name="Bassiouni">{{cite book |author-last=Bassiouni |author-first=M. Cherif |author-link=M. Cherif Bassiouni |year=2014 |orig-date=2013 |chapter=The ''Sharīa'', Sunni Islamic Law (''Fiqh''), and Legal Methods (''Ilm Uṣūl al-Fiqh'') |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tbj1AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 |editor-last=Bassiouni |editor-first=M. Cherif |title=The Shari'a and Islamic Criminal Justice in Time of War and Peace |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=18–87 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139629249.003 |isbn=9781139629249 |lccn=2013019592 |access-date=17 October 2021 |archive-date=17 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017234851/https://books.google.com/books?id=Tbj1AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="oxforddic">{{cite web |title=British & World English: sharia |url=https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sharia |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=4 December 2015 |location=Oxford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208120345/https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sharia |archive-date=8 December 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Dahlén|loc=chpt. 2a|2003}} based on [[Islamic holy books|scriptures of Islam]], particularly the [[Quran|Qur'an]] and [[hadith]].<ref name="Bassiouni" /> In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intangible [[divine law]], in contrast to ''[[fiqh]]'' (Islamic jurisprudence), which refers to its interpretations by [[Ulama|Islamic scholars]].<ref name="ODI" />{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Calder|2009}} Sharia, or fiqh as traditionally known, has always been used alongside [[urf|customary law]] from the very beginning in [[Islamic history]];<ref>"Customary law has also been an important part of Islamic law. It was used to resolve disputes that were not covered by sharia, and it also helped to adapt sharia to the needs of men in different societies and cultures." Islamic Law: An Introduction by John Esposito (2019) Esposito, John. Islamic Law: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2019. Page 31</ref><ref>"Another key principle that the early Islamic jurists developed was the concept of urf, or customary law. Urf is the customary practices of a particular community. The early jurists recognized that urf could be used to supplement or complement Islamic law. For example, if there was no clear ruling on a particular issue in the Quran or hadith, the jurists could look to urf for guidance." The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law; Emon, Anver M., and Rumee Ahmed, editors. The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law. Oxford University Press, 2018. p. 25.</ref> it has been elaborated and developed over the centuries by [[fatwa|legal opinions]] issued by [[mufti|qualified jurist]]s – reflecting the tendencies of [[Schools of Fiqh|different schools]] – and integrated with various economic, penal and administrative laws issued by [[Muslims|Muslim]] rulers; and implemented for centuries by [[Qadi|judges]] in the courts<ref name=ODI/>{{sfn|Calder|2009}} until recent times, when [[secularism]] was widely adopted in Islamic societies.

Traditional [[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|theory of Islamic jurisprudence]] recognizes four sources for al-sharia: the [[Quran|Qur'an]], ''[[sunnah]]'' (or [[authentic hadith|authentic ahadith]]), ''[[ijma]]'' (lit. consensus) (may be understood as ''ijma al-ummah'' ({{Langx|ar|إجماع الأمة}}) – a whole Islamic community consensus, or ''ijma al-aimmah'' ({{Langx|ar|إجماع الائـمـة}}) – a consensus by religious authorities),<ref name="Standke2008">{{cite book |author=Corinna Standke |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uWR_4BTqtBYC&pg=PA4 |title=Sharia – The Islamic Law |date=30 August 2008 |publisher=GRIN Verlag |isbn=978-3-640-14967-4 |pages=4–5 |access-date=9 June 2012}}</ref> and ''[[qiyas|analogical reasoning]]''.{{refn|group=note|[[Twelver]] Shia jurisprudence does not recognize the use of qiyas, but relies on reason (''ʿaql'') in their place.{{Sfn|Dahlén|loc=chpt. 4c|2003}}{{Sfn|Schneider|2014}}}}<ref name="Esposito, John 2001">[[John Esposito|John L. Esposito]], [[Natana J. DeLong-Bas]] (2001), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=MOmaDq8HKCgC&pg=PA2 Women in Muslim family law] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019170646/https://books.google.com/books?id=MOmaDq8HKCgC&pg=PA2 |date=19 October 2017 }}'', p. 2. [[Syracuse University Press]], {{ISBN|978-0815629085}}. Quote: "... by the ninth century, the classical theory of law fixed the sources of Islamic law at four: the ''Quran'', the ''Sunnah'' of the Prophet, ''qiyas'' (analogical reasoning), and ''ijma'' (consensus)."</ref> It distinguishes two principal branches of law, rituals (''[[Ibadah]]'') and social dealings (''[[Muamalat]]''); subsections [[Islamic family jurisprudence|family law]], relationships (commercial, [[Political aspects of Islam|political / administrative]]) and [[Islamic criminal jurisprudence|criminal law]], in a wide range of topics<ref name="ODI" />{{sfn|Calder|2009}} assigning actions – capable of settling into different categories according to different understandings – to categories ([[ahkam]]) mainly as: [[Fard|mandatory]], [[Mustahabb|recommended]], [[Mubah|neutral]], [[Makruh|abhorred]], and [[Haram|prohibited]].<ref name=ODI/>{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Calder|2009}} Beyond legal norms, Sharia also enters many areas that are considered private practises today, such as belief, worshipping, ethics,{{sfn|Coulson|El Shamsy|2019}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|p=145}} [[Hijab|clothing]] and lifestyle, and gives to [[Ulu'l-amr|those in command]] [[Enjoining good and forbidding wrong|duties to intervene and regulate them]].

Over time with the necessities brought by sociological changes, on the basis of interpretative studies [[Madhhab|legal schools]] have emerged, reflecting the preferences of particular societies and governments, as well as [[Ulama|Islamic scholars]] or [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|imams]] on [[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|theoretical]] and [[Fatwa|practical]] applications of laws and regulations. [[Madhhab|Legal schools]] of [[Sunni Islam]] — [[Hanafi]], [[Maliki]], [[Shafiʽi school|Shafiʽi]] and [[Hanbali]] etc.— developed methodologies for deriving rulings from scriptural sources using a process known as ''[[ijtihad]]'',<ref name="ODI">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Islamic Law |editor=John L. Esposito |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |access-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331154513/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} a concept adopted by [[Shiism]] in much later periods meaning mental effort<ref name="Mohammad Farzaneh 2015 6">{{Cite book|last=Mohammad Farzaneh|first=Mateo|title=The Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the Clerical Leadership of Khurasani|publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-8156-3388-4|location=Syracuse, New York |page=6}}</ref>. Although Sharia is presented in addition to its other aspects by the contemporary [[Islamism|Islamist understanding]], [[Political aspects of Islam|as a form of governance]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.deoband.org/2010/06/politics/the-system-of-rule-in-islam/ | title=The System of Rule in Islam | date=20 June 2010 | access-date=8 November 2023 | archive-date=8 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108100857/https://www.deoband.org/2010/06/politics/the-system-of-rule-in-islam/ | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Revisionist school of Islamic studies|some researchers]] approach [[Sīrah|traditional sīrah narratives]] with skepticism, seeing the [[Rashidun Caliphate|early history of Islam]] not as a period when Sharia was dominant, but a kind of "[[Arabization|secular Arabic expansion]]" and dating the formation of Islamic identity to a much later period.<ref>Robert G. Hoyland: In God's Path. The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire (2015)</ref><ref>Patricia Crone / Martin Hinds: God's Caliph: Religious Authority in the First Centuries of Islam (1986)</ref>

Approaches to Sharia in the 21st century vary widely, and the role and mutability of Sharia<ref>{{Cite web| title=Islamic Law and Change: Constants and Variables | author=Mehmet Erdoğan | url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1699430 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130194941/https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1699430 | archive-date=30 November 2024}}</ref> in a changing world has become an increasingly debated topic in Islam.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Beyond [[Islamic schools and branches|sectarian differences]], [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalists]] advocate the complete and uncompromising implementation of "exact/pure sharia" without modifications,<ref name="oxforddic" />{{sfn|Amanat|2009|ps=: "Muslim fundamentalists [...] claim that Shari'a and its sources [...] constitute a divine law that regulates all aspects of Muslim life, as well as Muslim societies and Muslim states [...]. Muslim modernists, [...] on the other hand, criticize the old approaches to Shari'a by traditional Muslim jurists as obsolete and instead advocate innovative approaches to Shari'a that accommodate more pluralist and relativist views within a democratic framework."}} while [[Islamic Modernism|modernists]] argue that it can/should be brought into line with [[human rights]] and other contemporary issues such as democracy, [[minority rights]], [[freedom of thought]], [[women's rights]] and [[bank]]ing by new jurisprudences.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russo |first=Maria Sole |date=2019-10-15 |title=Clash between Sharia law and human rights in light of PACE Resolution 2253 - Ius In Itinere |url=https://www.iusinitinere.it/clash-between-sharia-law-and-human-rights-in-light-of-pace-resolution-2253-23827 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250225204117/https://www.iusinitinere.it/clash-between-sharia-law-and-human-rights-in-light-of-pace-resolution-2253-23827 |archive-date=2025-02-25 |access-date=2025-04-16 |work=Ius In Itinere |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name=naim96>{{cite book |first1=Abdullahi A |last1=An-Na'im |chapter=Islamic Foundations of Religious Human Rights |chapter-url={{Google books|aqyWwF5YA1gC |page=337 |plainurl=yes}} |title=Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Religious Perspectives |pages=337–59 |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Witte |editor2-first=Johan D. |editor2-last=van der Vyver |year=1996 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9041101792 }}</ref><ref name=hajjar2004>{{cite journal |last1=Hajjar |first1=Lisa |title=Religion, State Power, and Domestic Violence in Muslim Societies: A Framework for Comparative Analysis |journal=Law & Social Inquiry |volume=29 |issue=1 |year=2004 |pages=1–38 |jstor=4092696 |doi=10.1111/j.1747-4469.2004.tb00329.x|s2cid=145681085  |issn=0897-6546 }}</ref><ref>Al-Suwaidi, J. (1995). ''Arab and western conceptions of democracy; in Democracy, war, and peace in the Middle East'' (Editors: David Garnham, Mark A. Tessler), Indiana University Press, see Chapters 5 and 6; {{ISBN|978-0253209399}}{{page needed|date=April 2016}}</ref> In fact, some of the practices of Sharia have been deemed{{By whom|date=September 2025}} "incompatible<nowiki>''</nowiki> with [[human rights]], [[gender equality]] and [[freedom of expression|freedom of speech and expression]] or even "evil".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russo |first=Maria Sole |date=2019-10-15 |title=Clash between Sharia law and human rights in light of PACE Resolution 2253 - Ius In Itinere |url=https://www.iusinitinere.it/clash-between-sharia-law-and-human-rights-in-light-of-pace-resolution-2253-23827 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250225204117/https://www.iusinitinere.it/clash-between-sharia-law-and-human-rights-in-light-of-pace-resolution-2253-23827 |archive-date=2025-02-25 |access-date=2025-04-16 |work=Ius In Itinere |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=MÖLZER |first=Andreas |title=Interrogazione parlamentare {{!}} Limitazione dei diritti umani conseguente alla sharia {{!}} E-001463/2011 {{!}} Parlamento Europeo |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-001463_IT.html |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-07 |title=L'Europa deve bandire la Sharia |url=https://www.rightsreporter.org/europa-deve-bandire-la-sharia/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=La Sharia è già in Italia. Va messa al bando con una legge. E' contro la Costituzione e il diritto italiano. – Il blog di Carlo Franza |url=https://blog.ilgiornale.it/franza/2016/06/13/la-sharia-e-gia-in-italia-va-messa-al-bando-con-una-legge-e-contro-la-costituzione-e-il-diritto-italiano/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=blog.ilgiornale.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-08 |title=Council of Europe: Can Sharia Law Prevail Human Rights? |url=https://eclj.org/religious-freedom/pace/la-charia-est-elle-compatible-avec-les-droits-de-lhomme- |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=European Centre for Law and Justice |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hirsch |first1=Afua |last2=correspondent |first2=legal affairs |date=2008-10-23 |title=Sharia law incompatible with human rights legislation, Lords say |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/oct/23/religion-islam |access-date=2025-05-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-03-11 |title=Rick Santorum: Sharia 'is evil' |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2011/03/rick-santorum-sharia-is-evil-051166 |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=POLITICO}}</ref> In Muslim majority countries, traditional laws have been widely used with{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=19}} or changed by European models. Judicial procedures and legal education have been brought in line with European practice likewise.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} While the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to Sharia, its rules are largely retained only in family law{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} and [[Islamic criminal jurisprudence|penalties]] in some. The [[Islamic revival]] of the late 20th century [[Dawah|brought calls]] by [[Islamism|Islamic movements]] for full implementation of Sharia, including ''[[hudud]]'' [[corporal punishment]]s, such as [[stoning]]{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Mayer|2009}} through various propaganda methods ranging from civilian activities to [[radical Islamic terrorism|terrorism]].

== Etymology and usage ==
=== Contemporary usage ===
[[File:Spencer_Coll._Persian_MS._46_fol_90v_Musa_receives_the_Tawrat.jpg|thumb|[[Islamic miniature]] of [[Moses in Islam|Musa]] receiving the [[Torah in Islam|Tawrat]] from the angel [[Gabriel|Jibril]].]]
The word ''sharīʿah'' is used by Arabic-speaking peoples of the [[Middle East]] to designate a prophetic religion in its totality.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=321}} For example, ''sharīʿat Mūsā'' means "law" or "religion of [[Moses]]" and ''sharīʿatu-nā'' can mean "our religion" in reference to any monotheistic faith.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=321}} Within Islamic discourse, ''šarīʿah'' refers to religious regulations governing the lives of Muslims.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=321}} For many Muslims, the word means simply "justice," and they will consider any law that promotes justice and social welfare to conform to Sharia.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Sharia is the first of [[Four Doors]] and the lowest level on the path to [[God in Islam|God]] in [[Sufism]] and in branches of Islam that are influenced by Sufism, such as [[Ismailism]] and [[Alawism]]. It is necessary to reach from Sharia to [[Tariqa]], from there to [[Ma'rifa]] and finally to [[haqiqa]]. In each of these gates, there are 10 levels that the [[dervish]] must pass through.<ref name="Sevim">{{cite journal|last=Sevim|first=Erdem|title=Path to the Universal Self in Haji Baktash Walî: Four Doors – Forty Stations|journal=Spiritual Psychology and Counseling|publisher=Association for Spiritual Psychology and Counseling|volume=1|issue=2|date=1 October 2016|issn=2458-9675|doi=10.12738/spc.2016.2.0014|url=https://spiritualpc.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016-0014.pdf|access-date=26 February 2024|archive-date=4 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304055310/https://spiritualpc.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016-0014.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Jan Michiel Otto summarizes the evolutionary stages of understanding by distinguishing four meanings conveyed by the term ''Sharia'' in discourses.{{sfn|Otto|2008|pp=9–10}}
* ''Divine, abstract sharia'': In this sense, Sharia is a rather abstract concept which leaves ample room for various concrete interpretations by humans.
* ''Classical sharia'': This is the body of Islamic rules, principles and cases compiled by religious scholars during the first two centuries after Muhammad, including ''[[Ijtihād]]''<!-- before '[[Ijtihad|the gate of free interpretation' (ijtihad)]] was closed.-->
* ''Historical sharia(s)'': This includes the entire body of all principles, rules, cases and interpretations developed and transmitted throughout a history of more than one thousand years across the entire Muslim world, since the closing of the gate of free interpretation up to the present.
* ''Contemporary sharia(s)'': This contains the full spectrum of principles, rules, cases and interpretations developed and applied at present. Migration, modernisation and new technologies of information and communication have decreased the dominance of the legal schools of classical sharia.

A related term ''{{transliteration|ar|DIN|al-qānūn al-islāmī}}'' ({{lang|ar|{{large|القانون الإسلامي}}}}, Islamic law), which was borrowed from European usage in the late 19th century, is used in the Muslim world to refer to a legal system in the context of a modern state.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=323}}

=== Etymology ===
The primary meanings of the [[Arabic]] word ''šarīʿah'', derived from the root ''š-r-ʕ''.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=321}} The [[lexicographical]] studies records two major areas of the word can appear without religious connotation. In texts evoking a pastoral or nomadic environment, ''šarīʿah'' and its derivatives refers to watering animals at a permanent water-hole or to the seashore. One another area of use relates to notions of stretched or lengthy.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=326}} The word is cognate with the Hebrew ''saraʿ'' ({{langx|he|rtl=yes|translation=lady|שָׂרַע}}) and is likely to be the origin of the meaning "way" or "path".{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=326}} Some scholars describe it as an archaic [[Arabic]] word denoting "pathway to be followed" (analogous to ''[[Halakha]]'', or Jewish law),<ref name="haqq">Abdal-Haqq, Irshad (2006). ''Understanding Islamic Law&nbsp;– From Classical to Contemporary'' (edited by Aminah Beverly McCloud). Chapter 1 ''Islamic Law&nbsp;– An Overview of its Origin and Elements''. [[AltaMira Press]]. p. 4.</ref> or "path to the water hole"<ref name="Hashim1">{{cite book |last1=Hashim Kamali |first1=Mohammad |author-link=Mohammad Hashim Kamali |title=Shari'ah Law: An Introduction |date=2008 |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]] |isbn=978-1851685653 |pages=2, 14}}</ref><ref name="weiss1998" /> and argue that its adoption as a metaphor for a divinely ordained way of life arises from the importance of water in an arid desert environment.<ref name="weiss1998">Weiss, Bernard G. (1998). ''The Spirit of Islamic Law''. Athens, Georgia: [[University of Georgia Press]]. p. 17. {{ISBN|978-0820319773}}.</ref>

=== Use in religious texts ===
In the Quran, {{transliteration|ar|šarīʿah}} and its cognate {{transliteration|ar|širʿah}} occur once each, with the meaning "way" or "path".{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=321}}<ref>{{qref|45|18}}</ref><ref>{{qref|5|48}}</ref> The word {{transliteration|ar|šarīʿah}} was widely used by Arabic-speaking [[Jews]] during the [[Middle Ages]], being the most common translation for the word {{transliteration|he|Torah}} in the 10th-century Arabic translation of the [[Torah]] by [[Saadia Gaon]].{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=321}} A similar use of the term can be found in Christian writers.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=321}} The Arabic expression {{transliteration|ar|Sharīʿat Allāh}} ({{lang|ar|شريعة الله}} {{gloss|God's Law}}) is a common translation of {{transliteration|he|Torat [[Elokim]]}} ({{langx|he|rtl=yes|label=none|translation=Teaching [of] God|תורת אלוהים}}) and {{lang|grc|νόμος τοῦ θεοῦ}} ({{gloss|God's Law}} in Greek in the New Testament [Rom. 7: 22]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Ullmann |first=M. |year=2002 |title=Wörterbuch der griechisch-arabischen Übersetzungen des neunten Jahrhunderts |location=Wiesbaden |page=437 |quote=Rom. 7: 22: '{{lang|grc|συνήδομαι γὰρ τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ θεοῦ}}' is translated as '{{lang|ar|أني أفرح بشريعة الله}}'}}</ref> In Muslim literature, {{transliteration|ar|šarīʿah}} designates the laws or message of a prophet or God, in contrast to {{transliteration|ar|[[fiqh]]}}, which refers to a scholar's interpretation thereof.{{sfn|Calder|Hooker|2007|p=322}}

In older English-language law-related works in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, the word used for Sharia was '''''sheri'''''.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Corps de Droit Ottoman|journal=[[Law Quarterly Review]]|volume=21 |publisher=Stevens and Sons|date=October 1905|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8jUbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA443 443]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=8jUbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA444 44]}},  Number LXXXIV "The religious law of the ''Sheri'', of which the ultimate source is the Koran,[...]" – A review of ''[[Corps de Droit Ottoman]]''</ref> It, along with the French variant {{lang|fr|chéri}},<!--Relevant as the Ottoman Empire, in the late 1800s the major Muslim power, had French as its main pan-Christian language and its main language to interact with European foreigners // see the works by Johann Strauss, cited in [[Languages of the Ottoman Empire]]--> was used during the time of the [[Ottoman Empire]], and is from the [[Turkish language|Turkish]] {{lang|tr|şer'(i)}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Strauss |first=Johann |chapter-url=https://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/menalib/download/pdf/2734659?originalFilename=true |year=2010 |chapter=A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the ''Kanun-ı Esasi'' and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages |editor=Herzog, Christoph |editor2=Malek Sharif |title=The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy |location=[[Würzburg]] |pages=21–51 |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-date=11 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011233851/https://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/menalib/download/pdf/2734659?originalFilename=true |url-status=live }} ([http://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/urn/urn:nbn:de:gbv:3:5-91645 info page on book] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920231333/http://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/urn/urn:nbn:de:gbv:3:5-91645 |date=20 September 2019 }} at [[Martin Luther University]]) // Cited:  (PDF p. 41/338) // ""Chéri" may sound ambiguous in French but the term, used in our context for Islamic law (Turkish: şer'(i), is widely used in the legal literature at that time."</ref> borrowed from Arabic ''šarʿ'' which is from the same root as ''šarīʿah''.

==Historical origins==
According to the traditionalist (''[[Atharism|Atharī]]'') Muslim view, the major precepts of Sharia were passed down directly from the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]] without "historical development"<ref name="Forte-1978-8">{{cite journal|last1=Forte |first1=David F.|title=Islamic Law; the impact of Joseph Schacht|journal=Loyola Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review|date=1978|volume=1|page=8 |url=http://www.soerenkern.com/pdfs/islam/IslamicLawTheImpactofJosephSchacht.pdf|access-date=19 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420073952/http://www.soerenkern.com/pdfs/islam/IslamicLawTheImpactofJosephSchacht.pdf |archive-date=20 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the emergence of Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') also goes back to the lifetime of Muhammad.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Calder|2009}} In this view, his [[Companions of the Prophet|companions]] and followers took what he did and approved of as a model ([[sunnah]]) and transmitted this information to the succeeding generations in the form of [[hadith]].{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Calder|2009}} These reports led first to informal discussion and then systematic legal thought, articulated with greatest success in the eighth and ninth centuries by the master jurists [[Abu Hanifa]], [[Malik ibn Anas]], [[al-Shafi'i]], and [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], who are viewed as the founders of the [[Hanafi school|Hanafi]], [[Maliki school|Maliki]], [[Shafi'i school|Shafiʿi]], and [[Hanbali school|Hanbali]] legal schools (''[[Madhhab|madhāhib]]'') of Sunni jurisprudence.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}
[[File:Imam Shafii Tomb.jpg|thumb|Imam Shafi'i tomb in [[Cairo]], died 820 CE/204 AH]]

Modern historians have presented alternative theories of the formation of fiqh{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Calder|2009}} while they have accepted the general outlines of the traditionalist account at first.{{sfn|Jokisch|2015}} In the late 19th century, an influential [[Historical revisionism|revisionist]] hypothesis was advanced by [[Ignác Goldziher]] and elaborated by [[Joseph Schacht]] in the mid-20th century.{{sfn|Calder|2009}} Schacht and other scholars<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Daniel W. |author-link=Daniel W. Brown |title=Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought |date=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521570770 |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/116836545/Rethinking-Traditions-in-Modern-Islamic-Thought-Daniel-w-Brown |access-date=10 May 2018 |ref=DWBRTMIT1996 |pages=18–24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321033206/https://www.scribd.com/document/116836545/Rethinking-Traditions-in-Modern-Islamic-Thought-Daniel-w-Brown |archive-date=21 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> argued that having conquered much more populous agricultural and urban societies with already existing laws and legal needs, the initial Muslim efforts to formulate legal norms{{refn|group=note|"...the essential features of old Muhammadan jurisprudence, such as the idea of the 'living tradition' of the ancient schools of law [local practices of early Muslim communities]; a body of common doctrine expressing the earliest effort to systematize;  legal maxims which often reflect a slightly later stage, and an important nucleus of legal traditions... it is safe to say that [this] Muhammadan legal science started in the later part of the Umaiyad period, taking the legal practice of the time as its raw material and endorsing, modifying, or rejecting it"<ref name=Schacht-OoMJ-1959-190>{{cite book |title=The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence |last1=Schacht |first1=Joseph |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-year=1950 |year=1959 |page=190 }}</ref>}}
regarded the Quran{{refn|group=note|Islamic "law did not derive directly from the Koran but developed... out of popular and administrative practices under the Umayyads, and this practice often diverged from the intentions and even the explicit wording of the Koran... Norms derived from the Koran were introduced into Muhammadan law almost invariably at a secondary stage"<ref name=128-schacht>Schacht, Origins, p. 224</ref>}} and Muhammad's hadiths as just one source of law,{{refn|group=note|"In the time of Shafi'i, traditions from the Prophet were already recognized as one of the material bases of Muhammadan law. Their position in the ancient schools of law was, as we have seen, much less certain."<ref name=Schacht-OoMJ-1959-40>{{cite book |title=The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence |last1=Schacht |first1=Joseph |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-year= 1950 |year= 1959 |page=40 }}</ref> Another example is that an early major works of fiqh—[[Muwatta Imam Malik]] (edited by Shaibani)—contains 429 ahadith by Muhammad but 750 by the [[Sahabah|Companions]], [[Tabi'un|Successors]] and others,<ref name=Schacht-OoMJ-1959-22>{{cite book |title=The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence |last1=Schacht |first1=Joseph |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-year= 1950 |year= 1959 |page=22 }}</ref> in contrast to later works by al-Bukhari, Muslim, etc. that contain only ahadith by Muhammad.}} with jurist personal opinions, the legal practice of conquered peoples, and the decrees and decisions of the caliphs also being valid sources.<ref name=Jokisch-2018-393>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs90DwAAQBAJ&q=schacht+competing+schools+of+law&pg=PA394 |editor1=Anver M. Emon |editor2=Rumee Ahmed |page=393 |last1=Jokisch |first1=Benjamin |chapter=Origins of and influences on Islamic Law |access-date=11 November 2019 |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191668265 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213724/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs90DwAAQBAJ&q=schacht+competing+schools+of+law&pg=PA394 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to this theory, most canonical hadiths did not originate with Muhammad but were actually created at a later date, despite the efforts of hadith scholars to weed out fabrications.{{refn|group=note|"...a great many traditions in the classical and other collections were put into circulation only after Shafi'i's time; the first considerable body of legal traditions from the Prophet originated towards the middle of the second century..."<ref name=Schacht-OoMJ-1959-4>{{cite book |title=The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence |last1=Schacht |first1=Joseph |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-year= 1950 |year= 1959 |page=4 }}</ref>}}
After it became accepted that legal norms must be formally grounded in scriptural sources, proponents of rules of jurisprudence supported by the hadith would extend the [[Hadith studies|chains of transmission]] of the hadith back to Muhammad's companions.{{sfn|Calder|2009}} In his view, the real architect of Islamic jurisprudence was [[al-Shafi'i]], who formulated this idea (that legal norms must be formally grounded in scriptural sources) and other elements of classical legal theory in his work ''[[Al-Risala (al-Shafi'i book)|al-risala]]'',{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Jokisch|2015}} but who was preceded by a body of Islamic law not based on primacy of Muhammad's hadiths.
[[File:Safaitic script with a figure of a camel on a red sandstone fragment, from es-Safa, currently housed in the British Museum.jpg|thumb|left|[[Safaitic]] script with a figure of a camel on a red sandstone fragment, from [[Al-Safa (Syria)|es-Safa]], currently housed in the British Museum]]
Some articles that may be considered precursors of Sharia law and rituals can be found in the [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arabic religions]]; pilgrimage is mentioned in pre-Islamic [[safaitic|Safaitic-Arabic]] inscriptions,{{Sfn|Al-Jallad|2022|p=41–44, 68}} and continuity can be observed in certain details, especially in today's hajj and [[umrah]] rituals.{{Sfn|Dost|2023}} [[Hijab|The veiling order]], which distinguishes between [[Islamic views on concubinage|slaves]]<ref name=Fadl>{{cite book|author=Khaled Abou El Fadl|title=Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FU4QBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT198|date=1 October 2014|publisher=Oneworld Publications|pages=525–526|isbn=9781780744681}}</ref> and free [[women in Islam]], also coincides with similar distinctions seen in pre-Islamic civilizations.<ref name="Ahmed 1992 15">{{cite book|last=Ahmed|first=Leila|title=Women and Gender in Islam|year=1992|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|page=15}}</ref><ref name="El Guindi">{{Cite book|last=El Guindi|first=Fadwa|title=Hijab|publisher=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|author2=Sherifa Zahur|year= 2009|doi=10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001|isbn=9780195305135}}</ref>
[[File:Code of Hammurabi IMG 1937.JPG|thumb|alt=Cuneiform on the stele. Refer to adjacent text|In the [[laws of Hammurabi]], [[Eye for an eye|an eye for an eye]] was applied if a free man (avīlum) gouged out the eye/broke the bone of another free man of equal status; otherwise, a monetary penalty was paid.]]
[[Qisas]] was a practice used as a resolution tool in inter-tribal conflicts in [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arab society]]. The basis of this resolution was that a member from the tribe to which the murderer belonged was handed over to the victim's family for execution, equivalent to the social status of the murdered person.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=KIRAZLI |first=SADIK |date=2011 |title=Conflict and Conflict Resolution in the pre-Islamic Arab Society |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41932575 |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=25–53 |jstor=41932575 |issn=0578-8072}}</ref> The "condition of social equivalence" meant the execution of a member of the murderer's tribe who was equivalent to the murdered person. For example, only a slave could be killed for a slave, and a woman for a woman. In other cases, ''compensatory payment ([[Blood money in Islam|Diya]])'' could be paid to the family of the murdered. On top of this pre-Islamic understanding added a debate about whether a Muslim can be executed for a non-Muslim during the Islamic period. The main verse for implementation in Islam is [[Al Baqara]] 178: "Believers! Retaliation is ordained for you regarding the people who were killed. Free versus free, slave versus slave, woman versus woman. Whoever is forgiven by the brother of the slain for a price, let him abide by the custom and pay the price well."

Modern historians generally adopt intermediate positions regarding origins,{{sfn|Jokisch|2015}} suggesting that early Islamic jurisprudence developed out of a combination of administrative and popular practices shaped by the religious and ethical precepts of Islam.{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}} It continued some aspects of pre-Islamic laws and customs of the lands that fell under Muslim rule in the aftermath of the [[Early Muslim conquests|early conquests]] and modified others, aiming to meet the practical need of establishing Islamic norms of behavior and adjudicating disputes arising in the community.{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=125}} Juristic thought gradually developed in study circles, where independent scholars met to learn from a local master and discuss religious topics.{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=125}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=31–35}} At first, these circles were fluid in their membership, but with time distinct regional legal schools crystallized around shared sets of methodological principles.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=31–35}} As the boundaries of the schools became clearly delineated, the authority of their doctrinal tenets came to be vested in a master jurist from earlier times, who was henceforth identified as the school's founder.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=31–35}} In the course of the first three centuries of Islam, all legal schools came to accept the broad outlines of classical legal theory, according to which Islamic law had to be firmly rooted in the Quran and hadith.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=130}}

== Traditional jurisprudence (''fiqh'') ==
{{Main|Fiqh}}
''[[Fiqh]]'' is traditionally divided into the fields of ''[[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|uṣūl al-fiqh]]'' (lit. the roots of ''fiqh''), which studies the theoretical principles of jurisprudence, and ''furūʿ al-fiqh'' (lit. the branches of ''fiqh''), which is devoted to elaboration of rulings on the basis of these principles.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Schneider|2014}}

=== Principles of jurisprudence (''uṣūl al-fiqh'') ===
{{Main|Principles of Islamic jurisprudence}}
Classical Islamic jurisprudence refers how to elaborate and interpret religious sources that are considered reliable within the framework of "procedural principles" within its context such as [[linguistic]] and "[[rhetoric|rhetorical tools]]" to derive judgments for new situations by taking into account certain purposes and mesalih. Textual phrases usually dealt with under simple antithetical headings: general and particular, command and prohibition, obscure and clear, truth and metaphor. It also comprises methods for establishing authenticity of hadith and for determining when the legal force of a scriptural passage is [[Naskh (tafsir)|abrogated]] by a passage revealed at a later date.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}

The sources of judgment in classical fiqh are roughly divided into two: Manqūlāt (Quran and hadith) and Aqliyyāt (ijma, qiyas, ijtihad and others).<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://nou.edu.ng/coursewarecontent/ISL431%20Principles%20of%20Islamic%20Jurisprudence%20100713.pdf | title=Course title: principles of islamic jurisrudence | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312074410/https://nou.edu.ng/coursewarecontent/ISL431%20Principles%20of%20Islamic%20Jurisprudence%20100713.pdf | archive-date=12 March 2024 }}</ref> Some of them (Aqliyyāt) are considered to be the product of [[scholastic theology]] and [[Aristotelian logic]].<ref>Some are derived from the science of Aristotelian logic which the philosopher-theologian writers mutakallimun had become accustomed to discussing in the introductions to their works. ........... Some are derived from Ilm al Kalam Scholastic Theology, and include discussions of such questions as the nature of the Sovereign Hakim, in the sense of whether it is the Shari'ah itself or reason which decides what is right and what is wrong;.... https://www.iefpedia.com/english/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/USUL-FIQH.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312074408/https://www.iefpedia.com/english/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/USUL-FIQH.pdf |date=12 March 2024 }}</ref> It was an important area of debate among traditional fiqh scholars how much space should be given to rational methods in creating provisions such as extracting provisions from religious texts, as well as expanding, restricting, abolishing or postponing these provisions according to new situations, considering the purpose and benefit, together with new sociologies, in the face of changing conditions.<ref>Legal acts are valid when they fulfill all the essential requirements (arkān), causes, conditions and hindrances. They are void when any of these is lacking or deficient. https://nou.edu.ng/coursewarecontent/ISL431%20Principles%20of%20Islamic%20Jurisprudence%20100713.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312074410/https://nou.edu.ng/coursewarecontent/ISL431%20Principles%20of%20Islamic%20Jurisprudence%20100713.pdf |date=12 March 2024 }}</ref>

In this context, in the Classical period, the ulema were divided into groups (among other divisions such as political divisions) regarding the place of "[['Aql]]" vis-à-vis naql:<ref>So, it was in this way that the Ummah, those who had not become involved with either the Shi'ah or the Khawarij, was divided into two groups, Ahl al Hadith and Ahl al Ra'i; and the conflict between them intensified.https://www.iefpedia.com/english/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/USUL-FIQH.pdf</ref> those who rely on narration ([[Atharism|Atharists]], [[Ahl al-Hadith]]), those who rely on reason ([[Kalam|Ahl al-Kalām]], [[Mu'tazila]] and [[Ahl al-Ra'y]]) and those who tried to find a middle way between the two attitudes such as [[Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari]] in theology (syncretists).<ref name="auto">{{Harvtxt|Blankinship|2008|page=53}}</ref> In the classical age of Islam, there were violent conflicts between rationalists (aqliyyun; [[Mu'tazilism|al-muʿtazila]], [[kalam]]iyya) and traditionalist (naqliyyun, literalists, [[Ahl al-Hadith]]) groups and sects regarding the Quran and hadith or the place of reason in understanding the Quran and hadith,<ref name="Mirzaee, A. 2012 pp. 7-26">Mirzaee, A. (2012). 'Decline of Mu'tazilite Thought: The Heritage of Conflict between Ahl Al-Hadith and Mu'tazilites', Journal of Seven Heavens, 14(54), pp. 7–26</ref> as can be seen in the [[Mihna]] example.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://pluriel.fuce.eu/article/the-mihna-deconstruction-and-reconsideration-of-the-mutazilite-role-in-the-inquisition/?lang=en | title=The Mihna. Deconstruction and reconsideration of the Mu'tazilite role in the "Inquisition | access-date=12 March 2024 | archive-date=12 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312075914/https://pluriel.fuce.eu/article/the-mihna-deconstruction-and-reconsideration-of-the-mutazilite-role-in-the-inquisition/?lang=en | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Oubrou">{{cite web |author=Taareq Oubrou |title=Coran créé ou incréé |url=https://tareqoubrou.com/coran-cree-ou-incree/ |access-date=12 March 2024 |archive-date=12 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312074409/https://tareqoubrou.com/coran-cree-ou-incree/ |url-status=live }}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Although the rationalists initially seemed to gain the upper hand in this conflict, with the rise of literalism, the Mutazila sank into history and literalism continued to live by gaining supporters.<ref name="Mirzaee, A. 2012 pp. 7-26"/>

In this context, the formulation of the Sunni view can be summarized as follows; Human reason is a gift from God which should be exercised to its fullest capacity.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|p=15}} However, use of reason alone is insufficient [[Enjoining good and forbidding wrong|to distinguish right from wrong]], and rational argumentation must draw its content from the body of transcendental knowledge revealed in the Quran and through the sunnah of Muhammad.{{sfn|Dahlén|loc=chpt. 4c|2003}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|p=15}} In addition to the Quran and sunnah, the classical theory of Sunni fiqh recognizes two other sources of law: juristic consensus (''[[Ijma|ijmaʿ]]'') and analogical reasoning (''[[qiyas]]'').{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009}} It therefore studies the application and limits of analogy, as well as the value and limits of consensus, along with other methodological principles, some of which are accepted by only certain legal schools.{{sfn|Calder|2009}} This interpretive apparatus is brought together under the rubric of ''[[ijtihad]]'', which refers to a jurist's exertion in an attempt to arrive at a ruling on a particular question.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}

The theory of [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia]] jurisprudence parallels that of Sunni schools with some differences, such as recognition of reason (''[['Aql|ʿaql]]'') as a source of law in place of ''qiyas'' and extension of the notion of sunnah to include traditions of the [[Twelve Imams|imams]].{{sfn|Dahlén|loc=chpt. 4c|2003}}{{sfn|Kamali|1999|pp=121–22}}

==== Sources for Ahkam al-Sharia ====
{{Main|Sources of Sharia}}
Islamic scholar [[Rashid Rida]] (1865–1935 CE) lists the four basic sources of Islamic law, agreed upon by all [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]]: "the [well-known] sources of legislation in Islam are four: the ''[[Quran|Qur'an]]'', the ''[[Sunnah]]'', the [[Ijma|consensus]] of the ''[[ummah]]'' and ''[[ijtihad]]'' undertaken by competent jurists"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rashīd Riḍā|first=Muhammad|title=The Muhammadan Revelation|publisher=Al-Saadawi Publications|year=1996|isbn=1-881963-55-1|location=Alexandria, VA|page=127}}</ref> 

While traditional understanding strongly denies that Quran may have changed,([[Al Hejr]]:9)<ref> Classical jurists held its "[[Textual criticism|textual integrity]]" to be beyond doubt on account of it having been handed down by many people in each generation, which is known as "recurrence" or "concurrent transmission" (''tawātur'').{{harvnb|Ziadeh|2009}}{{harvnb|Hallaq|2009a|pp=16–18}}{{harvnb|Dahlén|loc=chpt. 4b|2003}}</ref> the authenticity of hadiths could only be questioned through the chain of narration, though some western researchers suggests that primary sources may have also been evolved.

[[File:Blue koran sanaa.jpg|thumb|Page from the [[Sanaa manuscript]]. ]]
* ''[[Quran]]'': in Islam, the Quran is considered to be the most sacred source of law.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=16–18}} According to classical mainstream jurists, the verses of the Quran that were "revealed later" in Islamic language may have [[Naskh (tafsir)|restricted or abolished the earlier]] verses.<ref name="JBSILITA1990:43-44,56-59,122-124">[[#JBSILITA1990|Burton, ''Islamic Theories of Abrogation'', 1990]]: pp. 43–44, 56–59, 122–124</ref> Therefore, deciding which verses of the Quran will be used, in addition to other knowledge and skills, may be the job of [[Ulama|lawyers who know these issues in detail]]. Whether the Sunnah could limit the Quran remained a matter of debate. [[Madhab|Fiqh sects]] are schools of understanding that try to determine the actions that people should do or avoid based on the Quran and hadiths. [[Hanafi school|Hanafi sect]] requires that in order for something to be considered [[fard]], it must be clearly commanded in the Qur'an "according to logical and grammatical requirements such as addressee, order and scope, etc.", expressions that do not meet this condition are placed in the "wujub" class, which expresses a lower level of necessity.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ebrahim |first=Mufti |url=http://www.albalagh.net/qa/fard_wajib_sunnah.shtml |title=Albalagh.net |publisher=Albalagh.net |date=28 April 2002 |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-date=16 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116180401/http://www.albalagh.net/qa/fard_wajib_sunnah.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of these fiqh results (ahkam) may also indicate exaggeration of statements, generalizations taken out of context, and imperative broadening of scope.

A small number of verses in the Quran are about general rules of governance, inheritance, [[Marriage in Islam|marriage]], [[Hudud|crime and punishment]]. There are notable exceptions to some of these rules, as in [[Al-Ahzab]] 49; jurists state that they are specific to Muhammad alone. Although the Quran does not impose [[Political aspects of Islam|a specific legal-management system]], it emphasizes [[ma'ruf|custom]] in nearly 40 verses and commands [[Adl|justice.]] ([[An-Nahl]]; 90) The practices prescribed in the Quran are considered as reflections of [[Quranic hermeneutics|contextual legal understandings]], as can be clearly seen in some examples such as [[Qisas]] and [[Diya (Islam)|diya]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://zh.booksc.eu/book/52479161/c42c5a |title=Conflict and Conflict Resolution in the pre-Islamic Arab Society &#124; SADIK KIRAZLI &#124; download |access-date=31 January 2022 |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129180325/https://zh.booksc.eu/book/52479161/c42c5a |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/61846/1/Tahir%20Wasti.pdf | title=The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan | author=Tahir Wasti | website=ndl.ethernet.edu.et | year=2009}}</ref> The following statement in the Quran is thought to be the general rule of testimony in [[Islamic criminal jurisprudence|Islamic jurisprudence]], except for crime and punishment – for example, debt, shopping, etc.; O believers! When you contract a loan for a fixed period of time, commit it to writing....with justice. Call upon two of your men to witness. If two men cannot be found, then one man and two women of your choice will witness so if one of the women forgets the other may remind her....<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah Al-Baqarah – 282 |url=https://quran.com/en/al-baqarah/282 |access-date=16 December 2024 |website=Quran.com |language=en}}</ref> Rules of inheritance was also mentioned in the Quran, in regards to certain family members having their share..{{qref|4|11|b=y|s=y}}<ref name=davidpowers>{{cite journal |last1=Powers |first1=David S. | title=Islamic Inheritance System: A Socio-Historical Approach |journal=Arab Law Quarterly |volume=8 |issue=1 |year=1993 |pages=13–29 |jstor=3381490 |doi=10.1163/157302593X00285}}</ref>

In a different example, in [[The Necklace Incident|the necklace story of Aisha]], called [[Asbab al-Nuzul]] for surah [[An-Nur]] :11-20 four witnesses were required for the accusation of adultery. In addition, those who made accusations that did not meet the specified conditions would be punished with 80 lashes. The jurisprudence of later periods stipulates that witnesses must be men, covering all [[hudud|hadd crimes]] and people who did not have credibility and honesty in society ([[Islamic views on slavery|slaves]], non-adl; [[fasiq|sinners]], infidels) could not testify against believers.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Peters|first1=Rudolph|title=Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521796705|pages=53–55}}</ref> In addition, the Islamic judiciary did not require proof of the issues defined as [[tazir]].<ref>Oudah supports the ‘medieval’ classifi cation of crimes into hudud, qisas and diyat, and tazir. The key factors that determine the classifi cation of these crimes, he states, are the element of pardoning the accused, taking into account mitigating circumstances and the requirement of strict proof in proving the offences http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/61846/1/Tahir%20Wasti.pdf</ref> The statement in the Qur'an that determines the status of slaves in community is; ''ma malakat aymanuhum''<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web | url=https://www.alhakam.org/what-is-the-meaning-of-those-whom-your-right-hand-possesses-milk-al-yamin | title=What is the meaning of "those whom your right hand possesses" (milk al-yamin)? | website=www.alhakam.org | date=28 May 2021}}</ref> meaning "[[Islamic views on slavery|those whom your right hands possess]]".

Of the few criminal cases listed as crimes in the Quran, only a few of them are punished by the classical books of Sharia as determined by the verses of the Quran and are called [[hudud laws]]. How the verse [[Al-Ma'idah]] 33, which describes the crime of [[hirabah]], should be understood is a matter of debate even today.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/JS/article/download/27993/12654/63844 | title=The crime of ḥirābah: approach, justification and significance | website=ejournal.um.edu.my | author=Muhammad Hameedullah | date=31 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="AutoN0-18">{{cite journal |last1=Khasan |first1=Moh |title=From Textuality to Universality: The Evolution of Ḥirābah Crimes in Islamic Jurisprudence |journal=Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies |date=24 May 2021 |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.14421/ajis.2021.591.1-32 |url=https://aljamiah.or.id/index.php/AJIS/article/view/59101 |access-date=16 November 2024 |language=en |issn=2338-557X|doi-access=free }}</ref> The verse talks about the punishment of criminals by killing, hanging, having their [[Cross-amputation|hands and feet cut off on opposite sides]], and being exiled from the earth, in response to an -abstract- crime such as "[[Fasad|fighting against Allah and His Messenger]]". Today, commentators – in the face of the development of the understanding of law and the increasing reactions to corporal punishment<ref>. In contrast with textuality approach by classical Muslim's scholars, modern Muslim's scholars have the same perception to reformulate ḥirābah from many perspectives, like definition, principle of liability, and formulation of punishment. This reformulation of ḥirābah, and also of Islamic criminal law in general, not only based on compatibility reasons to modernity, but also to harmonize with the changing of time and place. Textual understanding and the principle of individual and locality in
ḥirābah are no longer competent with the principles of modernity which prior to collectivity and universality.Al-Jāmi'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies – ISSN: 0126-012X (p); 2356-0912 (e) Vol. 59, no. 1 (2021), pp.1–32, doi: 10.14421/ajis.2021.591.1-32</ref>- claim that the verse determines the punishment of "concrete sequential criminal acts" – such as massacre, robbery and rape – in addition to rebellion against the legitimate government, and that the punishment to be given depends on the existence of these preconditions. 
* ''[[Sunnah]]'' / ''[[Hadith]]'':Although hadiths have largely replaced the sunnah in [[sunni|orthodoxy]] legislation today, according to some research, the opposite was true in the early Islamic society. Sunnah originally meant a tradition that did not contain the definition of good and bad.<ref name="Juynboll">{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Juynboll |first=G. H. A. |date=1997 |title=Sunna |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=2nd |publisher=Brill |editor1-first=P. |editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C. E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |volume=9 |pages=878–879}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/reference/glossary/term.SUNNAH.html | title=Sunnah | access-date=14 May 2024 | archive-date=5 December 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205042656/http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/reference/glossary/term.SUNNAH.html | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wehr |first1=Hans |title=A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic |url=https://giftsofknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/hans-wehr-searchable-pdf.pdf |website=Hans Wehr Searchable PDF |access-date=15 June 2020 |page=369 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620203718/https://giftsofknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/hans-wehr-searchable-pdf.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="OISO">{{cite web |title=Sunnah |url= http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e332 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130616030931/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e332 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 16 June 2013 |website=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="Oxford University Press">{{cite book |title=The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence |last1=Schacht |first1=Joseph |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1959 |orig-year=1950 |page=58}}</ref>  Later, "good traditions" began to be referred to as sunnah and the concept of "Muhammad's sunnah" was established.<ref name="Juynboll" /> Muhammad's sunnah gave way to the "hadiths of Muhammad" which were [[Oral tradition|transmitted orally]],{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=3}} then recorded in corpuses and [[Hadith studies|systematized and purified within following centuries]]. According to Harald Motzki and Daniel W. Brown the earliest Islamic legal reasonings that have come down to us were "virtually hadith-free", but gradually, over the course of second century [[Hijri year|A.H.]] "the infiltration and incorporation of Prophetic hadiths into Islamic jurisprudence" took place.<ref>{{cite journal | first = Harald | last = Motzki | title = The Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani as a Source of Authentic Ahadith of the First Century A.H. | journal = Journal of Near Eastern Studies | volume = 50 | year = 1991 | page = 21| doi = 10.1086/373461 | s2cid = 162187154 }}</ref><ref name=DWBRTMIT1996:12>[[#DWBRTMIT1996|Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996]]: p.12</ref> The value of customs (see also: [[urf]], [[ma'ruf]]) manifests itself in the classification of food and drinks as [[halal]] and [[haram]]; Some jurists such as Al- Shafi'i and [[Ibn Qudamah]] have determined the haram/halal criterion as "compatibility or contradiction with the Arab's customary habits and nature".<ref>Some of forbidden and permissed foods and drinks mentoined in Quran and the tradition of the prophet; others were determined by scholar, but the some of them were ınfluenced of Arab’s culturehttp://www.ilafdergi.hitit.edu.tr/Makaleler/772304030_2.14.pdf</ref> 

Although for many [[madhab|Muslim sects]], hadith was second to that of the [[Quran]] in authority,<ref name="EB">{{cite web |title=Hadith |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hadith |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref> the majority of [[ahkam|Sharia rules]] derived from hadith rather than the Quran.<ref name="Forte-1978-2">{{cite journal|last1=Forte|first1=David F.|title=Islamic Law; the impact of Joseph Schacht|journal=Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review |date=1978|volume=1|page=2 |url=http://www.soerenkern.com/pdfs/islam/IslamicLawTheImpactofJosephSchacht.pdf |access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|"The full systems of Islamic theology and law are not derived primarily from the Quran. Muhammad's sunna was a second but far more detailed living scripture, and later Muslim scholars would thus often refer to Muhammad as 'The Possessor of Two Revelations'".<ref name="JACBMM2014:18">[[#JACBMM2014|J.A.C. Brown, ''Misquoting Muhammad'', 2014]]: p.18</ref>|group=Note}} The body of hadith provides more detailed and practical legal guidance, but it was recognized early on that not all of them were authentic.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=16–18}} Early Islamic scholars developed personal criteria for evaluating their authenticity by assessing trustworthiness of the individuals listed in their transmission chains.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=16–18}} These studies narrowed down the vast corpus of prophetic traditions to several thousand "sound (seeming to collectors)" hadiths, which were collected in several canonical compilations.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=16–18}} The hadiths which enjoyed concurrent transmission were deemed [[mutawatir]]; however, the vast majority of hadiths were handed down by only one or a few transmitters and were therefore seen to yield only probable knowledge.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=16–18}}{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009}} The uncertainty was further compounded by ambiguity of the language contained in some hadiths and Quranic passages.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=16–18}} Disagreements on the relative merits and interpretation of the textual sources allowed legal scholars considerable leeway in formulating alternative rulings.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

In [[Imam Malik]]'s usage, hadith did not consist only of the words claimed to belong to Muhammad as is the case with [[Shia|Shiite Muslims]]. While hadith does not appear to be an important source of decision for early fiqh scholars such as [[Abu Hanifa]], for later scholars, hadith is perceived as the words of Muhammad merely and is considered as a strong and separate source of decision alongside the Quran. Today, [[Quranism|Quranists]] do not consider hadiths as a valid source of religious rulings.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=Hadis & Sünnet: Şeytani Bidatler |url=http://www.teslimolanlar.org/ekler.php?ekid=19 |access-date=25 May 2021 |website=Teslimolanlar |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525090921/http://www.teslimolanlar.org/ekler.php?ekid=19 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Öztürk|first=Yaşar Nuri|title=İslam Nasıl Yozlaştırıldı: Vahyin Dininden Sapmalar, Hurafeler, Bid'atlar|date=2015|id={{ASIN|9756779306|country=tr}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Appendix 19, Hadith & Sunna: Satanic Innovations|url=https://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/appendix19.html|access-date=26 August 2021|website=www.masjidtucson.org|archive-date=20 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820173104/https://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/appendix19.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Ijma]]'': it is the consensus that could in principle elevate a ruling based on probable evidence to absolute certainty.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=21–22}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} This classical doctrine drew its authority from a series of hadiths stating that the Islamic community could never agree on an error.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=21–22}} This form of consensus was technically defined as agreement of all competent jurists in any particular generation, acting as representatives of the community.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=21–22}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Kamali|1999|p=146}} However, the practical difficulty of obtaining and ascertaining such an agreement meant that it had little impact on legal development.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=21–22}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} A more pragmatic form of consensus, which could be determined by consulting works of prominent jurists, was used to confirm a ruling so that it could not be reopened for further discussion.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} The cases for which there was a consensus account form less than 1 percent of the body of classical jurisprudence.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=21–22}}
* ''[[Qiyas]]'': it is the Analogical reasoning that is used to derive a ruling for a situation not addressed in the scripture by analogy with a scripturally based rule.{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009}} In a classic example, the Quranic prohibition of drinking wine is extended to all intoxicating substances, on the basis of the "cause"  (''ʿilla'') shared by these situations, which in this case is identified to be intoxication.{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009}} Since the cause of a rule may not be apparent, its selection commonly occasioned controversy and extensive debate.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=23–24}} Majority of [[Sunni Muslims]] view ''[[Qiyas]]'' as a central Pillar of ''[[Ijtihad]]''.<ref name="overview">{{cite book|author1=Irshad Abdel Haqq|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZS7EaHTQX8C&q=Islamic+law%3A+An+Overview+of+Its+Origins+and+Elements&pg=PA1|title=Understanding Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemporary|publisher=Rowman Altamira|year=2006|isbn=9780759109919|editor1-last=Ramadan|editor1-first=Hisham M.|author-link1=Islamic law: An Overview of Its Origins and Elements|access-date=17 August 2016|archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920215257/https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZS7EaHTQX8C&q=Islamic+law:+An+Overview+of+Its+Origins+and+Elements&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}</ref> On the other hand; [[Zahiri]]tes, [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], [[Al-Bukhari]], early [[Hanbalites]], etc rejected ''Qiyas'' amongst the Sunnis.<ref>{{Cite book|last=B. Hallaq|first=Wael|title=The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2005|isbn=978-0-521-80332-8|location=Cambridge, UK|pages=124, 127}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lucas|first1=Scott C.|date=2006|title=The Legal Principles of Muhammad B. Ismāʿīl Al-Bukhārī and Their Relationship to Classical Salafi Islam|journal=Islamic Law and Society|volume=13|issue=3|page=292|doi=10.1163/156851906778946341}}</ref><ref>Mansoor Moaddel, ''Islamic Modernism, Nationalism, and Fundamentalism: Episode and Discourse'', pg. 32. [[Chicago]]: [[University of Chicago Press]], 2005.</ref> Twelver Shia jurisprudence also does not recognize the use of ''qiyas'', but relies on reason (''ʿ[['aql]]'') in its place.{{sfn|Dahlén|loc=chpt. 4c|2003}}{{sfn|Schneider|2014}}

===== Aims of Sharia and public interest =====
{{Main|Maqasid|Maslaha}}
''Maqāṣid'' (aims or purposes) of Sharia and ''maṣlaḥa'' (welfare or public interest) are two related classical doctrines which have come to play an increasingly prominent role in modern times.{{sfn|Duderija|2014|pp=2–6}}{{sfn|Brown|2009}}{{sfn|Gleave|2012}} [[Al-Ghazālī|Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī]], [[Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam]] and [[Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi]] used maslaha and madasıd as equivalent terms.<ref>Al-Ghazālī: ''al-Mustaṣfā min ʿilm al-ʾuṣūl.'' Ed. Aḥmad Zakī Ḥammād. SIDRA, Riad, 2009?. S. 328. ({{archive.org |20200821_20200821_0953 |Blatt=n327}}).</ref><ref>Abdeljelil: „Die Maximen der islamischen Jurisprudenz". 2014, S. 68–70.</ref> Synonyms for the term maqāṣid aš-šarīʿa are the expressions maqāṣid aš-šāriʿ ("intentions of the legislature"), maqāṣid at-tašrīʿ ("intentions of the legislature "), ruḥ aš -šarīʿa ("Spirit of Sharia"), ḥikmat at-tašrīʿ ("Wisdom of Legislation") and falsafat at-tašrīʿ ("Philosophy of Legislation").<ref>Kurnaz: ''Der Diskurs über maqāṣid aš-šarīʿa.'' 2014, S. 92.</ref>

They were first clearly articulated by [[al-Ghazali]] (d. 1111), who argued that ''Maqāṣid'' and ''maslaha'' was God's general purpose in revealing the divine law, and that its specific aim was preservation of five essentials of human well-being: religion, life, intellect, offspring, and property.{{sfn|Opwis|2007|p=65}}

Although most classical-era jurists recognized ''maslaha'' and ''maqasid'' as important legal principles, they held different views regarding the role they should play in Islamic law.{{sfn|Duderija|2014|pp=2–6}}{{sfn|Gleave|2012}} Some jurists viewed them as auxiliary rationales constrained by scriptural sources and analogical reasoning.{{sfn|Duderija|2014|pp=2–6}}{{sfn|Opwis|2007|pp=66–68}} Others regarded them as an "independent" source of law, whose general principles could override specific [[Zahiri school|inferences based on the letter of scripture]].{{sfn|Duderija|2014|pp=2–6}}{{sfn|Opwis|2007|pp=68–69}} Taking maqasid and maslaha as an "independent" [[sources of sharia|source of sharia]] – rather than an auxiliary one – will pave the way for the re-critique and reorganization of [[ahkam]] in the context of maqasid and maslaha,<ref name="files.eric.ed.gov">{{Cite web | url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1128456.pdf | title=Translation of the Holy Quran: A Call for Standardization | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325222213/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1128456.pdf | archive-date=25 March 2024 }}</ref> thus (including [[hudud]]), which is often criticized in terms of today's values and seen as problematic,<ref name="Gontowska, Luiza Maria 2005">Gontowska, Luiza Maria, "Human Rights Violations Under the Sharia'a : A Comparative Study of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran" (2005). Honors College Theses. Paper 13.</ref> in terms of the purposes of Sharia and social benefits will be replaced by new ones. [[Abdallah bin Bayyah]] goes further with an approach that prioritizes purpose and benefit among the sources of Sharia and declares it to be the heart of "usul-al fiqh".<ref name="files.eric.ed.gov"/>
[[File:The tomb of Imam Al-Ghazali.jpg|thumb|Mausoleum of [[Al-Ghazali]] in [[Tus, Iran|Tus]]; Many see Al-Ghazali as the last [[mujtahid]], and his period as the period when the door of ijtihad closed and, in a sense, the Islamic Middle Ages began, and they think that Ghazali is responsible for this.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Naseem Rafiabadi|first=Hamid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F3rEjofhC2oC&dq=Ghazali+gates+of+Ijtihad&pg=PA293|title=Emerging From Darkness: Ghazzali's Impact on the Western Philosophers|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=2002|isbn=81-7625-310-3|location=New Delhi |pages=293}}</ref>]]

While the latter view was held by a minority of classical jurists, in modern times it came to be championed in different forms by prominent scholars who sought to adapt Islamic law to changing social conditions by drawing on the intellectual heritage of traditional jurisprudence.{{sfn|Duderija|2014|pp=2–6}}{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009}}{{sfn|Brown|2009}} These scholars expanded the inventory of ''maqasid'' to include such aims of Sharia as reform and [[women's rights]] ([[Rashid Rida]]); justice and freedom ([[Mohammed al-Ghazali]]); and [[human rights]] and [[dignity]] ([[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]]).{{sfn|Duderija|2014|pp=2–6}}

==== Ijtihad ====
{{Main|Ijtihad}}
'''''Ijtihad''''' {{lit|physical||mental effort}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}} refers to independent reasoning by an expert in [[Islamic law]],<ref name=ODI-Ijtihad>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Ijtihad|chapter=Taqiyah |editor=John L. Esposito |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-512558-0 |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-978-0-19-512558-0-e-2338|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref> or exertion of a jurist's mentality in finding a solution to a legal question{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}} in contrast with ''[[taqlid]]'' ([[conformity]] to precedent ijtihad).<ref name=ODI-Ijtihad/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Taqlid|editor=John L. Esposito|encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-512558-0|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-2339|url-access=subscription|access-date=6 March 2024|archive-date=16 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416101857/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-2339|url-status=live}}</ref> According to theory, ''ijtihad'' requires expertise in the Arabic language, theology, religious texts, and principles of jurisprudence (''[[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|usul al-fiqh]]''),<ref name=ODI-Ijtihad/> and is not employed where authentic and trusted texts ([[Qur'an]] and [[hadith]]) are considered unambiguous with regard to the question, or where there is an existing scholarly consensus (''[[ijma]]'').{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}} An [[Islamic scholar]] who perform ''ijtihad'' is called  "''[[Ijtihad#Qualifications of a mujtahid|mujtahid]]''".{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}}<ref>sometimes spelt ''mojtahed''</ref> In the general understanding, beyond the limitation of ijtihad to those situations that do not have a clear ruling in the Quran and hadiths, scholars who have the ability to give general judgments are also ranked with definitions such as "mujtahid mutlaq", "mujtahid in sect", "mujtahid in issue".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stevenmasood.org/article/concept-ijtihad-history-islamic-jurisprudence|title=The concept of Ijtihad in the history of Islamic Jurisprudence &#124; Dr. Steven Masood|website=stevenmasood.org|access-date=1 November 2024|archive-date=1 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901165834/https://stevenmasood.org/article/concept-ijtihad-history-islamic-jurisprudence|url-status=live}}</ref> Rulings based on ijtihad are not decisions that require obligatory implementation for other Muslims.

Throughout the first five [[Islamic calendar|Islamic centuries]], ''ijtihad'' continued to practise amongst Sunni Muslims. The controversy surrounding ''ijtihad'' started with the beginning of the twelfth century.<ref name="B. Hallaq 20, 33">{{Cite journal|last=B. Hallaq|first=Wael|date=March 1984|title=Was the Gate of Ijtihad Closed?|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/162939|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|volume=16|issue=1|pages=20, 33|doi=10.1017/S0020743800027598|jstor=162939|s2cid=159897995}}</ref> By the 14th century, [[Fiqh|Islamic Fiqh]] prompted leading Sunni jurists to state that the main legal questions had been addressed and then ''ijtihad'' was gradually restricted.{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}} In the modern era, this gave rise to a perception amongst [[Orientalism|Orientalist]] scholars and sections of the Muslim public that the so-called "gate of ''ijtihad''" was closed at the start of the classical era.{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gould |first=Rebecca |date=January 2015 |title=Ijtihād against Madhhab: Legal Hybridity and the Meanings of Modernity in Early Modern Daghestan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43908333 |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=50–51 |doi=10.1017/S0010417514000590 |jstor=43908333 |s2cid=121170987}}</ref>

Starting from the 18th century, [[Islamic revival|Islamic reformers]] began calling for abandonment of ''taqlid'' and emphasis on ''ijtihad'', which they saw as a return to Islamic origins.{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}}  The advocacy of ''ijtihad'' has been particularly associated with [[Islamic Modernism]] and [[Salafi]]yya movements. Among contemporary Muslims in the West there have emerged new visions of ''ijtihad'' which emphasize substantive moral values over traditional juridical understandings.{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}}

[[Shia]] jurists did not use the term ''ijtihad'' until the 12th century. With the exception of [[Zaydi]]s, the early [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imami]] [[Shia Islam|Shia]] were unanimous in censuring ''Ijtihad'' in the field of law (''[[Ahkam]]'') until the Shiite embrace of various doctrines of [[Muʿtazila|Mu'tazila]] and classical Sunnite ''[[Fiqh]]''.{{sfn|Rabb|2009c}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rahman |first=Fazlur |title=REVIVAL AND REFORM IN ISLAM: A Study of Islamic Fundamentalism |publisher=One World Publications Oxford |year=2000 |isbn=1-85168-204-X |location=Oxford, England |pages=63–64}}</ref> After the victory of the [[Usuli|''Usulis'']] who based law on principles ([[Usul Fiqh in Ja'fari school|usul]]) over the [[Akhbari|''Akhbaris'']] ("traditionalists") who emphasized on reports or traditions (''khabar'') by the 19th century, ''Ijtihad'' would become a mainstream Shia practice.<ref name="Mohammad Farzaneh 2015 6"/>

The classical process of ijtihad combined these generally recognized principles with other methods, which were not adopted by all legal schools, such as ''[[istihsan]]'' (juristic preference), ''[[istislah]]'' (consideration of public interest) and ''[[istishab]]'' (presumption of continuity).{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009}}

Considering that, [[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|as a rule]], there was a hierarchy and power ranking among the sources of Sharia;<ref>Subsequently, the sources of Islamic Law are clarified, showing their legal basis, binding force and position on the hierarchical chart https://www.elevenjournals.com/tijdschrift/ejlr/2014/2/EJLR_1387-2370_2014_016_002_003 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240801091026/https://www.elevenjournals.com/tijdschrift/ejlr/2014/2/EJLR_1387-2370_2014_016_002_003 |date=1 August 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUFPPlatypus/2006/46.pdf | title=Islamic law and its sources | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240801091025/https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUFPPlatypus/2006/46.pdf | archive-date=1 August 2024 }}</ref> for example, a subcategory or an auxiliary source will not be able to eliminate a provision clearly stated in the main source or prohibit a practice that was not prohibited though it was known and practiced during the prophetic period. If we look at an example such as the abolition of the validity of [[Mut'a marriage]], is touched upon in the [[Quran 4:24]],<ref>And you are allowed to seek out wives with your wealth in decorous conduct, but not in fornication, but give them their reward for what you have enjoyed of them in keeping with your promise.(4:24)https://www.britannica.com/topic/mutah {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511163600/https://www.britannica.com/topic/mutah |date=11 May 2024 }}</ref> and not prohibited (Sunnis translate the words used in the relevant verse with terms used to describe the ordinary marriage event) according to Sunnis is banned by [[Muhammad]] towards the end of his lifetime,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/search?q=temporary+marriage|title=Search Results – Search Results – temporary marriage (page 1) – Sunnah.com – Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)|website=sunnah.com|access-date=1 August 2024|archive-date=1 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240801091025/https://sunnah.com/search?q=temporary+marriage|url-status=live}}</ref> and according to [[Shiites]], by [[Umar|Omar]], "according to his own opinion" and relying on power. The Shiite sect did not accept the jurisprudence of Omar, whose political and religious authority they rejected from the beginning.

==== Ahkam al-shar'iyya (Decision types; labels) ====
{{Main|Ahkam|Islamic criminal jurisprudence|Hadd|Tazir}}
{{See|Status of women's testimony in Islam|Women in Islam}}
{{See|Capital punishment in Islam|Rape in Islam}}
Fiqh is concerned with ethical standards as much as with legal norms, seeking to establish not only what is and is not legal, but also what is morally right and wrong.{{sfn|Coulson|El Shamsy|2019}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|p=145}} Sharia rulings fall into one of five categories known as "the five decisions" (''al-aḥkām al-khamsa''): [[Fard|mandatory]] (''farḍ'' or ''wājib''), [[Mustahabb|recommended]] (''mandūb'' or ''mustaḥabb''), [[Mubah|neutral]] (''mubāḥ''), [[Makruh|reprehensible]] (''makrūh''), and [[Haram|forbidden]] (''ḥarām'').{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Schneider|2014}}

It is a sin or a crime to perform a forbidden action or not to perform a mandatory action.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Reprehensible acts should be avoided, but they are not considered to be sinful or punishable in court.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|p=20}} Avoiding reprehensible acts and performing recommended acts is held to be subject of reward in the afterlife, while neutral actions entail no judgment from God.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|p=20}} Jurists disagree on whether the term ''[[Halal|ḥalāl]]'' covers the first three or the first four categories.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} The legal and moral verdict depends on whether the action is committed out of necessity (''ḍarūra'') and on the underlying intention (''[[niyya]]''), as expressed in the legal maxim "acts are [evaluated according] to intention."{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

[[File:Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öztürk (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Mustafa Öztürk]] follows [[Fazlur Rahman Malik]]'s footsteps and says that the verses are revealed on [[Quranic hermeneutics|the historical context]], the [[Ahkam]] are not among the essence and [[maqasid|purposes of religion]], with an example: [[Islamic views on concubinage|Slaves were considered property]]; could be bought, sold, rented and shared.<ref name=jebro>Jonathan E. Brockopp (2000), Early Mālikī Law: Ibn ʻAbd Al-Ḥakam and His Major Compendium of Jurisprudence, Brill, {{ISBN|978-9004116283}}, pp. 131</ref><ref>Levy (1957) p. 77</ref> [[Al-Sarakhsi]] decided that the paternity determination of the child to be born could be made by [[Lottery|draw]], and asks how many of you can accept this understanding today?<ref>{{YouTube|id=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwl85m-bSeA |title=3 Çarpıcı Örnek: Kurban, Kölelik ve Allah Tasavvuru}}</ref>]]
[[Hanafi]] fiqh does not consider both terms as synonymous and makes a distinction between "[[fard]]" and "[[wajib]]"; In Hanafi fiqh, two conditions are required to impose the fard rule. 1. [[Nass (Islam)|Nass]], (only verses of the Qur'an can be accepted as evidence here, not [[hadith]]s) 2.The expression of the text referring to the subject must be clear and precise enough not to allow other interpretations. The term wajib is used for situations that do not meet the second of these conditions.<ref>"According to the Bishair the fardh, is like the wajib but the wajib expresses [that something should] occur and the fard, expresses [that something has] a definitive assessment. https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789047400851/B9789047400851_s012.xml?language=en {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406013755/https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789047400851/B9789047400851_s012.xml?language=en |date=6 April 2024 }}</ref>
However, this understanding may not be sufficient to explain every situation. For example, Hanafis accept [[Salah|5 daily prayers]] as fard. However, some religious groups such as [[Quranists]] and [[Shiites]], who do not doubt that the Quran existing today is a religious source, infer from the same verses that it is clearly ordered to pray 2 or 3 times,<ref>Zum Beispiel Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Vgl. Ahmad: ''Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan 1857–1964''. 1967, S. 49.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ek 15 – Dini Görevler: Tanrı'dan Bir Armağan|url=http://www.teslimolanlar.org/ekler.php?ekid=15|access-date=30 May 2021|website=Teslimolanlar|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105182152/http://www.teslimolanlar.org/ekler.php?ekid=15|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Vgl. Birışık: "Kurʾâniyyûn" in ''Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi''. 2002, Bd. 26, S. 429.; Yüksel; al-Shaiban; Schulte-Nafeh: ''Quran: A Reformist Translation''. 2007, S. 507.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=10. How Can we Observe the Sala Prayers by Following the Quran Alone? - Edip-Layth - quranix.org |url=http://quranix.org/appendix/qrt/10 |access-date=14 August 2023 |website=quranix.org |archive-date=2 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302203849/https://www.quranix.org/appendix/qrt/10 |url-status=live }}</ref> not 5 times. In addition, in religious literature, wajib is widely used for all kinds of religious requirements, without expressing any fiqh definition.

As seen above and in many other examples, classifications and labels have a relative character shaped by the understanding of the people and groups who make them. For example, believing in the existence and miracles of [[Wali|Awliya]] is presented as a "condition" for orthodox Islam by many prominent Sunni creed writers such as [[Al-Tahawi]] and [[Abu Hafs Umar al-Nasafi|Nasafi]]<ref name="Jonathan A.C. Brown 2012 p. 123">Jonathan A. C. Brown, "Faithful Dissenters: Sunni Skepticism about the Miracles of Saints", ''Journal of Sufi Studies'' 1 (2012), p. 123</ref><ref name="Christopher Taylor 1999 pp. 5-6">Christopher Taylor, ''In the Vicinity of the Righteous'' (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 5–6</ref> and is accepted in traditional Sunnis and Shi'ism. However, this understanding, along with expressions of respect and visits to the graves of saints, are seen as unacceptable [[heresy]] by puritanical and revivalist Islamic movements such as [[Salafism]], [[Wahhabism]] and [[Islamic Modernism]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Encyclopedia of Islam |year=2012|editor4-first=Thierry |editor4-last=Bianquis|editor2-first=Clifford Edmund |editor2-last=Bosworth|editor3-first=Emeri Johannes |editor3-last=van Donzel|editor1-first=Wolfhart |editor1-last=Heinrichs|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]|isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref>

[[File:Slaves Zadib Yemen 13th century BNF Paris.jpg|thumb|left|13th century slave market, during the era of [[slavery in Yemen]].  see also: [[Islamic views on concubinage]].]]
About six verses address [[Hijab|the way a woman should dress]] when in public;<ref name="bucar">{{cite book|title=Creative Conformity: The Feminist Politics of U.S. Catholic and Iranian Shi'i Women|author=Elizabeth M. Bucar|publisher=Georgetown University Press|year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQVxVEldP0sC&pg=PA118|page=118|isbn=9781589017528}}</ref> Muslim scholars have differed as how to understand these verses, with some stating that a Hijab is a command (fard) to be fulfilled<ref name=Hameed>{{Cite web
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404160153/https://islamonline.net/en/is-hijab-a-quranic-commandment/
|archive-date=4 April 2023
|date=9 October 2003|title=Is Hijab a Qur'anic Commandment?
|url=https://islamonline.net/en/is-hijab-a-quranic-commandment/
|access-date=1 June 2023
|first=Shahul |last=Hameed }}</ref>{{refn|group=note|By 1980, veiling was required in government and educational settings in [[Iran]], with the 1983 penal code imposing 74 lashes for not adhering to the hijab, though the exact requirements were unclear.<ref name="Ramezani10">Ramezani, Reza (spring 2007). [http://www.magiran.com/view.asp?Type=pdf&ID=429897 ''Hijab dar Iran az Enqelab-e Eslami ta payan Jang-e Tahmili''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302023158/http://www.magiran.com/view.asp?Type=pdf&ID=429897 |date=2 March 2019 }} ''[Hijab in Iran from the Islamic Revolution to the end of the Imposed war]'' (Persian), Faslnamah-e Takhassusi-ye Banuvan-e Shi’ah [Quarterly Journal of Shiite Women] '''4''':11, Qom: Muassasah-e Shi’ah Shinasi, pp. 251–300, {{ISSN|1735-4730}}</ref><ref name="bucar"/><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Islamic Parliament Research Center|title=قانون مجازات اسلامی (Islamic Penal Code), see ‌ماده 102 (article 102)|access-date=12 October 2016|url=http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90789|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012181712/http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90789|archive-date=12 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> This led to public tensions and vigilante actions regarding proper hijab.<ref name="Ramezani10" /><ref name="bucar" /> Subsequent regulations in 1984 and 1988 clarified dress-code standards, and the current penal code prescribes fines or prison terms for failing to observe hijab, without detailing its specific form.<ref name="Ramezani10" /><ref name="kelly-breslin">{{cite book|title=Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Progress Amid Resistance|author1=Sanja Kelly |author2=Julia Breslin|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4ZkIzcLVZsC&pg=PA126|page=126|isbn=9781442203976}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Space, Culture, and the Youth in Iran: Observing Norm Creation Processes at the Artists' House|author=Behnoosh Payvar|publisher=Springer|year=2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJukCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT73|page=73|isbn=9781137525703}}</ref>}} and others say simply not.<ref name="Asra-2015">{{cite news |last1=Nomani |first1=Asra Q. |last2=Arafa |first2=Hala |title=Opinion: As Muslim women, we actually ask you not to wear the hijab in the name of interfaith solidarity |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/21/as-muslim-women-we-actually-ask-you-not-to-wear-the-hijab-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/ |access-date=22 December 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=21 December 2015 |language=en |archive-date=21 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221184811/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/21/as-muslim-women-we-actually-ask-you-not-to-wear-the-hijab-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|group=note|[[Beyza Bilgin]] states that the expression 'let them put their outer coverings over themselves' in the 59th verse of [[Al-Aḥzāb|Al-Ahzab]] was revealed because they harassed women under the conditions of that day, considering them to be concubines, and commented as follows:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |date=28 May 2008 |title="Örtünmek Allah'ın emri değil" |url=http://www.haberturk.com/yasam/haber/76927-ortunmek-allahin-emri-degil |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220131809/http://www.haberturk.com/yasam/haber/76927-ortunmek-allahin-emri-degil |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=7 February 2017 |website= |publisher=haberturk.com |language=Turkish}}</ref><blockquote>"In other words, veiling is a security issue that arose according to the needs of that period. These are not taken into consideration at all and are reflected as God's command. Women have been called God's command for a thousand years. Women said the same thing to their daughters and daughters-in-law."</blockquote>She said the following about covering herself in [[Salah|prayer]] :<blockquote>"They tell me; 'Do you cover yourself while praying?' Of course, I cover up when I'm in congregation. I am obliged not to disturb the peace. But I also pray with my head uncovered in my own home. Because the Quran's requirement for prayer is not covering up, but ablution and turning towards the qibla. This is a thousand year old issue. It's so ingrained in us. But this should definitely not be underestimated. Because people do it thinking it is God's command. But on the other hand, we should not declare a person who does not cover up as a bad woman''.''"<ref name=":0"/></blockquote>}}

Islamic primary law sources, like the legal systems of classical antiquity and the ancient Near East, does not contain a true equivalent of the modern concept of rape, which is in turn based on the modern notions of individual autonomy and inviolability of the body, particularly the female body. [[Fiqh|Classical jurisprudence]], attempted to fill this gap by likening rape to defined crimes such as [[Zina|adultery]] and [[hirabah]]. In some cases, this approach has had detrimental consequences for the victims. In Afghanistan and Dubai, some women who made accusations of rape have been charged with fornication or adultery.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardiannews.com/world/2003/jan/04/france.jonhenley1 |title=French 'rape victim' faces jail for adultery |author=Jon Henley |newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 3, 2002 |access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>Shahnaz Khan, ''Zina: Transnational Feminism, and the Moral Regulation of Pakistani Women'', University of British Columbia Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7748-1285-6}}, {{pp.|58|63}}.</ref><ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/21/afghanistan-surge-women-jailed-moral-crimes Afghanistan: Surge in Women Jailed for 'Moral Crimes'] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20131019182138/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/21/afghanistan-surge-women-jailed-moral-crimes |date=October 19, 2013 }} Human Rights Watch (May 21, 2013)[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/17/world/in-pakistan-rape-victims-are-the-criminals.html In Pakistan, Rape Victims Are the 'Criminals'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422222203/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/17/world/in-pakistan-rape-victims-are-the-criminals.html |date=April 22, 2017 }}, Seth Mydans, ''New York Times'' (May 17, 2002)</ref><ref>Fatima-Zahra Lamrani, [http://www.languageandlaw.de/Volume-2/3314 Rape as Loss of Honor in the Discourse of Moroccan Rape Trials] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020062848/http://www.languageandlaw.de/Volume-2/3314 |date=October 20, 2013 }}, Language and Law, June 2004</ref> The statement in the [[Qur'an]] that determines the status of slaves and concubines in the understanding of Sharia is as follows; ''ma malakat aymanuhum'' or ''milk al-yamin''<ref name="auto1"/> meaning "[[Islamic views on slavery|those whom your right hands possess]]". Hence, sexual use of female slaves was considered within of their definition that "they are the well-earned rewards or properties of their masters", and with a few exceptions,{{refn|group=note| In Shiite jurisprudence, it is unlawful for a master of a female slave to grant a third party the use of her for sexual relations.  The Shiite scholar [[Shaykh al-Tusi]] stated: ولا يجوز إعارتها للاستمتاع بها لأن البضع لا يستباح بالإعارة "It is not permissible to loan (the slave girl) for enjoyment purpose, because sexual intercourse cannot be legitimate through loaning"<ref> Shaykh al-Tusi stated in Al-Mabsut, Volume 3 page 57</ref> and the Shiite scholars al-Muhaqiq al-Kurki, [[Allamah Al-Hilli]] and Ali Asghar Merwarid made the following ruling: ولا تجوز استعارة الجواري للاستمتاع
"It is not permissible to loan the slave girl for the purpose of sexual intercourse"<ref>al-Muhaqiq al-Kurki in ''Jame'a al-Maqasid'', Volume 6 page 62, Allamah al-Hilli in ''Al-Tadkira'', Volume 2 page 210 and Ali Asghar Merwarid in ''Al-Yanabi al-Fiqhya'', Volume 17 page 187</ref>}} unrestricted sexual and physical use of their bodies has been legitimized by the [[ulama]] in traditional Islamic law.

A special religious decision, which is "specific to" a person, group, institution, event, situation, belief and practice in different areas of life, and usually includes the approval/disapproval of a judgment, is called [[fatwa]]. [[Tazir|Tazir penalties]], which are outside the [[Qisas]] and [[Hudud]] laws, have not been codified, and their discretion and implementation are under the initiative and authority of the judge or political authority.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009c}} [[Mustafa Öztürk]] points out some another developments in the [[Aqidah|Islamic creed]], leading changes in ahkam such as determining the conditions of [[takfir]] according to [[Kalam|theologians]]; First Muslims believed that God [[Al-Ḥayy|lived]] in [[Seven Heavens|the sky]] as [[Ahmad Ibn Hanbal]] says: "Whoever says that Allah is everywhere is a [[heretic]], an infidel, should be invited to repent, but if he does not, be killed." This understanding changes later and gives way to the understanding that "God cannot be assigned a place and He is everywhere."<ref>{{Cite web |title=bir söyleşide yaptığı ilgili açıklama | website=[[YouTube]] | date=15 August 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HrZ8Yu1m2g |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205025925/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HrZ8Yu1m2g |archive-date=5 December 2020 |access-date=15 August 2016}}</ref>

Judgment that concerns individuals is personal and, for example, in an Islamic Qisas or [[Diya (Islam)|compensation]] decisions, jurist must take into account "personal labels" such as the [[women in islam|gender]], [[islamic views on slavery|freedom]], religious and [[social status]] such as [[mu'min]], [[kafir]], [[musta'min]], [[dhimmi]], [[apostate]], etc. Similar distinctions also apply to witnessing practices, which have a fundamental value in the establishment of judicial provisions, such as the identification of the criminals. Islamic preachers constantly emphasize the importance of [[Adl|adalah]], and in trials, the judge is not expected to observe equality among those on trial, but is expected to act fairly or balanced. Traditional fiqh states that legal and religious responsibility begins with [[baligh|rushd]].

=== Branches and details (''furūʿ al-fiqh'') ===
{{Fiqh}}
{{Further|Topics in Sharia law|Fatwa}}
The domain of ''furūʿ al-fiqh'' (lit. branches of fiqh) is traditionally divided into ''ʿibādāt'' (rituals or acts of worship) and ''muʿāmalāt'' (social relations).{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}} Many jurists further divided the body of substantive jurisprudence into "the four quarters", called rituals, sales, marriage and injuries.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=28–30}} Each of these terms figuratively stood for a variety of subjects.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=28–30}} For example, the quarter of sales would encompass partnerships, guaranty, gifts, and bequests, among other topics.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=28–30}} Juristic works were arranged as a sequence of such smaller topics, each called a "book" (''kitab'').{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=28–30}} The special significance of ritual was marked by always placing its discussion at the start of the work.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=28–30}}

Some historians distinguish a field of [[Islamic criminal law]], which combines several traditional categories.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009c}}{{sfn|Schneider|2014}} Several crimes with scripturally prescribed punishments are known as ''[[hudud]]''.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Jurists developed various restrictions which in many cases made them virtually impossible to apply.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Other crimes involving intentional bodily harm are judged according to a version of ''[[lex talionis]]'' that prescribes a punishment analogous to the crime (''[[qisas]]''), but the victims or their heirs may accept a monetary compensation (''[[Diya (Islam)|diya]]'') or pardon the perpetrator instead; only ''diya'' is imposed for non-intentional harm.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009c}} Other criminal cases belong to the category of ''[[Tazir|taʿzīr]]'', where the goal of punishment is correction or rehabilitation of the culprit and its form is largely left to [[Judicial discretion|the judge's discretion]].{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009c}} 

Which crime falls into which category may vary depending on understanding. For example, according to some verses and hadiths, those who avoided [[zakat|alms]] and [[salah|prayer]]s were the ones to be fought against,<ref>"I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."https://sunnah.com/bukhari/2/18</ref><ref name="zakat">{{cite web |title=Obligatory Charity Tax (Zakat). Sahih al-Bukhari 1399, 1400. Book 24, Hadith 5. Vol. 2, Book 24, Hadith 483 |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari/24/5 |website=Sunnah.com |access-date=23 December 2020}}</ref>) and according to some understandings, they were [[Apostasy in Islam|people who had abandoned religion]] – theologians debated whether worship was a part of faith – and according to classical [[Islamic schools and branches|fiqh sects]], they were people who should be killed.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.52637/kiid.982657 | title=İslam Hukukunda Namaz Kılmayanın Hükmü | date=2021 | last1=Eki̇Nci̇ | first1=Ahmet | journal=Kocatepe İslami İlimler Dergisi | volume=4 | issue=2 | pages=388–409 | doi-access=free }}</ref> However, even if today's dominant understanding defines the abandonment of worship as [[fasiq|sinfulness]], does not approve of giving worldly punishment for them. However, in Sharia governments, their testimony against a devout Muslim may not be accepted, they may be humiliated and barred from certain positions because of this tag. In practice, since early on in Islamic history, criminal cases were usually handled by ruler-administered courts or local police using procedures which were only loosely related to Sharia.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Ziadeh|2009c}}

The two major genres of ''furūʿ'' literature are the ''[[mukhtasar]]'' (concise summary of law) and the ''mabsut'' (extensive commentary).{{sfn|Calder|2009}}  ''Mukhtasars'' were short specialized treatises or general overviews that could be used in a classroom or consulted by judges.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=10–11}} A ''mabsut'', which usually provided a commentary on a ''mukhtasar'' and could stretch to dozens of large volumes, recorded alternative rulings with their justifications, often accompanied by a proliferation of cases and conceptual distinctions.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=10–11}} The terminology of juristic literature was conservative and tended to preserve notions which had lost their practical relevance.{{sfn|Calder|2009}} At the same time, the cycle of abridgement and commentary allowed jurists of each generation to articulate a modified body of law to meet changing social conditions.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=10–11}} Other juristic genres include the ''qawāʿid'' (succinct formulas meant to aid the student remember general principles) and collections of fatwas by a particular scholar.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

Classical jurisprudence has been described as "one of the major intellectual achievements of Islam"<ref name="Lewis-ME-223">{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Bernard|title=The Middle East, a brief history of the last 2000 years |date=1995|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=NY|isbn=978-0684832807|page=223}}</ref> and its importance in Islam has been compared to that of [[theology]] in [[Christianity]].{{refn|group=note|"What theology is for the Christian, law is for the Muslim."<ref name="Smith-1957-57">{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=W.|title=Islam in Modern History|date=1957|page=57}}</ref> referenced in <ref name="Forte-1978-2"/>}}

===Schools of law===
{{main|Madhhab}}
[[File:Ibnhanbal.jpg|thumb|Juristic exchange between [[Abu Dawud al-Sijistani|Abu Dawood]] and [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal|Ibn Hanbal]]. One of the oldest literary manuscripts of the Islamic world, dated October 879 AD.]]
The main Sunni schools of law (''madhhabs'') are the [[Hanafi]], [[Maliki]], [[Shafi'i]] and [[Hanbali]] madhhabs.{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}} They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries and by the twelfth century almost all jurists aligned themselves with a particular madhhab.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}} These four schools recognize each other's validity and they have interacted in legal debate over the centuries.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}} Rulings of these schools are followed across the Muslim world without exclusive regional restrictions, but they each came to dominate in different parts of the world.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}}  For example, the Maliki school is predominant in North and West Africa; the Hanafi school in South and Central Asia; the Shafi'i school in Lower Egypt, East Africa, and Southeast Asia; and the Hanbali school in North and Central Arabia.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} The first centuries of Islam also witnessed a number of short-lived Sunni madhhabs.{{sfn|Calder|2009}} The [[Zahiri]] school, which is commonly identified as extinct, continues to exert influence over legal thought.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}}{{sfn|Hussin|2014}} The development of Shia legal schools occurred along the lines of theological differences and resulted in formation of the [[Twelver]], [[Zaidiyyah|Zaidi]] and [[Ismaili]] madhhabs, whose differences from Sunni legal schools are roughly of the same order as the differences among Sunni schools.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} The [[Ibadi]] legal school, distinct from Sunni and Shia madhhabs, is predominant in Oman.{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}}

The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for the madhhab system.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}}  Legal practice in most of the Muslim world has come to be controlled by government policy and state law, so that the influence of the madhhabs beyond personal ritual practice depends on the status accorded to them within the national legal system.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}} State law codification commonly utilized the methods of ''takhayyur'' (selection of rulings without restriction to a particular madhhab) and ''talfiq'' (combining parts of different rulings on the same question).{{sfn|Hussin|2014}} Legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditional [[ulema]] as interpreters of the resulting laws.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}} Global Islamic movements have at times drawn on different madhhabs and at other times placed greater focus on the scriptural sources rather than classical jurisprudence.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}} The Hanbali school, with its particularly strict adherence to the Quran and hadith, has inspired conservative currents of direct scriptural interpretation by the [[Salafi]] and [[Wahhabi]] movements.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}} Other currents, such as networks of Indonesian ulema and Islamic scholars residing in Muslim-minority countries, have advanced [[Liberalism and progressivism within Islam|liberal interpretations of Islamic law]] without focusing on traditions of a particular madhhab.{{sfn|Hussin|2014}}

==Pre-modern Islamic legal system==
=== Jurists ===
{{Main|Mufti|Madrasa}}

Sharia was traditionally interpreted by [[mufti]]s. During the first few centuries of Islam, muftis were private legal specialists who normally also held other jobs. They issued [[fatwa]]s (legal opinions), generally free of charge, in response to questions from laypersons or requests for consultation coming from judges, which would be stated in general terms. Fatwas were regularly upheld in courts, and when they were not, it was usually because the fatwa was contradicted by a more authoritative legal opinion.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=9–10, 13}} The stature of jurists was determined by their scholarly reputation.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=9–10}}{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=499}} The majority of classical legal works, written by author-jurists, were based in large part on fatwas of distinguished muftis.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=9–10}} These fatwas functioned as a form of legal [[precedent]], unlike court verdicts, which were valid only for the given case.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|p=180}} Although independent muftis never disappeared, from the 12th century onward Muslim rulers began to appoint salaried muftis to answer questions from the public.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=501}} Over the centuries, [[Sunni]] muftis were gradually incorporated into state bureaucracies, while [[Shia]] jurists in Iran progressively asserted an autonomous authority starting from the early modern era.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}}

[[File:Samarkand, Registan, Ulugbek Medressa (6238565020).jpg|thumb|[[Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand]] (est. 1422)]]
Islamic law was initially taught in study circles that gathered in mosques and private homes. The teacher, assisted by advanced students, provided commentary on concise treatises of law and examined the students' understanding of the text. This tradition continued to be practiced in ''[[madrasa]]s'', which spread during the 10th and 11th centuries.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=45–47}}{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=217}} Madrasas were institutions of higher learning devoted principally to study of law, but also offering other subjects such as theology, medicine, and mathematics. The madrasa complex usually consisted of a mosque, boarding house, and a library. It was maintained by a ''[[waqf]]'' (charitable endowment), which paid salaries of professors, stipends of students, and defrayed the costs of construction and maintenance. At the end of a course, the professor granted a license (''[[ijaza]]'') certifying a student's competence in its subject matter.{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=217}} Students specializing in law would complete a curriculum consisting of preparatory studies, the doctrines of a particular madhhab, and training in legal disputation, and finally write a dissertation, which earned them a license to teach and issue fatwas.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=501}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=45–47}}

=== Courts ===
{{Main|Judge (Islamic law)|Mazalim|Shurta|Muhtasib}}
[[File:'Abd Allah ibn Shaykh Murshid al-Katib - Sa'di and a Dervish Go to Settle their Quarrel Before a Judge - Walters W618106B - Cropped.jpg|thumb|left|The poet [[Saadi Shirazi|Saadi]] and a [[dervish]] go to settle their quarrel before a judge (16th century Persian miniature).]]
A [[Judge (Islamic law)|judge]] (qadi) was in charge of the qadi's court (''mahkama''), also called the Sharia court. Qadis were trained in Islamic law, though not necessarily to a level required to issue fatwas.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=11–12}} Court personnel also included a number of assistants performing various roles.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|p=158}} Judges were theoretically independent in their decisions, though they were appointed by the ruler and often experienced pressure from members of the ruling elite where their interests were at play.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=501}} The role of qadis was to evaluate the evidence, establish the facts of the case, and issue a verdict based on the applicable rulings of Islamic jurisprudence.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} The qadi was supposed to solicit a fatwa from a mufti if it was unclear how the law should be applied to the case.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009}} Since Islamic legal theory does not recognize the distinction between private and public law, court procedures were identical for civil and criminal cases, and required a private plaintiff to produce evidence against the defendant. The main type of evidence was oral witness testimony. The standards of evidence for criminal cases were so strict that a conviction was often difficult to obtain even for apparently clear-cut cases.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Most historians believe that because of these stringent procedural norms, qadi's courts at an early date lost their jurisdiction over criminal cases, which were instead handled in other types of courts.{{sfn|Tillier|2014}}

If an accusation did not result in a verdict in a qadi's court, the plaintiff could often pursue it in another type of court called the ''[[mazalim]]'' court, administered by the ruler's council.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} The rationale for ''mazalim'' (lit. wrongs, grievances) courts was to address the wrongs that Sharia courts were unable to address, including complaints against government officials. Islamic jurists were commonly in attendance and a judge often presided over the court as a deputy of the ruler.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=501}} ''Mazalim'' verdicts were supposed to conform to the spirit of Sharia, but they were not bound by the letter of the law or the procedural restrictions of qadi's courts.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009}}

The police (''[[shurta]]''), which took initiative in preventing and investigating crime, operated its own courts.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=501}} Like the mazalim courts, police courts were not bound by the rules of Sharia and had the powers to inflict discretionary punishments.{{sfn|Tillier|2014}} Another office for maintaining public order was the ''[[muhtasib]]'' (market inspector), who was charged with preventing fraud in economic transactions and infractions against public morality.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=501}} The ''muhtasib'' took an active role in pursuing these types of offenses and meted out punishments based on [[Urf|local custom]].{{sfn|Tillier|2014}}

===Punishments===
{{see|Islamic criminal jurisprudence}}
The classical Islamic legal tradition did not have a separate category for criminal law as does modern law.<ref name="whsha">Wael Hallaq (2009), SHARI’A: THEORY, PRACTICE, TRANSFORMATIONS, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521678742}}, pp. 309, 551–558.</ref> The classical Islamic jurisprudence typically divided the subject matter of law into four "quarters", that is rituals, sales, marriage, and injuries.<ref name=mc13/> In modern usage, Islamic criminal law has been extracted and collated from that classical Islamic jurisprudence literature into three categories of rules:<ref name="mc13">Mark Cammack (2012), Islamic Law and Crime in Contemporary Courts, BERKELEY J. OF MIDDLE EASTERN & ISLAMIC LAW, Vol. 4, No.1, pp. 1–7.</ref> As crimes against God they cannot be forgiven but the punishments are seldom enforced as they can be averted by the slightest doubts or ambiguities.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009b|p=311}}

*''Hadd'' (literally "borders, boundaries, limits")<ref name=WATR>{{cite book | last=Smith, Sidonie (Editor) | title=Women, Autobiography, Theory : a Reader | publisher=University of Wisconsin Press | year=1998 | isbn=978-0-299-15844-6 | page=124}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wehr |first1=Hans |title=Hans Wehr Dictionary of Arabic |page=135 |url=https://giftsofknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/hans-wehr-searchable-pdf.pdf |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620203718/https://giftsofknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/hans-wehr-searchable-pdf.pdf |archive-date=2018-06-20 |url-status=live }}</ref> is applied to punishments (ranging from public lashing, [[Stoning in Islam|public stoning to death]], [[Cross-amputation|amputation of hands]], [[Crucifixion#In_Islam|crucifixion]], depending on the crime),<ref name="OIS-Hadd-2012">
[http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e757 Hadd]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205053324/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e757|date=2015-02-05}} ''Oxford Dictionary of Islam'', Oxford University Press (2012).</ref> for a limited number of crimes ([[murder]], [[adultery]], [[Defamation|slander]], [[theft]], etc.),<ref name="zmh11">Z. Mir-Hosseini (2011), "Criminalizing Sexuality: Zina Laws as Violence Against Women in Muslim Contexts," ''SUR-International Journal on Human Rights'', 8(15), pp. 7–33. </ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Quraishi |first=Asifa |title=Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America |publisher=Syracuse University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-815-628514 |page=126}}</ref> for which punishments have been determined (or traditionally thought to have been determined) in the verses of [[Quran]].
*''Qisas'', (literally "retaliation in kind"<ref name=mohelawa>Mohamed S. El-Awa (1993), ''Punishment In Islamic Law'', American Trust Publications, {{ISBN|978-0892591428}}</ref>) and ''[[Diya (Islam)|diya]]'', ({{large|دية}}) ("blood money"), in Islamic jurisprudence, are the second category of crimes, where Sharia specifies equal retaliation (''qisas'') or monetary compensation (''diya''),<ref>Christie S. Warren, Islamic Criminal Law, Oxford University Press, [http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0035.xml?rskey=3wT5QM&result=1&q=qisas#firstMatch Qisas]</ref> as a possible punishment. Included in this category is homicide, for example, which Islamic law treats as a civil dispute between believers.<ref>{{cite book | last=Wasti | first=Tahir | title=The application of Islamic criminal law in Pakistan Sharia in practice | publisher=Brill Academic | year=2009 | isbn=978-90-04-17225-8 | pages=283–288}}</ref> Qisas principle is available against the accused, to the victim or victim's heirs, when a Muslim is murdered, suffers bodily injury or suffers property damage.<ref>Tahir Wasti (2009), The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan: Sharia in Practice, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004172258}}, pp. 12-13</ref> In the case of murder, qisas means the right of a murder victim's nearest relative or [[wali]] ({{large|ولي}}) (legal guardian) to, if the court approves, take the life of the killer or do it in his behalf.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485784/qisas Qisas] (2012)</ref>
*''Tazir'' (literally "to punish",<ref name=WATR/> sometimes spelled as taazir, ti'zar, tazar, ta'azar) is the third category, and refers to offense mentioned in the Quran or the Hadiths, but where neither the Quran nor the Hadiths specify a punishment.<ref name="taziroup">{{Cite web |title=Tazir - Oxford Islamic Studies Online |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2363 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826014201/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2363 |archive-date=2010-08-26 |access-date=2025-09-03 |website=www.oxfordislamicstudies.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Wasti | first=Tahir | title=The application of Islamic criminal law in Pakistan Sharia in practice | publisher=Brill Academic | year=2009 | isbn=978-90-04-17225-8 | page=xix}}</ref> In Tazir cases, the punishment is at the discretion of the state, the ruler, or a ''[[qadi]]'' (''kadi''),<ref name="twtazir1">{{cite book |last=Wasti |first=Tahir |title=The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan Sharia in Practice |publisher=Brill Academic |year=2009 |isbn=978-90-04-17225-8 |page=xix, 72–73}}</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485374/qadi "Qadi"] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref> or court acting on behalf of the ruler.<ref name=mc13/> Tazir punishment is for actions which are considered sinful in Islam, undermine the Muslim community, or threaten public order during Islamic rule, but those that are not punishable as hadd or qisas crimes.<ref>{{cite book | last=Burns | first=Jonathan | title=Introduction to Islamic law : principles of civil, criminal, and international law under the Shari'a | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-9845182-5-8 | page=121 | publisher=TellerBooks }}</ref>  The legal restrictions on the exercise of that power are not specified in the Quran or the Hadiths, and vary.<ref name="msea">{{cite book |author=El-Awa |first=Mohamed S. |title=Punishment in Islamic Law |date=1993 |publisher=American Trust Publications |isbn=978-0892591428 |pages=1–68}}</ref> The judge enjoys considerable leeway in deciding an appropriate form of punishment, and the punishment does not have to be consistent across the accused persons or over time.<ref name=mc13/><ref name=msea/>  The ruler or qadi also has the discretion to forgive tazir offenses.<ref name=msea/>

=== Socio-political context ===
The social fabric of pre-modern Islamic societies was largely defined by close-knit communities organized around kinship groups and local neighborhoods. Conflicts between individuals had the potential to escalate into a conflict between their supporting groups and disrupt the life of the entire community. Court litigation was seen as a last resort for cases where informal mediation had failed. This attitude was reflected in the legal maxim  "amicable settlement is the best verdict" (''al-sulh sayyid al-ahkam''). In court disputes, qadis were generally less concerned with legal theory than with achieving an outcome that enabled the disputants to resume their previous social relationships. This could be accomplished by avoiding a total loss for the losing side or simply giving them a chance to articulate their position in public and obtain a measure of psychological vindication.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=57–60}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009b|pp=159–62}} Islamic law required judges to be familiar with local customs, and they exercised a number of other public functions in the community, including mediation and arbitration, supervision of public works, auditing waqf finances, and looking after the interests of orphans.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|pp=11–12}}{{sfn|Tillier|2014}}

[[File:Manuscript copy of al-Fatawa al-'Alamgiriyyah.jpg|thumb|Manuscript copy of al-Fatawa al-'Alamgiriyyah]]

Unlike pre-modern cultures where the ruling dynasty promulgated the law, Islamic law was formulated by religious scholars without involvement of the rulers. The law derived its authority not from political control, but rather from the collective doctrinal positions of the legal schools (madhhabs) in their capacity as interpreters of the scriptures. The [[ulema]] (religious scholars) were involved in management of communal affairs and acted as representatives of the Muslim population vis-à-vis the ruling dynasties, who before the modern era had limited capacity for direct governance.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=166–67}} Military elites relied on the ulema for religious legitimation, with financial support for religious institutions being one of the principal means through which these elites established their legitimacy.{{sfn|Berkey|2003|pp=225–26}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=166–67}} In turn, the ulema depended on the support of the ruling elites for the continuing operation of religious institutions. Although the relationship between secular rulers and religious scholars underwent a number of shifts and transformations in different times and places, this mutual dependence characterized Islamic history until the start of the modern era.{{sfn|Hodgson|1974|pp=176–77}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=166–67}} Additionally, since Sharia contained few provisions in several areas of public law, Muslim rulers were able to legislate various collections of economic, criminal and administrative laws outside the jurisdiction of Islamic jurists, the most famous of which is the ''[[Qanun (law)|qanun]]'' promulgated by Ottoman sultans beginning from the 15th century.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=500}} The [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Aurangzeb]] (r. 1658–1707) issued a hybrid body of law known as [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]], based on [[Hanafi]] fatwas as well as decisions of Islamic courts, and made it applicable to all religious communities on the [[Indian subcontinent]]. This early attempt to turn Islamic law into semi-codified state legislation sparked rebellions against Mughal rule.{{sfn|Jones-Pauly|2009}}

==== Women, non-Muslims, slaves ====
{{Main|Women in Islam|Dhimmi|Islamic views on slavery|History of slavery in the Muslim world}}

In both the rules of civil disputes and application of penal law, classical Sharia distinguishes between men and women, between Muslims and non-Muslims, and between free persons and slaves.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

[[File:Slavezanzibar2.JPG |thumb|200px| [[Zanzibar]] child [[History of slavery |slave]] sentenced to transport logs by Arab master in Sultanate, 1890s]]

Traditional Islamic law assumes a patriarchal society with a man at the head of the household.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=502}} Different legal schools formulated a variety of legal norms which could be manipulated to the advantage of men or women,{{sfn|Lapidus|Salaymeh|2014|p=212}} but women were generally at a disadvantage with respect to the rules of inheritance and witness testimony, where in some cases a woman's witness testimony is effectively treated as half of that of a man.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=502}} Various financial obligations imposed on the husband acted as a deterrent against [[Triple talaq|unilateral divorce]] and commonly gave the wife financial leverage in divorce proceedings.{{sfn|Lapidus|Salaymeh|2014|p=212}} Women were active in Sharia courts as both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of cases, though some opted to be represented by a male relative.{{sfn|Lapidus|Salaymeh|2014|p=213}}{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

Sharia was intended to regulate affairs of the Muslim community.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Non-Muslims residing under Islamic rule had the legal status of [[dhimmi]], which entailed a number of protections, restrictions, freedoms and legal inequalities, including payment of the [[jizya]] tax.{{sfn|Nettler|2009}} Dhimmi communities had legal autonomy to adjudicate their internal affairs. Cases involving litigants from two different religious groups fell under jurisdiction of Sharia courts,{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} where (unlike in secular courts){{sfn|Esposito|DeLong-Bas|2018|p=85}} testimony of non-Muslim witnesses against a Muslim was inadmissible in criminal cases{{sfn|Masters|2009}} or at all.{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=351}} This legal framework was implemented with varying degree of rigor. In some periods or towns, all inhabitants apparently used the same court without regard for their religious affiliation.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb imposed Islamic law on all his subjects, including provisions traditionally applicable only to Muslims, while some of his predecessors and successors are said to have abolished jizya.{{sfn|Jones-Pauly|2009}}{{sfn|Hardy|1991|p=566}}  According to Ottoman records, non-Muslim women took their cases to a Sharia court when they expected a more favorable outcome on marital, divorce and property questions than in Christian and Jewish courts.{{sfn|Lapidus|Salaymeh|2014|p=360}}  Over time, non Muslims in the Ottoman Empire could be more or less likely to use Islamic courts. For example, in 1729 at the Islamic court in [[Galata]] only two percent of cases involved non-Muslims whereas in 1789 non-Muslims were a part of thirty percent of cases.'''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gocek|first=Fatma Muge|date=2005|title=The Legal Recourse of Minorities in History: Eighteenth-Century Appeals to the Islamic Court of Galata|journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Middle Eastern Studies|pages=53, 54}}</ref> '''Ottoman court records also reflect the use of Islamic courts by formerly non-Muslim women.'''<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Baer|first=Marc|date=August 2004|title=Islamic Conversion Narratives of Women: Social Change and Gendered Religious Hierarchy in Early Modern Ottoman Istanbul|journal=Gender & History|volume=16|issue=2 |pages=426, 427|doi=10.1111/j.0953-5233.2004.00347.x|s2cid=145552242 }}</ref> '''As it was illegal for non-Muslims to own Muslims and for non-Muslim men to marry Muslim women in the Ottoman empire, conversion to Islam would have been an option for non-Muslim women to free themselves of a spouse or master they did not want to subject to.'''<ref name=":2" /> '''However, this would likely lead to them being shunned by their former community.<ref name=":2" />

[[File:V.M. Doroshevich-East and War-Eunuch near Door of Sultan's Harem.png|thumb|Chief Eunuch of [[Abdul Hamid II]] (1912)]]
Classical fiqh acknowledges and regulates slavery as a legitimate institution.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=502}} It granted slaves certain rights and protections, improving their status relative to Greek and Roman law, and restricted the scenarios under which people could be enslaved.{{sfn|Lewis|1992|p=7}}{{sfn|El Achi|2018}} However, slaves could not inherit or enter into a contract, and were subject to their master's will in a number of ways.{{sfn|Lewis|1992|p=7}}{{sfn|El Achi|2018}} The labor and property of slaves were owned by the master, who was also entitled to sexual submission of his unmarried slaves.{{sfn|El Achi|2018}}{{sfn|Ali|2010|p=39}}

Formal legal disabilities for some groups coexisted with a legal culture that viewed Sharia as a reflection of universal principles of justice, which involved protection of the weak against injustices committed by the strong. This conception was reinforced by the historical practice of Sharia courts, where peasants "almost always" won cases against oppressive landowners, and non-Muslims often prevailed in disputes against Muslims, including such powerful figures as the governor of their province.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009a|p=61}}{{sfn|Hallaq|2009b|p=167}} In family matters the Sharia court was seen as a place where the rights of women could be asserted against their husband's transgressions.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

===Under colonial rule===
Starting from the 17th century, European powers began to extend political influence over lands ruled by Muslim dynasties, and by the end of the 19th century, much of the Muslim world came under colonial domination. The first areas of Islamic law to be impacted were usually commercial and criminal laws, which impeded colonial administration and were soon replaced by European regulations.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|p=174}} Islamic commercial laws were also replaced by European (mostly French) laws in Muslim states which retained formal independence, because these states increasingly came to rely on Western capital and could not afford to lose the business of foreign merchants who refused to submit to Islamic regulations.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

[[File:Warren Hastings.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Warren Hastings]] initiated far-reaching legal reforms in British India.]]
The first significant changes to the legal system of [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]] were initiated in the late 18th century by the governor of Bengal [[Warren Hastings]]. Hastings' plan of legal reform envisioned a multi-tiered court system for the Muslim population, with a middle tier of British judges advised by local Islamic jurists, and a lower tier of courts operated by qadis. Hastings also commissioned a translation of the classic manual of Hanafi fiqh, ''[[Al-Hidayah]]'', from Arabic into Persian and then English, later complemented by other texts.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=176–81}}{{sfn|Masud|2009}} These translations enabled British judges to pass verdicts in the name of Islamic law based on a combination of Sharia rules and [[common law]] doctrines, and eliminated the need to rely on consultation by local ulema, whom they mistrusted. In the traditional Islamic context, a concise text like ''Al-Hidayah'' would be used as a basis for classroom commentary by a professor, and the doctrines thus learned would be mediated in court by judicial discretion, consideration of local customs and availability of different legal opinions that could fit the facts of the case. The British use of ''Al-Hidayah'', which amounted to an inadvertent codification of Sharia, and its interpretation by judges trained in Western legal traditions anticipated later legal reforms in the Muslim world.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=176–81}}{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=503}}

British administrators felt that Sharia rules too often allowed criminals to escape punishment, as exemplified by Hastings' complaint that Islamic law was "founded on the most lenient principles and on an abhorrence of bloodshed".{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=176–81}} In the course of the 19th century, criminal laws and other aspects of the Islamic legal system in India were supplanted by British law, with the exception of Sharia rules retained in family laws and some property transactions.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=176–81}}{{sfn|Masud|2009}} Among other changes, these reforms brought about abolition of slavery, prohibition of child marriage, and a much more frequent use of capital punishment.{{sfn|Hallaq|2009b|p=378}}{{sfn|Masud|2009}}  The resulting legal system, known as ''[[Anglo-Muhammadan law]]'', was treated by the British as a model for legal reforms in their other colonies. Like the British in India, colonial administrations typically sought to obtain precise and authoritative information about indigenous laws, which prompted them to prefer classical Islamic legal texts over local judicial practice. This, together with their conception of Islamic law as a collection of inflexible rules, led to an emphasis on traditionalist forms of Sharia that were not rigorously applied in the pre-colonial period and served as a formative influence on the modern identity politics of the Muslim world.{{sfn|Masud|2009}}

===Ottoman Empire===
[[File:1879-Ottoman Court-from-NYL.png|thumb|upright=1.5|An Ottoman courtroom (1879 AD drawing)]]
During the colonial era, Muslim rulers concluded that they could not resist European pressure unless they modernized their armies and built centrally administered states along the lines of Western models. In the [[Ottoman Empire]], the first such changes in the legal sphere involved placing the formerly independent [[waqf]]s under state control. This reform, passed in 1826, enriched the public treasury at the expense of the waqfs, thereby depleting the financial support for traditional Islamic legal education. Over the second half of the 19th century, a new hierarchical system of secular courts was established to supplement and eventually replace most religious courts. Students hoping to pursue legal careers in the new court system increasingly preferred attending secular schools over the traditional path of legal education with its dimming financial prospects.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=174–76}} 

The [[Tanzimat]] reforms of the 19th century saw reorganization of both Islamic civil law and sultanic criminal law after the model of the [[Napoleonic Code]].{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}}  In the 1870s, a codification of civil law and procedure (excepting marriage and divorce), called the ''[[Mecelle]]'', was produced for use in both Sharia and secular courts. It adopted the Turkish language for the benefit of the new legal class who no longer possessed competence in the Arabic idiom of traditional jurisprudence. The code was based on Hanafi law, and its authors selected minority opinions over authoritative ones when they were felt to better "suit the present conditions". The Mecelle was promulgated as a ''[[qanun (law)|qanun]]'' (sultanic code), which represented an unprecedented assertion of the state's authority over Islamic civil law, traditionally the preserve of the ulema.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=174–76}} The 1917 [[Ottoman family law|Ottoman Law of Family Rights]] adopted an innovative approach of drawing rules from minority and majority opinions of all Sunni madhhabs with a modernizing intent.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}} The [[Republic of Turkey]], which emerged after the [[dissolution of the Ottoman Empire]], abolished its Sharia courts and replaced Ottoman civil laws with the [[Swiss Civil Code]],{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}} but Ottoman civil laws remained in force for several decades in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Iraq.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}}{{sfn|Rabb|2009b}}

===Nation states===
[[File:Mahkamah Syariyah Aceh.jpg|thumb|''Mahkamah Syariyah'' (Sharia court) in [[Aceh]], Indonesia]]

Westernization of legal institutions and expansion of state control in all areas of law, which began during the colonial era, continued in nation-states of the Muslim world.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=182–83}} Sharia courts at first continued to exist alongside state courts as in earlier times, but the doctrine that sultanic courts should implement the ideals of Sharia was gradually replaced by legal norms imported from Europe. Court procedures were also brought in line with European practice. Though the Islamic terms ''qadi'' and ''mahkama'' (qadi's/Sharia court) were preserved, they generally came to mean judge and court in the Western sense. While in the traditional Sharia court all parties represented themselves, in modern courts they are represented by professional lawyers educated in Western-style law schools, and the verdicts are subject to review in an appeals court. In the 20th century, most countries abolished a parallel system of Sharia courts and brought all cases under a national civil court system.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}

In most Muslim-majority countries, traditional rules of classical fiqh have been largely preserved only in family law. In some countries religious minorities such as Christians or Shia Muslims have been subject to separate systems of family laws.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} Many Muslims today believe that contemporary Sharia-based laws are an authentic representation of the pre-modern legal tradition. In reality, they generally represent the result of extensive legal reforms made in the modern era.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=182–83}} As traditional Islamic jurists lost their role as authoritative interpreters of the laws applied in courts, these laws were codified by legislators and administered by state systems which employed a number of devices to effect changes,{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} including:
* Selection of alternative opinions from traditional legal literature (''takhayyur''), potentially among multiple madhhabs or denominations, and combining parts of different rulings (''talfiq'').{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=182–83}}{{sfn|Schacht|Layish|2000|p=155}}
* Appeal to the classical doctrines of necessity (''darura''), public interest (''maslaha''), and the objectives (''maqasid'') of Sharia, which played a limited role in classical fiqh, but were now given wider utilitarian applications.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=182–83}}{{sfn|Schacht|Layish|2000|p=155}}{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=503}}
* Changes in administrative law that grant the courts discretionary powers to restrict certain practices which are not forbidden by substantive law (e.g., polygamy), in some cases imposing penal sanctions as additional deterrence.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=182–83}}{{sfn|Schacht|Layish|2000|p=155}}
* Modernist interpretation of Islamic scriptures without adherence to the rules or methodologies of traditional jurisprudence, known as ''neo-ijtihad''.{{sfn|Hallaq|2010|pp=182–83}}{{sfn|Schacht|Layish|2000|p=155}}

[[File:The Late Grand Moufti (1906) - TIMEA.jpg|thumbnail|upright|[[Muhammad Abduh]] exercised a powerful influence on liberal reformist thought.]]

The most powerful influence on liberal reformist thought came from the work of the Egyptian Islamic scholar [[Muhammad Abduh|Muhammad ʿAbduh]] (1849–1905). Abduh viewed only Sharia rules pertaining to religious rituals as inflexible, and argued that the other Islamic laws should be adapted based on changing circumstances in consideration of social well-being. Following precedents of earlier Islamic thinkers, he advocated restoring Islam to its original purity by returning to the Quran and the sunna instead of following the medieval schools of jurisprudence.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}} He championed a creative approach to ijtihad that involved direct interpretation of scriptures as well as the methods of ''takhayyur'' and ''talfiq''.{{sfn|Calder|2009}}{{sfn|Mayer|2009}}

One of the most influential figures in modern legal reforms was the Egyptian legal scholar [[Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri]] (1895–1971), who possessed expertise in both Islamic and Western law. Sanhuri argued that reviving Islamic legal heritage in a way that served the needs of contemporary society required its analysis in light of the modern science of [[comparative law]]. He drafted the civil codes of Egypt (1949) and Iraq (1951) based on a variety of sources, including classical fiqh, European laws, existing Arab and Turkish codes, and the history of local court decisions.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}}{{sfn|Jones-Pauly|2009}} Sanhuri's Egyptian code incorporated few classical Sharia rules, but he drew on traditional jurisprudence more frequently for the Iraqi code.{{sfn|Jones-Pauly|2009}} Sanhuri's codes were subsequently adopted in some form by most Arab countries.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}}

Aside from the radical reforms of Islamic family law carried out in Tunisia (1956) and Iran (1967), governments often preferred to make changes that made a clear break from traditional Sharia rules by imposing administrative hurdles rather than changing the rules themselves, in order to minimize objections from religious conservatives. Various procedural changes have been made in a number of countries to restrict polygamy, give women greater rights in divorce, and eliminate child marriage. Inheritance has been the legal domain least susceptible to reform, as legislators have been generally reluctant to tamper with the highly technical system of [[Islamic inheritance jurisprudence|Quranic shares]].{{sfn|Mayer|2009}}{{sfn|Jones-Pauly|2009}} Some reforms have faced strong conservative opposition. For example, the 1979 reform of Egyptian family law, promulgated by [[Anwar Sadat]] through presidential decree, provoked an outcry and was annulled in 1985 by the supreme court on procedural grounds, to be later replaced by a compromise version.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}} The [[Mudawana|2003 reform of Moroccan family law]], which sought to reconcile universal human rights norms and the country's Islamic heritage, was drafted by a commission that included parliamentarians, religious scholars and feminist activists, and the result has been praised by international rights groups as an example of progressive legislation achieved within an Islamic framework.{{sfn|Rabb|2009d}}{{sfn|Mayer|2009}}

=== Islamization ===
{{Islamism sidebar|Concepts}}
{{Main|Islamization}}

The [[Islamic revival]] of the late 20th century brought the topic of Sharia to international attention in the form of numerous political campaigns in the Muslim world calling for full implementation of Sharia.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Stewart|2013|pp=503–04}}  A number of factors have contributed to the rise of these movements, classified under the rubric of [[Islamism]] or [[political Islam]], including the failure of authoritarian secular regimes to meet the expectations of their citizens, and a desire of Muslim populations to return to more culturally authentic forms of socio-political organization in the face of a perceived cultural invasion from the West.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|pp=503–04}}{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=835}} Shiite leaders such as [[Ayatollah Khomeini]] drew on leftist anticolonialist rhetoric by framing their call for Sharia as a resistance struggle. They accused secular leaders of corruption and predatory behavior, and claimed that a return to Sharia would replace despotic rulers with pious leaders striving for social and economic justice. In the [[Arab world]] these positions are often encapsulated in the slogan "Islam is the solution" (''al-Islam huwa al-hall'').{{sfn|Stewart|2013|pp=503–04}}

Full implementation of Sharia theoretically refers to expanding its scope to all fields of law and all areas of public life.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} In practice, Islamization campaigns have focused on a few highly visible issues associated with the conservative Muslim identity, particularly women's [[hijab]] and the ''hudud'' criminal punishments (whipping, stoning and amputation) prescribed for certain crimes.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|pp=503–04}} For many Islamists, ''hudud'' punishments are at the core of the divine Sharia because they are specified by the letter of scripture rather than by human interpreters. Modern Islamists have often rejected, at least in theory, the stringent procedural constraints developed by classical jurists to restrict their application.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}} To the broader Muslim public, the calls for Sharia often represent, even more than any specific demands, a vague vision of their current economic and political situation being replaced by a "just utopia".{{sfn|Lapidus|2014|p=835}}

A number of legal reforms have been made under the influence of these movements, starting from the 1970s when Egypt and Syria amended their constitutions to specify Sharia as the basis of legislation.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|pp=503–04}} The [[Iranian Revolution]] of 1979 represented a watershed for Shiism advocates, demonstrating that it was possible to replace a secular regime with a [[theocracy]].{{sfn|Stewart|2013|pp=503–04}} Several countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, and some Nigerian states have incorporated hudud rules into their criminal justice systems, which, however, retained fundamental influences of earlier Westernizing reforms.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Mayer|2009}} In practice, these changes were largely symbolic, and aside from some cases brought to trial to demonstrate that the new rules were being enforced, hudud punishments tended to fall into disuse, sometimes to be revived depending on the local political climate.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=20}} The supreme courts of Sudan and Iran have rarely approved verdicts of stoning or amputation, and the supreme courts of Pakistan and Nigeria have never done so.{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=20}} Nonetheless, Islamization campaigns have also had repercussions in several other areas of law, leading to curtailment of rights of women and religious minorities, and in the case of Sudan contributing to the breakout of a civil war.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}}

Advocates of Islamization have often been more concerned with ideology than traditional jurisprudence and there is no agreement among them as to what form a modern Sharia-based "[[Islamic state]]" should take. This is particularly the case for the theorists of [[Islamic economics]] and [[Islamic finance]], who have advocated both free-market and socialist economic models.{{sfn|Mayer|2009}} The notion of "Sharia-compliant" finance has become an active area of doctrinal innovation and its development has had a major impact on business operations around the world.{{sfn|Stewart|2013|pp=503–04}}

== Contemporary applications ==
{{main|Application of Sharia by country}}
According to [[human rights group]]s, some of the classical Sharia practices involve serious violations of basic human rights, gender equality and freedom of expression, and the practices of countries governed by Sharia are criticized.<ref name="Gontowska, Luiza Maria 2005"/> The [[European Court of Human Rights]] in Strasbourg (ECtHR) ruled in several cases that Sharia is "incompatible with the fundamental principles of [[democracy]]".<ref>See ''Refah Partİsİ (The Welfare Party) And Others V. Turkey'' (Applications nos. 41340/98, 41342/98, 41343/98 and 41344/98), Judgment, Strasbourg, 13 February 2003, No. 123 (siehe S. 39): "sharia is incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy, since principles such as pluralism in the political sphere and the constant evolution of public freedoms have no place in it and a regime based on sharia clearly diverges from Convention values"; see Alastair Mowbray, ''Cases, Materials, and Commentary on the European Convention on Human Rights'', OUP Oxford, 2012, p 744, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XWyq09yJho8C&pg=PA744 Google-Books preview].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Janisch |first=Wolfgang |title=EuGH – Gegen Scheidungen nach Scharia-Recht |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/europaeischer-gerichtshof-gegen-scheidungen-nach-scharia-recht-1.3666617 |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Süddeutsche.de |date=14 September 2017 |language=de}}</ref> "[[Human rights|Human rights concept]]" have been categorically excluded by the governments of countries such as [[Iran]] and [[Saudi Arabia]] under Sharia, claiming that it belongs to [[secular]] and western values,<ref name="Gontowska, Luiza Maria 2005"/> while the [[Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam|Cairo conference]] by the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] declared that human rights can only be respected if they are compatible with Islam.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://rwi.lu.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2020-OIC-Declaration-of-Human-Rights.pdf | title=OIC declaration on human rights: changing the name or a paradigm change? | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007022132/https://rwi.lu.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2020-OIC-Declaration-of-Human-Rights.pdf | archive-date=7 October 2023 }} </ref>

[[File:Use of Sharia by country updated.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|Use of sharia by country:<br />
{{legend|#706EA4|Sharia influences family and criminal laws.}}
{{legend|#F6DD4F|Sharia influences family laws.}}
{{legend|#179C86|Sharia plays no role in the judicial system.}}
{{legend|#FF9950|Regional variations of sharia law apply.}}
]]

=== Muslim-majority countries ===
The legal systems of most Muslim-majority countries can be classified as either secular or mixed. Sharia plays no role in secular legal systems. In mixed legal systems, Sharia rules are allowed to influence some national laws, which are codified and may be based on European or Indian models, and the central legislative role is played by politicians and modern jurists rather than the [[ulema]] (traditional Islamic scholars).

Saudi Arabia and some other Persian Gulf states possess what may be called classical Sharia systems, where national law is largely uncodified and formally equated with Sharia, with ulema playing a decisive role in its interpretation. Iran has adopted some features of classical Sharia systems, while also maintaining characteristics of mixed systems, like codified laws and a parliament.{{sfn|Otto|2008|pp=8–9}}

==== Constitutional law ====
Constitutions of many Muslim-majority countries refer to Sharia as a source or the main source of law, though these references are not in themselves indicative of how much the legal system is influenced by Sharia, and whether the influence has a traditionalist or modernist character.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Calder|2009}} The same constitutions usually also refer to universal principles such as democracy and human rights, leaving it up to legislators and the judiciary to work out how these norms are to be reconciled in practice.{{sfn|Otto|2008|pp=18–19}} Conversely, some countries (e.g., Algeria), whose constitution does not mention Sharia, possess Sharia-based family laws.{{sfn|Calder|2009}} Nisrine Abiad identifies Bahrain, Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia as states with "strong constitutional consequences of Sharia "on the organization and functioning of power".{{sfn|Abiad|2008|pp=38–42}}

==== Family law ====
Except for secular systems, Muslim-majority countries possess Sharia-based laws dealing with family matters (marriage, inheritance, etc.). These laws generally reflect influence of various modern-era reforms and tend to be characterized by ambiguity, with traditional and modernist interpretations often manifesting themselves in the same country, both in legislation and court decisions.{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=19}} In some countries (e.g., parts of Nigeria), people can choose whether to pursue a case in a Sharia or secular court.{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=19}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Greece Scraps Compulsory Shariah for Muslim Minority|author=Niki Kitsantonis|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 January 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/world/europe/greece-shariah-law.html|access-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416212547/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/world/europe/greece-shariah-law.html|archive-date=16 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Criminal law ====
{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Adam Ismaeel 1986.jpg
| image2            = Ibrahim Osman 1986.jpg
| footer            = Cross amputation survivors, Adam Ismaeel (left) and Ibrahim Osman (right), of the [[September 1983 Laws]] in Sudan, pictured in 1986; According to the understanding, these people must have declared war against Allah and the Prophet.}}
Countries in the Muslim world generally have criminal codes influenced by [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] or [[common law]], and in some cases a combination of Western legal traditions. Saudi Arabia has never adopted a criminal code and Saudi judges still follow traditional Hanbali jurisprudence. In the course of Islamization campaigns, several countries (Libya, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Mauritania, and Yemen) inserted Islamic criminal laws into their penal codes, which were otherwise based on Western models. In some countries only ''hudud'' penalties were added, while others also enacted provisions for ''[[qisas]]'' (law of retaliation) and ''[[Diya (Islam)|diya]]'' (monetary compensation). Iran subsequently issued a new "Islamic Penal Code". The criminal codes of [[Afghanistan]] and [[United Arab Emirates]] contain a general provision that certain crimes are to be punished according to Islamic law, without specifying the penalties. Some Nigerian states have also enacted Islamic criminal laws. [[Islamic criminal law in Aceh|Laws in the Indonesian province of Aceh]] provide for application of discretionary (''[[ta'zir]]'') punishments for violation of Islamic norms, but explicitly exclude ''hudud'' and ''qisas''.{{sfn|Tellenbach|2015|pp=249–50}} [[Brunei]] has been implementing a "Sharia Penal Code", which includes provisions for stoning and amputation, in stages since 2014.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=New York Times|author=Austin Ramzy|title=Brunei to Punish Adultery and Gay Sex With Death by Stoning|date=28 March 2019|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/world/asia/brunei-adultery-gay-stoning.html|access-date=28 March 2019|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225124704/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/world/asia/brunei-stoning-death.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Brunei Shariah law applies death sentence for homosexuality|newspaper=Deutsche Welle|date=27 March 2019|url=https://www.dw.com/en/brunei-shariah-law-applies-death-sentence-for-homosexuality/a-48076114|access-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331093514/https://www.dw.com/en/brunei-shariah-law-applies-death-sentence-for-homosexuality/a-48076114|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The countries where ''hudud'' penalties are legal do not use stoning and amputation routinely, and generally apply other punishments instead.{{sfn|Vikør|2014}}{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=20}}{{sfn|Brown|2017}}

==== Property law ====
Sharia recognizes the concept of ''haqq''.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Birnhack|first1=Michael|last2=Khoury |first2=Amir|editor1-first=Rochelle|editor1-last=Dreyfuss|editor2-first=Justine|editor2-last=Pila |date=10 May 2017|chapter=The Emergence and Development of Intellectual Property Law in the Middle East |title=The Oxford Handbook of Intellectual Property Law|series=Oxford Handbooks|publisher=Oxford Academic |edition=online |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198758457.013.19}}</ref> ''Haqq'' refers to personal rights of the individual and the right to generate and accumulate wealth. The various ways in which property can be acquired under Sharia are purchase, inheritance, bequest, physical or mental effort, ''diya'' and donations.<ref name="autogenerated139">{{Cite journal|date=March 1951|title=Outlines of Muhammadan Law. By Asaf A. A. Fyzee. [India: Oxford University Press. 1949. xvi and 443 pp. 25s.]|journal=The Cambridge Law Journal |volume=11|issue=1|pages=139–140|doi=10.1017/s0008197300015518|issn=0008-1973}}</ref> Certain concepts relating to property under Sharia are ''Mulk'', ''Waqf'', ''Mawat'' and ''Motasarruf''.<ref name="autogenerated139" />

=== Court procedures ===
{{Original research|section|Most of this section consisted of ahistorical generalizations made by WP editors from snippets describing various pre-modern and modern legal systems without distinguishing between them. The most serious misrepresentations have been corrected, but this material needs to be verified more carefully.|date=March 2019}}
{{anchor|Courts}}
[[File:Melaka State Syariah Court.jpg|thumb|Shariah court in [[Malacca]], Malaysia]]

Sharia courts traditionally do not rely on lawyers; [[plaintiffs]] and [[defendants]] represent themselves. In Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which have preserved traditional procedure in Sharia courts, trials are conducted solely by the judge, and there is no jury system. There is no pre-trial [[Discovery (law)|discovery]] process, and no [[cross-examination]] of witnesses. Unlike common law, judges' verdicts do not set binding [[precedents]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/pspa/qatar.html |title=Qatar: The Duality of the Legal System |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708060546/http://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/pspa/qatar.html |archive-date=8 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> under the principle of ''[[stare decisis]]'',<ref>[https://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/delawarestatecases/493-2003.pdf ''Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp. v. Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Co.'', Supreme Court of Delaware, January 14, 2005 p. 52]. "The Saudi law system differs in critically important respects from the system of legal thought employed by the common law countries, including the United States. Perhaps most significant is that Islamic law does not embrace the common law system of binding precedent and ''stare decisis''. In Saudi Arabia, judicial decisions are not in themselves a source of law, and with minor exceptions, court decisions in Saudi Arabia are not published or even open to public inspection."</ref> and unlike civil law, Sharia is left to the interpretation in each case and has no formally [[Codification (law)|codified]] universal statutes.<ref>Tetley (1999), Mixed Jurisdictions: Common Law v. Civil Law (Codified and Uncodified), La. Law Review, 60, 677</ref>

The [[rules of evidence]] in Sharia courts traditionally prioritize oral testimony, and witnesses must be Muslim.<ref name="av1">Antoinette Vlieger (2012), Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, {{ISBN|978-1610271288}}, Chapter 4{{page needed|date=April 2016}}</ref><ref>Tahir Wasti (2009), The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004172258}}, pp. 126–27</ref><ref>Etannibi E. O. Alemika (2005), "Human Rights and Shariah Penal Code in Northern Nigeria", ''UN Human Rights Monitor'', pp. 110–27</ref><ref name="unicef2011" /><ref name="mfdl1" /> In criminal cases, women witnesses are unacceptable in stricter, traditional interpretations of Sharia, such as those found in [[Hanbali]] jurisprudence, which forms the basis of law in Saudi Arabia.<ref name="av1" />

====Evidences / testimonies====
'''In Criminal cases''': A confession, an oath, or the oral testimony of Muslim witnesses are the main evidence admissible in traditional sharia courts for hudud crimes, i.e., the religious crimes of adultery, fornication, rape, accusing someone of illicit sex but failing to prove it, [[Apostasy in Islam|apostasy]], drinking intoxicants and theft.<ref>Mohamed S. El-Awa (1993), Punishment In Islamic Law, American Trust Publications, {{ISBN|978-0892591428}}, pp. 1–68{{nonspecific|date=April 2016}}</ref><ref>Philip Reichel and Jay Albanese (2013), Handbook of Transnational Crime and Justice, Sage publications, {{ISBN|978-1452240350}}, pp. 36–37</ref>{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=663}}{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=31}}

According to classical jurisprudence, testimony must be from at least two free Muslim male witnesses, or one Muslim male and two Muslim females, who are not related parties and who are of sound mind and reliable character. Testimony to establish the crime of adultery, fornication or rape must be from four Muslim male witnesses, with some [[fiqh]]s allowing substitution of up to three male with six female witnesses; however, at least one must be a Muslim male.<ref>Ajijola, Alhaji A.D. (1989). ''Introduction to Islamic Law''. Karachi: International Islamic Publishers. p. 133.</ref>

[[Forensic identification|Forensic evidence]] (''i.e.'', fingerprints, ballistics, blood samples, DNA etc.) and other [[circumstantial evidence]] may likewise rejected in [[hudud]] cases in favor of eyewitnesses in some modern interpretations. In the case of regulations that were part of local Malaysian legislation that did not go into effect, this could cause severe difficulties for women plaintiffs in rape cases.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kamali |first1=Mohammad Hashim |author-link=Mohammad Hashim Kamali |year=1998 |title=Punishment in Islamic Law: A Critique of the Hudud Bill of Kelantan, Malaysia |jstor=3382008 |journal=[[Arab Law Quarterly]] |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=203–34 |doi=10.1163/026805598125826102}}{{request quotation|date=April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mohd Noor |first1=Azman |last2=Ibrahim |first2=Ahmad Basri |year=2008 |title=The rights of a rape victim in Islamic Law |journal=IIUM Law Journal |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=65–83 |url=http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/5699 |access-date=19 July 2016 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213728/http://irep.iium.edu.my/5699/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Pakistan, DNA evidence is rejected in paternity cases on the basis of legislation that favors the presumption of children's legitimacy, while in sexual assault cases DNA evidence is regarded as equivalent to expert opinion and evaluated on a case-by-case basis.<ref>{{cite journal|title=DNA Evidence in Pakistani Courts: An Analysis|author=Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema|journal=Lums Law Journal|volume=3|url=https://sahsol.lums.edu.pk/law-journal/dna-evidence-pakistani-courts-analysis|date=30 January 2017|access-date=25 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325131327/https://sahsol.lums.edu.pk/law-journal/dna-evidence-pakistani-courts-analysis|archive-date=25 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

'''In civil cases''';{{qref|2|282|b=y}} recommends written financial contracts with reliable witnesses, although there is dispute about equality of female testimony.<ref name="mfdl1">{{cite journal |last1=Fadel |first1=Mohammad |title=Two Women, One Man: Knowledge, Power, and Gender in Medieval Sunni Legal Thought |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=29 |issue=2 |year=2009 |pages=185–204 |ssrn=1113891 |jstor=164016 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800064461|s2cid=143083939 }}</ref>

Marriage is solemnized as a written financial contract, in the presence of two Muslim male witnesses, and it includes a brideprice ([[Mahr]]) payable from a Muslim man to a Muslim woman. The brideprice is considered by a Sharia court as a form of debt. Written contracts were traditionally considered paramount in Sharia courts in the matters of dispute that are debt-related, which includes marriage contracts.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Paul Powers |date=2005 |title=Intent in Islamic Law: Motive and Meaning in Medieval Sunnī Fiqh |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-9004145924 |pages=97–110, 125–41}}</ref> Written contracts in debt-related cases, when notarized by a judge, is deemed more reliable.<ref name="remes1" />

In commercial and civil contracts, such as those relating to exchange of merchandise, agreement to supply or purchase goods or property, and others, oral contracts and the testimony of Muslim witnesses historically triumphed over written contracts. Islamic jurists traditionally held that written commercial contracts may be forged.<ref name="remes1">Reem Meshal (2014), ''Sharia and the Making of the Modern Egyptian'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{ISBN|978-9774166174}}, pp. 96–101 and Chapter 4</ref><ref name="timku1">Timur Kuran (2012), The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0691156415}}, pp. 246–49 and Chapter 12</ref> [[Timur Kuran]] states that the treatment of written evidence in religious courts in Islamic regions created an incentive for opaque transactions, and the avoidance of written contracts in economic relations. This led to a continuation of a "largely oral contracting culture" in Muslim-majority nations and communities.<ref name="timku1" /><ref>[http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/private/ierc/conference_registration/papers/Kuran.pdf "Explaining the Economic Trajectories of Civilizations&nbsp;– Musings on the Systemic Approach"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020235639/http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/private/ierc/conference_registration/papers/Kuran.pdf |date=20 October 2014 }} pp. 7, 10.</ref>

In lieu of written evidence, oaths are traditionally accorded much greater weight; rather than being used simply to guarantee the truth of ensuing testimony, they are themselves used as evidence. Plaintiffs lacking other evidence to support their claims may demand that defendants take an oath swearing their innocence, refusal thereof can result in a verdict for the plaintiff.<ref>Lippman, Matthew Ross; McConville, Seán; Yerushalmi, Mordechai (1988). ''Islamic Criminal Law and Procedure&nbsp;– An Introduction''. New York City: [[Praeger Publishers]]. p. 71. {{ISBN|978-0275930097}}.</ref> Taking an oath for Muslims can be a grave act; one study of courts in Morocco found that lying litigants would often "maintain their testimony right up to the moment of oath-taking and then to stop, refuse the oath, and surrender the case."<ref name="frank">Frank, Michael J. (April 2006). "Trying Times&nbsp;– The Prosecution of Terrorists in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq". ''[[Florida Journal of International Law]]''.{{page needed|date=April 2016}}</ref> Accordingly, defendants are not routinely required to swear before testifying, which would risk casually profaning the Quran should the defendant commit perjury.<ref name="frank" />

==== Diya ====
{{main|Diya (Islam)}}

In classical jurisprudence monetary compensation for bodily harm (''[[Diya (Islam)|diya]]'' or blood money) is assessed differently for different classes of victims. For example, for Muslim women the amount was half that assessed for a Muslim man.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Arsani |last1=William |title=An Unjust Doctrine of Civil Arbitration: Sharia Courts in Canada and England |journal=Stanford Journal of International Relations |date=Spring 2010 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=40–47 |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/sjir/pdf/Sharia_11.2.pdf |access-date=18 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818210814/https://web.stanford.edu/group/sjir/pdf/Sharia_11.2.pdf |archive-date=18 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>M Kar (2005), Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: Family, Law and Politics (Ed: Suad Joseph, Afsāna Naǧmābādī), Brill, {{ISBN|978-9004128187}}, pp. 406–07</ref> ''Diya'' for the death of a free Muslim man is twice as high as for Jewish and Christian victims according to the Maliki and Hanbali madhhabs and three times as high according to Shafi'i rules.<ref name="ame1" /> Several legal schools assessed ''diya'' for [[Magians]] (''[[majus]]'') at one-fifteenth the value of a free Muslim male.<ref name="ame1">Anver M. Emon (2012), ''Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law: Dhimmis and Others in the Empire of Law'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199661633}}, pp. 234–35</ref>

Modern countries which incorporate classical ''diya'' rules into their legal system treat them in different ways. The Pakistan Penal Code modernized the Hanafi doctrine by eliminating distinctions between Muslims and non-Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Application of Islamic Criminal Law in Pakistan |author=Tahir Wasti |publisher=Brill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=88-XutlkJAQC&pg=PA49 |page=49 |year=2009 |isbn=978-9004172258 |access-date=17 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011033255/https://books.google.com/books?id=88-XutlkJAQC&pg=PA49 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Iran, ''diya'' for non-Muslim victims professing one of the faiths protected under the constitution (Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians) was made equal to ''diya'' for Muslims in 2004,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law |editor=Markus D. Dubber |editor2=Tatjana Hörnle |author=Silvia Tellenbach |chapter=Islamic Criminal Law |page=261 |year=2014 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199673599.001.0001|isbn=978-0199673599 }}</ref> though according to a 2006 US State Department report, the penal code still discriminates against other religious minorities and women.<ref>{{cite web |author=U.S. State Department |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71421.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2006, U.S. State Department |date=17 October 2008 |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525202703/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71421.htm |archive-date=25 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Human Rights Watch and the US State Department, in Saudi Arabia Jewish or Christian male plaintiffs are entitled to half the amount a Muslim male would receive, while for all other non-Muslim males the proportion is one-sixteenth.<ref>State Department of the U.S. Government (2012), [https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208622.pdf Saudi Arabia 2012, International Religious Freedom Report, p. 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328183313/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208622.pdf |date=28 March 2017 }}</ref><ref>Human Rights Watch (2004), [https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/saudi0704/4.htm#_ftn54 Migrant Communities in Saudi Arabia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010065345/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/saudi0704/4.htm#_ftn54 |date=10 October 2017 }}</ref><ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2011/nea/192905.htm Saudi Arabia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213724/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2011/nea/192905.htm |date=27 December 2020 }} Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US State Department, 2011 Report on International Religious Freedom Report (2011)</ref>

=== Role of fatwas ===
{{Main|Fatwa}}
[[File:Türkischer Mufti.jpg|thumb|upright|Turkish mufti (17th-century Spanish drawing)]]

The spread of codified state laws and Western-style legal education in the modern Muslim world has displaced traditional muftis from their historical role of clarifying and elaborating the laws applied in courts.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}}{{sfn|Masud|Kéchichian|2009}} Instead, fatwas have increasingly served to advise the general public on other aspects of Sharia, particularly questions regarding religious rituals and everyday life.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}}{{sfn|Messick|2017}} Modern fatwas deal with topics as diverse as insurance, sex-change operations, moon exploration and beer drinking.{{sfn|Messick|2017}} Most Muslim-majority states have established national organizations devoted to issuing fatwas, and these organizations to a considerable extent replaced independent muftis as religious guides for the general population.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} State-employed muftis generally promote a vision of Islam that is compatible with state law of their country.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}}

Modern public and political fatwas have addressed and sometimes sparked controversies in the Muslim world and beyond.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}} [[Ayatollah Khomeini]]'s [[Rushdie Affair|proclamation]] condemning [[Salman Rushdie]] to death for his novel ''[[The Satanic Verses]]'' is credited with bringing the notion of fatwa to world's attention,{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}}{{sfn|Messick|2017}} although some scholars have argued that it did not qualify as one.{{refn|group=note|Khomeini himself did not call this proclamation a fatwa, and in Islamic legal theory only a court can decide whether an accused is guilty. However, after the proclamation was presented as a fatwa in Western press, this characterization was widely accepted by both its critics and its supporters.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}}{{sfn|Vikør|2005|p=142}}}} Together with later militant fatwas, it has contributed to the popular misconception of the fatwa as a religious death warrant.{{sfn|Berger|2014}}

Modern fatwas have been marked by an increased reliance on the process of ''[[ijtihad]]'', i.e. deriving legal rulings based on an independent analysis rather than conformity with the opinions of earlier legal authorities (''[[taqlid]]''),{{sfn|Berger|2014}} and some of them are issued by individuals who do not possess the qualifications traditionally required of a mufti.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}} The most notorious examples are the fatwas of [[Islamic extremism|militant extremists]].{{sfn|Berger|2014}} When [[Osama bin Laden]] and his associates issued a fatwa in 1998 proclaiming "jihad against Jews and Crusaders", many Islamic jurists, in addition to denouncing its content, stressed that bin Laden was not qualified to either issue a fatwa or proclaim a jihad.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}} New forms of ijtihad have also given rise to fatwas that support such notions as gender equality and banking interest, which are at variance with classical jurisprudence.{{sfn|Berger|2014}}

In the internet age, a large number of websites provide fatwas in response to queries from around the world, in addition to radio shows and satellite television programs offering call-in fatwas.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}} Erroneous and sometimes bizarre fatwas issued by unqualified or eccentric individuals in recent times have sometimes given rise to complaints about a "chaos" in the modern practice of issuing fatwas.{{sfn|Messick|2017}} There exists no international Islamic authority to settle differences in interpretation of Islamic law. An [[International Islamic Fiqh Academy, Jeddah|International Islamic Fiqh Academy]] was created by the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], but its legal opinions are not binding.{{sfn|Masud|Kéchichian|2009}} The vast amount of fatwas produced in the modern world attests to the importance of Islamic authenticity to many Muslims. However, there is little research available to indicate to what extent Muslims acknowledge the authority of different muftis or heed their rulings in real life.{{sfn|Berger|2014}}

=== Role of ''hisba'' ===
{{Main|Hisbah}}
{{Further|Islamic religious police}}

The classical doctrine of ''[[Hisbah|hisba]]'', associated with the Quranic injunction of ''[[enjoining good and forbidding wrong]]'', refers to the duty of Muslims to promote moral rectitude and intervene when another Muslim is acting wrongly.{{sfn|Thielmann|2017}}{{sfn|Mack|2018}} Historically, its legal implementation was entrusted to a public official called ''[[muhtasib]]'' (market inspector), who was charged with preventing fraud, disturbance of public order and infractions against public morality. This office disappeared in the modern era everywhere in the Muslim world, but it was revived in Arabia by the first Saudi state, and later instituted as a [[Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Saudi Arabia)|government committee]] responsible for supervising markets and public order. It has been aided by volunteers enforcing attendance of daily prayers, gender segregation in public places, and a conservative notion of [[hijab]].{{sfn|Thielmann|2017}} Committee officers were authorized to detain violators before a 2016 reform.{{sfn|Chan|2016}} With the rising international influence of [[Wahhabism]], the conception of ''hisba'' as an individual obligation to police religious observance has become more widespread, which led to the appearance of activists around the world who urge fellow Muslims to observe Islamic rituals, dress code, and other aspects of Sharia.{{sfn|Thielmann|2017}}

[[File:Taliban beating woman in public RAWA.jpg|right|thumb|Taliban [[Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Saudi Arabia)|religious police]] beating a woman in [[Kabul]] on 26 August 2001, as reported by [[Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan|RAWA]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Movies |url=http://www.rawa.us/movies/beating.mpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325014821/http://www.rawa.us/movies/beating.mpg |archive-date=25 March 2009 |publisher=Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) |format=MPG}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Nitya Ramakrishnan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRdBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT437 |title=In Custody: Law, Impunity and Prisoner Abuse in South Asia |publisher=Sage Publishing India |year=2013 |isbn=978-8132117513 |page=437 |access-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213726/https://books.google.com/books?id=iRdBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT437 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> for opening her [[burqa]] (face)]]

In Iran, ''hisba'' was enshrined in the constitution after the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Revolution]] as a "universal and reciprocal duty", incumbent upon both the government and the people. Its implementation has been carried out by official committees as well as volunteer forces (''[[basij]]'').{{sfn|Thielmann|2017}}<ref name="rferl">{{cite web |date=15 January 2009 |title=Iran's Basij Force&nbsp;– The Mainstay Of Domestic Security |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/Irans_Basij_Force_Mainstay_Of_Domestic_Security/1357081.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110190716/http://www.rferl.org/content/Irans_Basij_Force_Mainstay_Of_Domestic_Security/1357081.html |archive-date=10 January 2012 |access-date=24 May 2014 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}</ref> Elsewhere, policing of various interpretations of Sharia-based public morality has been carried out by the [[Kano State Hisbah Corps]] in the Nigerian state of [[Kano State|Kano]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Olaniyi |first1=Rasheed Oyewole |year=2011 |title=Hisbah and Sharia Law Enforcement in Metropolitan Kano |journal=Africa Today |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=71–96 |doi=10.2979/africatoday.57.4.71 |s2cid=154801688}}</ref> by ''Wilayatul Hisbah'' in the Aceh province of [[Indonesia]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Uddin |first1=Asma |year=2010 |title=Religious Freedom Implications of Sharia Implementation in Aceh, Indonesia |url=http://ir.stthomas.edu/ustlj/vol7/iss3/8/ |url-status=live |journal=University of St. Thomas Law Journal |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=603–48 |ssrn=1885776 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528220701/http://ir.stthomas.edu/ustlj/vol7/iss3/8/ |archive-date=28 May 2016 |access-date=10 June 2016}}</ref> by the [[Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Gaza Strip)|Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice]] in the Gaza Strip, and by the [[Taliban]] during their 1996–2001 and 2021–present rule of Afghanistan.{{sfn|Thielmann|2017}} Religious police organizations tend to have support from conservative currents of public opinion, but their activities are often disliked by other segments of the population, especially liberals, urban women, and younger people.<ref>{{cite web |date=22 April 2016 |title=Who are Islamic 'morality police'? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36101150 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413170252/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36101150 |archive-date=13 April 2019 |access-date=18 April 2019 |website=[[BBC News Online]]}}</ref>

In Egypt, a law based on the doctrine of hisba had for a time allowed a Muslim to sue another Muslim over beliefs that may harm society, though because of abuses it has been amended so that only the state prosecutor may bring suit based on private requests.<ref name="Gallagher">Nancy Gallagher (2005), Apostasy, Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: Family, Law and Politics, Editors: Suad Joseph and Afsāna Naǧmābād, {{ISBN|978-9004128187}}, p. 9</ref> Before the amendment was passed, a hisba suit brought by a group of Islamists against the liberal theologian [[Nasr Abu Zayd]] on charges of [[Apostasy in Islam|apostasy]] led to the annulment of his marriage.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Berger |first1=Maurits |year=2003 |title=Apostasy and Public Policy in Contemporary Egypt: An Evaluation of Recent Cases from Egypt's Highest Courts |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/13673/MS%20Berger%20-%20Apostasy%20and%20public%20policy%20in%20contemporary%20Egypt.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=live |journal=Human Rights Quarterly |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=720–40 |doi=10.1353/hrq.2003.0026 |jstor=20069684 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418033611/https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/13673/MS%20Berger%20-%20Apostasy%20and%20public%20policy%20in%20contemporary%20Egypt.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=18 April 2019 |access-date=11 April 2019 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1887/13673 |s2cid=144601396}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Olsson |first1=Susanne |year=2008 |title=Apostasy in Egypt: Contemporary Cases of Ḥisbah |journal=The Muslim World |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=95–115 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2008.00212.x}}</ref> The law was also invoked in an unsuccessful blasphemy suit against the feminist author [[Nawal El Saadawi]].<ref name="Gallagher" /> Hisba has also been invoked in several Muslim-majority countries as rationale for blocking pornographic content on the internet and for other forms of faith-based censorship.<ref>Helmi Noman (2013), "In the name of God – Faith based internet censorship in majority Muslim countries", in ''Routledge Handbook of Media Law'' (Editors: Monroe E. Price, et al.), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415683166}}, Chapter 14, p. 257</ref>

=== Muslim-minority countries ===
Sharia also plays a role beyond religious rituals and personal ethics in some countries with Muslim minorities. For example, in Israel Sharia-based family laws are administered for the Muslim population by the [[Ministry of Justice (Israel)|Ministry of Justice]] through the Sharia Courts.<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Israel Ministry of Justice]]|title=The Sharia Courts|url=https://www.justice.gov.il/En/Units/ShariaCourts/Pages/default.aspx|access-date=19 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325005530/https://www.justice.gov.il/En/Units/ShariaCourts/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=25 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In India, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act provides for the use of Islamic law for Muslims in several areas, mainly related to family law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/india.htm |title=India |publisher=Law.emory.edu |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116220209/http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/india.htm |archive-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In England, the [[Muslim Arbitration Tribunal]] makes use of Sharia family law to settle disputes, though this limited adoption of Sharia is controversial.<ref>Taher, Abul (14 September 2008). Revealed: UK's first official sharia courts. ''The Sunday Times''</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9975937/Inside-Britains-Sharia-courts.html Inside Britain's Sharia courts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518200507/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9975937/Inside-Britains-Sharia-courts.html |date=18 May 2018 }} Jane Corbin, ''The Telegraph'' (7 April 2013)</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bowen |first1=John R. |year=2010 |url=http://ir.stthomas.edu/ustlj/vol7/iss3/3/ |title=How could English courts recognize Shariah? |journal=University of St. Thomas Law Journal |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=411–35 |access-date=19 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821120614/http://ir.stthomas.edu/ustlj/vol7/iss3/3/ |archive-date=21 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Support and opposition ==

=== Support ===
A 2013 survey based on interviews of 38,000 Muslims, randomly selected from urban and rural parts in 39 countries using area probability designs, by the [[Pew Forum|Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life]] found that a majority—in some cases "overwhelming" majority—of Muslims in a number of countries support making "Sharia" or "Islamic law" the [[law of the land]], including Afghanistan (99%), Iraq (91%), Niger (86%), Malaysia (86%), Pakistan (84%), Morocco (83%), Bangladesh (82%), Egypt (74%), Indonesia (72%), Jordan (71%), Uganda (66%), Ethiopia (65%), Mali (63%), Ghana (58%), and Tunisia (56%).<ref name=pewssp15/> In Muslim regions of Southern-Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the support is less than 50%: Russia (42%), Kyrgyzstan (35%), Tajikistan (27%), Kosovo (20%), Albania (12%), Turkey (12%), Kazakhstan (10%), Azerbaijan (8%). Regional averages of support were 84% in South Asia, 77% in Southeast Asia, 74% in the Middle-East/North Africa, 64%, in Sub-Saharan Africa, 18% in Southern-Eastern Europe, and 12% in Central Asia .<ref name=pewssp15/>

However, while most of those who support implementation of Sharia favor using it in family and property disputes, fewer supported application of severe punishments such as whippings and cutting off hands, and interpretations of some aspects differed widely.<ref name=pewssp15>{{cite book |editor-first=Sandra |editor-last=Stence |year=2013 |others=Research: Alan Cooperman, Neha Sahgal, Jessica Hamar Martinez, et al. |title=The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society |publisher=The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life |pages=15–19, 46, 147–48 |url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/04/worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-full-report.pdf |access-date=31 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030223449/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/04/worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-full-report.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to the Pew poll, among Muslims who support making Sharia the law of the land, most do not believe that it should be applied to non-Muslims. In the Muslim-majority countries surveyed this proportion varied between 74% (of 74% in Egypt) and 19% (of 10% in Kazakhstan), as percentage of those who favored making Sharia the law of the land.{{sfn|Stence|2013|p=48}}

In all of the countries surveyed, respondents were more likely to define Sharia as "the revealed word of God" rather than as "a body of law developed by men based on the word of God".<ref>{{cite web|website=Pew Research Center|title=The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society. Chapter 1: Beliefs About Sharia|date=30 April 2013|access-date=18 April 2019|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-beliefs-about-sharia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323113645/https://news.gallup.com/poll/109072/many-turks-iranians-egyptians-link-sharia-justice.aspx|archive-date=23 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In analyzing the poll, [[Amaney Jamal]] has argued that there is no single, shared understanding of the notions "Sharia" and "Islamic law" among the respondents. In particular, in countries where Muslim citizens have little experience with rigid application of Sharia-based state laws, these notions tend to be more associated with Islamic ideals like equality and social justice than with prohibitions.<ref>{{cite web|website=Pew Research Center|title=Conference Call Transcript: The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society|date=30 April 2013|access-date=18 April 2019|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-event-transcript/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418211542/https://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-event-transcript/|archive-date=18 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Other polls have indicated that for Egyptians, the word "Sharia" is associated with notions of political, social and gender justice.<ref>Jonathan A.C. Brown, Misquoting Muhammad, p. 131.</ref>

In 2008, [[Rowan Williams]], the Archbishop of Canterbury, has suggested that Islamic and [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] courts should be integrated into the British legal system alongside ecclesiastical courts to handle marriage and divorce, subject to agreement of all parties and strict requirements for protection of equal rights for women.<ref name="feldman">{{cite news |last=Feldman |first=Noah |title=Why Shariah? |date=16 March 2008 |newspaper=New York Times Magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16Shariah-t.html |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427090249/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16Shariah-t.html |archive-date=27 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> His reference to the Sharia sparked a controversy.<ref name="feldman" /> Later that year, [[Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers|Nicholas Phillips]], then [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales]], stated that there was "no reason why Sharia principles [...] should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution."<ref>{{cite news |title=Sharia law 'could have UK role' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7488790.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=4 September 2016 |date=4 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921024521/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7488790.stm |archive-date=21 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2008 YouGov poll in the United Kingdom found 40% of Muslim students interviewed supported the introduction of Sharia into British law for Muslims.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/2461830/Killing-for-religion-is-justified-say-third-of-Muslim-students.html Killing for religion is justified, say third of Muslim students] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211225254/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/2461830/Killing-for-religion-is-justified-say-third-of-Muslim-students.html |date=11 February 2018 }} The Telegraph (26 July 2008)</ref> [[Michael Broyde]], professor of law at [[Emory University]] specializing in [[alternative dispute resolution]] and [[Jewish law]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://law.emory.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/faculty-profiles/broyde-profile.html |title=Michael J. Broyde |website=Emory University School of Law |access-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715192523/http://law.emory.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/faculty-profiles/broyde-profile.html |archive-date=15 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> has argued that Sharia courts can be integrated into the American religious arbitration system, provided that they adopt appropriate institutional requirements as American rabbinical courts have done.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Volokh Conspiracy, via Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/06/30/sharia-in-america/ |author=Michael Broyde |title=Sharia in America |date=30 June 2017 |access-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701103548/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/06/30/sharia-in-america/ |archive-date=1 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Opposition ===
{{further|Ban on sharia law}}
[[File:Protest against Sharia in the United Kingdom 2014.jpg|thumb|Protest against Sharia in the United Kingdom (2014)]]
In the [[Western world]], Sharia has been called a source of "hysteria",<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Nation |journal=The Nation |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/true-story-sharia-american-courts/ |last=Awad |first=Abed |date=14 June 2012 |access-date=10 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210213552/http://www.thenation.com/article/true-story-sharia-american-courts/ |archive-date=10 December 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> "more controversial than ever", the one aspect of Islam that inspires "particular dread".<ref name=kadri-267-8>{{cite book |last1=Kadri |first1=Sadakat |title=Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia |date=2012 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0099523277 |pages=267–68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztCRZOhJ10wC&q=Heaven+on+Earth%3A+A+Journey+Through+Shari%27a+Law |access-date=21 November 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213749/https://books.google.com/books?id=ztCRZOhJ10wC&q=Heaven+on+Earth%3A+A+Journey+Through+Shari%27a+Law |url-status=live }}</ref> On the Internet, "dozens of self-styled counter-jihadis" emerged to campaign against Sharia law, describing it in strict interpretations resembling those of Salafi Muslims.<ref name=kadri-267-8/> Also, fear of Sharia law and of the ideology of extremism among Muslims as well as certain congregations donating money to terrorist organizations within the Muslim community reportedly spread to mainstream conservative [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] in the United States.<ref name=TPM-9-23-2010>{{cite news |last1=Slajda |first1=Rachel |title=The War On Sharia Started Long Before You Ever Heard 'Ground Zero Mosque' |url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/the-war-on-sharia-started-long-before-you-ever-heard-ground-zero-mosque |access-date=10 December 2015 |agency=TPM Muckraker |publisher=Talking Points Memo |date=23 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210222641/http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/the-war-on-sharia-started-long-before-you-ever-heard-ground-zero-mosque |archive-date=10 December 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Former [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]] [[Newt Gingrich]] won ovations calling for a federal ban on Sharia law.<ref name=TPM-9-23-2010/>
The issue of "liberty versus Sharia" was called a "momentous civilisational debate" by right-wing pundit [[Diana West]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Don't Ignore Sharia's Advance |date=23 February 2008 |first=Diana |last=West |url=http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974971/posts |agency=Times – News [Burlington, N.C] |access-date=10 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210233714/http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974971/posts |archive-date=10 December 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2008 in Britain, the future Prime Minister ([[David Cameron]]) declared his opposition to "any expansion of Sharia law in the UK."<ref name=BBC-26-3-2008>{{cite news |title=Cameron steps into Sharia law row |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7264740.stm |access-date=10 December 2015 |agency=BBC |date=26 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002074237/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7264740.stm |archive-date=2 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Germany, in 2014, the Interior Minister ([[Thomas de Maizière]]) told a newspaper (''[[Bild]]''), "Sharia law is not tolerated on German soil."<ref name=dw>{{cite news |title=Germany won't tolerate 'Sharia police' |url=http://www.dw.com/en/germany-wont-tolerate-sharia-police/a-17906086 |access-date=8 September 2015 |agency=DW |date=6 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922101349/http://www.dw.com/en/germany-wont-tolerate-sharia-police/a-17906086 |archive-date=22 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some countries and jurisdictions have explicit bans on Sharia law. In Canada, for example, sharia law has been explicitly banned in [[Quebec]] by a 2005 unanimous vote of the National Assembly,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-gives-thumbs-down-to-shariah-law-1.535601 |title=Quebec gives thumbs down to Shariah law |access-date=31 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009234834/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-gives-thumbs-down-to-shariah-law-1.535601 |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> while the province of [[Ontario]] allows family law disputes to be arbitrated only under Ontario law.<ref name=CHOKSI-14-3-2012>{{cite web |last1=Choski |first1=Bilal M. |title=Religious Arbitration in Ontario – Making the Case Based on the British Example of the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal |url=https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/970-choksi33upajintll7912012pdf |website=law.upenn.edu |access-date=10 December 2015 |date=14 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072259/https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/970-choksi33upajintll7912012pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the U.S., opponents of Sharia have sought to ban it from being considered in courts, where it has been routinely used alongside traditional Jewish and Catholic laws to decide legal, business, and family disputes subject to contracts drafted with reference to such laws, as long as they do not violate secular law or the U.S. constitution.<ref name=thomas>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Jeffrey L. |title=Scapegoating Islam: Intolerance, Security, and the American Muslim |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q-FCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |pages=83–86 |isbn=978-1440831003 |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213022551/https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q-FCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |archive-date=13 December 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>  After failing to gather support for a federal law making observing Sharia a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, anti-Sharia activists have focused on state legislatures.<ref name=thomas/> By 2014, bills aimed against use of Sharia have been introduced in 34 states and passed in 11.<ref name=thomas/> A notable example of this would be 2010 Oklahoma State Question 755, which sought to permanently ban the use of Sharia law in courts. While approved by voters, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals placed an injunction on the law. Citing the unconstitutionality of the law's impartial focus on a specific religion, the law was struck down and never took effect.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oklahoma International and Sharia Law, State Question 755 (2010)|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_International_and_Sharia_Law,_State_Question_755_(2010)|access-date=19 March 2021|website=Ballotpedia|language=en|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518135214/https://www.ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_International_and_Sharia_Law,_State_Question_755_(2010)|url-status=live}}</ref> These bills have generally referred to banning foreign or religious law in order to thwart legal challenges.<ref name=thomas/>

According to Jan Michiel Otto, Professor of Law and Governance in Developing Countries at [[Leiden University]], "[a]nthropological research shows that people in local communities often do not distinguish clearly whether and to what extent their norms and practices are based on local tradition, tribal custom, or religion. Those who adhere to a confrontational view of Sharia tend to ascribe many undesirable practices to Sharia and religion overlooking custom and culture, even if high-ranking religious authorities have stated the opposite."{{sfn|Otto|2008|p=30}}

== Contemporary debates and controversies ==
=== Compatibility with democracy ===
It has been argued that the extent to which Sharia is compatible with democracy depends on how it is culturally interpreted,<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Berger|first=Lars|date=17 February 2019|title=Sharīʻa, Islamism and Arab support for democracy|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2018.1527316|journal=Democratization|volume=26|issue=2|pages=309–26|doi=10.1080/13510347.2018.1527316|s2cid=150075053|issn=1351-0347|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=27 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213741/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13510347.2018.1527316|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> with a cultural position that Sharia represents the human attempt to interpret God's message associated with a greater preference for democracy than an Islamist interpretation that Sharia law is the literal word of God.<ref name=":1" />

==== General Muslim views ====
Scholars [[John Esposito]] and [[Natana J. DeLong-Bas]] distinguish four attitudes toward Sharia and democracy prominent among contemporary Muslims:{{sfn|Esposito|DeLong-Bas|2018|pp=142–43}}
* Advocacy of democratic ideas, often accompanied by a belief that they are compatible with Islam, which can play a public role within a democratic system, as exemplified by many protestors who took part in the [[Arab Spring]] uprisings;
* Support for democratic procedures such as elections, combined with religious or moral objections toward some aspects of Western democracy seen as incompatible with Sharia, as exemplified by Islamic scholars like [[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]];
* Rejection of democracy as a Western import and advocacy of traditional Islamic institutions, such as ''[[shura]]'' (consultation) and ''[[ijma]]'' (consensus), as exemplified by supporters of absolute monarchy and radical Islamist movements;
* Belief that democracy requires restricting religion to private life: a view held by a minority in the Muslim world.

According to Polls conducted by [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] and [[Pew Research Center]] in [[Muslim-majority]] countries, most Muslims see no contradiction between democratic values and religious principles, desiring neither theocracy nor a secular democracy but rather a political model where democratic institutions and values can coexist with the values and principles of Sharia.{{sfn|Esposito|DeLong-Bas|2018|p=145}}<ref>{{cite web|website=Pew Research Center|title=Most Muslims Want Democracy, Personal Freedoms, and Islam in Political Life|date=10 July 2012|url=https://www.pewglobal.org/2012/07/10/most-muslims-want-democracy-personal-freedoms-and-islam-in-political-life/|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417133154/https://www.pewglobal.org/2012/07/10/most-muslims-want-democracy-personal-freedoms-and-islam-in-political-life/|archive-date=17 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=Gallup|title=Majorities See Religion and Democracy as Compatible|date=3 October 2017|author1=Magali Rheault|author2=Dalia Mogahed|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/28762/majorities-muslims-americans-see-religion-law-compatible.aspx|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417133158/https://news.gallup.com/poll/28762/majorities-muslims-americans-see-religion-law-compatible.aspx|archive-date=17 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Islamic political theories ====
{{Main|Political aspects of Islam|Islam and democracy|Shura|Ijma}}
[[File:Grand Ayatollahs Qom فتوکلاژ، آیت الله های ایران-قم 02.jpg|thumb|[[Ayatollah|Grand Ayatollah]]s of [[Qom]], Iran; Religious leaders who have the authority to interpret Sharia sources in [[Shiism|Shia Islam]]<ref>Sociology of religions: perspectives of Ali Shariati (2008) Mir Mohammed Ibrahim</ref> used assertive names and titles such as [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ruhollah]], [[Ayatollah]], [[Hujjat al-Islam]], which directly connect their identities to Allah or Islam, and gained [[walayah|tutelage over people and the administration]].<ref name="Newman in Meri 2006 734">{{harvnb| Newman|2006|p=734}}</ref>]]
Muslih and Browers identify three major perspectives on democracy among prominent Muslim thinkers who have sought to develop modern, distinctly Islamic theories of socio-political organization conforming to Islamic values and law:{{sfn|Muslih|Browers|2009}}
* The rejectionist Islamic view, elaborated by [[Sayyid Qutb]] and [[Abul A'la Maududi]], condemns imitation of foreign ideas, distinguishing Western democracy and the Islamic doctrine of ''shura'' (consultation between ruler and ruled). This perspective, which stresses the comprehensive implementation of Sharia, was widespread in the 1970s and 1980s among various movements seeking to establish an Islamic state, but its popularity has diminished in recent years.
* The moderate Islamic view stresses the concepts of ''[[maslaha]]'' (public interest), ''[[Adl|ʿadl]]'' (justice), and ''shura''. Islamic leaders are considered to uphold justice if they promote public interest, as defined through ''shura''. In this view, ''shura'' provides the basis for representative government institutions that are similar to Western democracy but reflect Islamic rather than Western values.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} [[Hasan al-Turabi]], [[Rashid al-Ghannushi]], and [[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]] have advocated different forms of this view.
* The liberal Islamic view is influenced by [[Muhammad Abduh]]'s emphasis on the role of reason in understanding religion. It stresses democratic principles based on pluralism and freedom of thought. Authors like [[Fahmi Huwaidi]] and [[Tariq al-Bishri]] have constructed Islamic justifications for full citizenship of non-Muslims in an Islamic state by drawing on early Islamic texts. Others, like [[Mohammed Arkoun]] and [[Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd]], have justified pluralism and freedom through non-literalist approaches to textual interpretation. [[Abdolkarim Soroush]] has argued for a "religious democracy" based on religious thought that is democratic, tolerant, and just. Islamic liberals argue for the necessity of constant reexamination of religious understanding, which can only be done in a democratic context.

==== European Court of Human Rights ====
In 1998, the [[Constitutional Court of Turkey]] banned and dissolved Turkey's [[Welfare Party|Refah Party]] over its announced intention to introduce Sharia-based laws, ruling that it would change Turkey's secular order and undermine democracy.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kevin Boyle |year=2004 |title=Human Rights, Religion and Democracy: The Refah Party Case |url=http://projects.essex.ac.uk/EHRR/V1N1/Boyle.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Essex Human Rights Review |volume=1 |page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421043912/http://projects.essex.ac.uk/ehrr/V1N1/Boyle.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2018 |access-date=16 April 2019 |number=1}}</ref> On appeal by Refah the [[European Court of Human Rights]] determined that "sharia is incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy".<ref>{{cite web |date=13 February 2003 |title=Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) and Others v. Turkey |url=http://www.icnl.org/research/journal/vol6iss1/special_5.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129160352/http://www.icnl.org/research/journal/vol6iss1/special_5.htm |archive-date=29 November 2014 |access-date=20 November 2014 |publisher=The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law}}</ref><ref>[http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/29AC6DBD-C3F8-411C-9B97-B42BE466EE7A/0/2004__Wildhaber_Cancado_Trindade_BIL__opening_legal_year.pdf Hearing of the European Court of Human Rights] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060528154417/http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/29AC6DBD-C3F8-411C-9B97-B42BE466EE7A/0/2004__Wildhaber_Cancado_Trindade_BIL__opening_legal_year.pdf|date=28 May 2006}}, 22 January 2004 (PDF)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ECHR press release Refah Partisi (2001) |url=http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2001/July/RefahPartisi2001jude.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124050055/http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2001/July/RefahPartisi2001jude.htm |archive-date=24 January 2010 |access-date=4 April 2012 |publisher=Echr.coe.int}}</ref> Refah's Sharia-based notion of a "plurality of legal systems, grounded on religion" was ruled to contravene the [[European Convention on Human Rights|European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms]]. It was determined that it would "do away with the State's role as the guarantor of individual rights and freedoms" and "infringe the principle of non-discrimination between individuals as regards their enjoyment of public freedoms, which is one of the fundamental principles of democracy".<ref>Christian Moe (2012), Refah Revisited: Strasbourg's Construction of Islam, in Islam, Europe and emerging legal issues (editors: W. Cole Durham Jr. et al.), {{ISBN|978-1409434443}}, pp. 235–71</ref> In an analysis, Maurits S. Berger found the ruling to be "nebulous" and surprising from a legal point of view, since the Court neglected to define what it meant by "Sharia" and would not, for example, be expected to regard Sharia rules for Islamic rituals as contravening European human rights values.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Maurits S. Berger |year=2018 |title=Understanding Sharia in the West |journal=Journal of Law, Religion and State |publisher=Brill |volume=6 |issue=2–3 |pages=236–73 |doi=10.1163/22124810-00602005 |doi-access=free|hdl=1887/62331 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Kevin Boyle also criticized the decision for not distinguishing between extremist and mainstream interpretations of Islam and implying that peaceful advocacy of Islamic doctrines ("an attitude which fails to respect [the principle of secularism]") is not protected by the European Convention provisions for freedom of religion.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kevin Boyle |year=2004 |title=Human Rights, Religion and Democracy: The Refah Party Case |url=http://projects.essex.ac.uk/EHRR/V1N1/Boyle.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Essex Human Rights Review |volume=1 |page=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421043912/http://projects.essex.ac.uk/ehrr/V1N1/Boyle.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2018 |access-date=16 April 2019 |number=1}}</ref>

=== Compatibility with freedom of religion ===

==== Apostasy ====
{{Main|Apostasy in Islam}}
[[File:Apostasy laws world map.svg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.4|Countries that criminalize [[religious conversion]] as of 2020. Some Muslim-majority countries impose the death penalty or a prison sentence for apostasy away from Islam or ban non-Muslims from [[proselytism|proselytizing]].<ref>[http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/28/which-countries-still-outlaw-apostasy-and-blasphemy/ Which countries still outlaw apostasy and blasphemy?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725201505/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/28/which-countries-still-outlaw-apostasy-and-blasphemy/ |date=25 July 2016 }} Pew Research Center, United States (May 2014)</ref>]]
[[File:Execution of a Moroccan Jewess by Alfred Dehodencq.jpg|thumb|upright| Execution of a [[Moroccan Jews|Moroccan Jewish]] woman ([[Sol Hachuel]]) on the grounds of leaving Islam ([[Apostasy in Islam|apostasy]]), painting by [[Alfred Dehodencq]]]]
According to Islam, [[religious conversion]] away from Islam ([[Apostasy in Islam|apostasy from Islam]]) is a sin,<ref name=jstor-1570336>{{cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=Rudolph |last2=Vries |first2=Gert J. J. De |title=Apostasy in Islam |journal=Die Welt des Islams |date=1976 |volume=17 |issue=1/4 |pages=1–25 |doi= 10.2307/1570336 |jstor=1570336}}</ref><ref name="Lewis-1995-229">{{cite book|last1= Lewis|first1= Bernard|title= The Middle East, a Brief History of the Last 2000 Years|date= 1995|publisher= Touchstone Books|isbn= 978-0684807126|page= 229|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1ajwK7ejowwC&q=%22crime+as+well+as+a+sin%22+lewis&pg=PT234|access-date= 27 November 2015|archive-date= 27 December 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213725/https://books.google.com/books?id=1ajwK7ejowwC&q=%22crime+as+well+as+a+sin%22+lewis&pg=PT234|url-status= live}}</ref> while "there is no compulsion in religion".<ref name="qref|2|256">{{qref|2|256|b=yl}}</ref> 
A number of liberal and progressive Islamic scholars have argued that apostasy should not be viewed as a crime.<ref name="ELLIOTT-3-26-2006">{{cite news|last1=Elliott|first1=Andrea|title=In Kabul, a Test for Shariah|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/weekinreview/26elliott.html?_r=0|access-date=28 November 2015|agency=New York Times|date=26 March 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111010040/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/weekinreview/26elliott.html?_r=0|archive-date=11 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news |first=Magdi |last=Abdelhadi |date=27 March 2006 |title=What Islam says on religious freedom |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4850080.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=14 October 2009 |url-status=live |archive-date=11 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211123527/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4850080.stm}}</ref><ref name=jstor-1570336/><ref name=bbcsudan>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27424064 |title=Sudan woman faces death for apostasy|work=BBC News |date=15 May 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519054610/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27424064 |archive-date=19 May 2014 |quote=There is a long-running debate in Islam over whether apostasy is a crime. Some liberal scholars hold the view that it is not (...), Others say apostasy is (...). The latter is the dominant view in conservative Muslim states such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (...).}}</ref>
Others argue that the death penalty is an inappropriate punishment,<ref name= hassanibrahim>{{cite book|first =Hassan|last= Ibrahim |editor-first= Ibrahim M.|editor-last= Abu-Rabi'|date=2006|title= The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought|publisher= Blackwell Publishing|isbn =978-1-4051-2174-3|pages= 167–69}}</ref><ref name=smz>{{cite journal |last1=Zwemer |first1=Samuel M. |title=The Law of Apostasy |journal= The Muslim World |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages= 36–37, chapter 2 |issn= 0027-4909}}</ref> inconsistent with the Qur'anic verses such as [[Al-Baqara 256]] containing "no compulsion in religion";<ref name="ELLIOTT-3-26-2006"/> or that it was a man-made rule enacted in the early Islamic community to prevent and punish the equivalent of desertion or treason.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Esposito |year=2011|title=What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam|page=74|publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wSVQI3Ya2EC&pg=PA74|isbn=978-0199794133|author-link=John Esposito |access-date=18 April 2019 |url-status=live|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611044119/https://books.google.com/books?id=2wSVQI3Ya2EC&pg=PA74}}</ref> According to [[Khaled Abou El Fadl]], some Muslims do not believe that apostasy requires punishment.<ref name="GTWIFE">{{cite book|last1=Abou El Fadl |first1=Khaled|title=The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists|year=2007 |publisher=HarperOne|isbn=978-0061189036|page=158|author1-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl}}</ref> Typically there is a waiting period to allow time to repent and to return to Islam.<ref name=jstor-1570336/><ref name=aromar/><ref name="KEY">{{cite book|author1= Kecia Ali|author2= Oliver Leaman|title= Islam: the key concepts|publisher= Routledge|year= 2008|page= 10|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=H5-CdzqmuXsC&pg=PA10|access-date= 29 November 2013|isbn= 978-0415396387|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131212074154/http://books.google.com/books?id=H5-CdzqmuXsC&pg=PA10|archive-date= 12 December 2013}}</ref><ref name=johnesposito>{{cite book|author= John L. Esposito|title= The Oxford dictionary of Islam|publisher= Oxford University Press|year= 2004|page= 22|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6VeCWQfVNjkC&pg=PA22|access-date= 28 November 2013|isbn= 978-0195125597|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131212075502/http://books.google.com/books?id=6VeCWQfVNjkC&pg=PA22|archive-date= 12 December 2013}}</ref>

Early Islamic jurists set the standard for apostasy from Islam so high that practically no apostasy verdict could be passed before the 11th century,<ref name="Princeton.Enc.2013">{{cite book |editor1=Gerhard Bowering|others=associate editors Patricia Crone, Wadid Kadi, Devin J. Stewart and Muhammad Qasim Zaman; assistant editor Mahan Mirza|title = The Princeton encyclopedia of Islamic political thought |date = 2013 |publisher = [[Princeton University Press]] |location = Princeton, N.J. |isbn = 978-0691134840 |page = 40}}</ref> but later jurists lowered the bar for applying the death penalty, allowing judges to interpret the apostasy law in different ways,<ref name="Princeton.Enc.2013"/> which they did sometimes leniently and sometimes strictly.{{sfn|Vikør|2005|p=291}} In the late 19th century, criminal penalties for apostasy fell into disuse, although civil penalties were still applied.<ref name=jstor-1570336/> [[Wael Hallaq]] writes that "[in] a culture whose lynchpin is religion, religious principles and religious morality, apostasy is in some way equivalent to high treason in the modern nation-state".<ref name="waelhallaq">{{cite book|last1= Wael|first1= B. Hallaq|title= Sharī'a: Theory, Practice and Transformations|date= 2009|publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn= 978-0-521-86147-2|page= 319|author1-link= Wael Hallaq}}</ref> Some Islamic jurists continue to regard apostasy as a crime deserving the [[Capital and corporal punishment in Islam|death penalty]].<ref name=aromar>{{cite book|last= Omar|first= Abdul Rashied|editor1= Mohammed Abu-Nimer|editor2= David Augsburger|title= Peace-Building by, between, and beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HvrDWka4iRgC&pg=186|year=2009|publisher= Lexington Books|chapter= The Right to religious conversion: Between apostasy and proselytization|isbn= 978-0-7391-3523-5|pages= 179–94|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160111010040/https://books.google.com/books?id=HvrDWka4iRgC&pg=186|archive-date= 11 January 2016}}</ref>
Some Sharia interpreters believe apostasy should be enforced only if apostasy becomes a mechanism of [[Fitna (word)|public disobedience and disorder]] (''fitna'').{{#tag:ref|According to the interpretation of [[Turkish Muslims|Turkish Muslim]] [[Islamic studies|scholar]] Ahmet Albayrak regarding apostasy from Islam as a form of wrongdoing, punishment for leaving Islam is not a sign of [[Religious intolerance|intolerance towards other religions]], and it is not aimed at one's freedom to leave Islam and [[Freedom of religion|to choose a different faith]]. In his opinion, it is more correct to say that the punishment is imposed as a safety precaution when conditions warrant the imposition of it; for example, the punishment is imposed if apostasy from Islam becomes a mechanism of [[Fitna (word)|public disobedience and disorder]] (''fitna'').<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Leaman |editor-first=Oliver |editor-link=Oliver Leaman |year=2006 |title=The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isDgI0-0Ip4C |location=London and New York |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |pages=526–527 |isbn=9780415775298}}</ref>|group=Note}}

Twenty-three Muslim-majority countries, {{as of | 2013 | lc = on}}, penalized apostasy from Islam through their [[criminal law]]s.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/index.php Laws Criminalizing Apostasy] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20171231144725/https://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/index.php |date=31 December 2017 }} Library of Congress (2014)</ref>
{{As of | 2014}}, apostasy from Islam was a capital offense in Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.<ref name=locapo>[https://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/apostasy.pdf Laws Criminalizing Apostasy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011180050/http://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/apostasy.pdf |date=11 October 2017 }} Library of Congress (2014)</ref><ref>[http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e174 Apostasy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904042337/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e174 |date=4 September 2014 }} Oxford Islamic Studies Online, Oxford University Press (2012)</ref> In other countries, Sharia courts could use family laws to void the Muslim apostate's [[marriage in Islam|marriage]] and to deny [[child custody|child-custody]] rights as well as [[inheritance]] rights.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Zwemer |first1= Samuel M. |title= The Law of Apostasy |journal= The Muslim World |volume= 14 |issue=4 |pages= 41–43, Chapter 2 |issn= 0027-4909}}</ref> In the years 1985–2006, four individuals were legally executed for apostasy from Islam: "one in Sudan in 1985; two in Iran, in 1989 and 1998; and one in Saudi Arabia in 1992."<ref name="ELLIOTT-3-26-2006"/> While modern states have rarely prosecuted apostasy, Islamists have tended to exploit apostasy for political gain.<ref name="ELLIOTT-3-26-2006"/> [[Apostasy in Islam#Public opinion|In a 2008–2012 Pew Research Center poll]], public support for capital punishment for apostasy among Muslims ranged from 78% in Afghanistan to less than 1% in Kazakhstan, reaching over 50% in 6 of the 20 countries surveyed.
Some Sharia courts have limited the freedom of religion for Muslims.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ismail |first1=Siti |last2=Awang Mat |first2=Muhamad |date=2016 |title=Faith and Freedom: The Qur'anic Notion of Freedom of Religion vs. the Act of Changing Religion and Thoughts on the Implications for Malaysia |journal=Religions |language=en |volume=7 |issue=7 |pages=88 |doi=10.3390/rel7070088 |doi-access=free |issn=2077-1444}}</ref>

The death penalty<ref>{{cite web |date=16 May 2014 |title=UN rights office deeply concerned over Sudanese woman facing death for apostasy |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47810 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417115144/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47810 |archive-date=17 April 2017 |access-date=17 April 2017 |website=UN News Centre}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=13 February 2012 |title=Saudi Arabia: Writer Faces Apostasy Trial |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/13/saudi-arabia-writer-faces-apostasy-trial |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417114956/https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/13/saudi-arabia-writer-faces-apostasy-trial |archive-date=17 April 2017 |access-date=17 April 2017 |website=Human Rights Watch}}</ref> or other punishment for apostasy in Islam is a violation of universal [[human rights]], and an issue of [[freedom of religion]] and conscience.<ref name=hassanibrahim/><ref>{{cite book|title= Human Rights Diplomacy |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=U84ktW2N93QC&pg=64|year=1997|publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-15390-4|page=64|url-status=live|archive-date=11 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111010039/https://books.google.com/books?id=U84ktW2N93QC&pg=64}}</ref>

=== Compatibility with human rights ===
Governments of several predominantly Muslim countries have criticized the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] (UDHR) for its perceived failure to take into account the cultural and religious context of non-[[Western world|Western]] countries. Iran declared in the UN assembly that UDHR was "a [[Secularism|secular]] understanding of the [[Judeo-Christian]] tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law.<ref>David P. Forsythe (2009), ''Encyclopedia of Human Rights'': Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, pp. 239–45</ref> Islamic scholars and Islamist political parties consider 'universal human rights' arguments as the imposition of a non-Muslim culture on Muslim people, a disrespect of customary cultural practices and Islam.<ref name=as1999>{{cite journal |first1=Amyn B |last1=Sajoo |date=Spring 1990 |title=Islam and Human Rights: Congruence or Dichotomy |journal=Temple International and Comparative Law Journal |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=23–34 |isbn=978-0520360051 |oclc=81814299}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Kecia |last1=Ali |chapter=Progressive Muslims and Islamic jurisprudence: the necessity for critical engagement with marriage and divorce law |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MCcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT189 |pages=163–87 |editor1-first=Omid |editor1-last=Safi |year=2003 |title=Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism |publisher=Oneworld |isbn=978-1780740454 |access-date=20 July 2016 |archive-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212231529/https://books.google.com/books?id=2MCcAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT189 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1990, the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], a group representing all Muslim-majority nations, met in Cairo to respond to the UDHR, then adopted the [[Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Heiner |last1=Bielefeldt |title='Western' versus 'Islamic' Human Rights Conceptions?: A Critique of Cultural Essentialism in the Discussion on Human Rights |journal=Political Theory |volume=28 |issue=1 |year=2000 |pages=90–121 |jstor=192285 |doi=10.1177/0090591700028001005|s2cid=144825564 }}</ref><ref>Anver M. Emon, Mark Ellis, Benjamin Glahn (2012), Islamic Law and International Human Rights Law, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199641444}}{{page needed|date=April 2016}}</ref>

[[Ann Elizabeth Mayer]] points to notable absences from the Cairo Declaration: provisions for democratic principles, protection for religious freedom, freedom of association, and freedom of the press, as well as equality in rights and equal protection under the law. Article 24 of the Cairo declaration states that "all the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic ''shari'a''".<ref name=mayer>{{cite book |first1=Ann Elizabeth |last1=Mayer |chapter=Islamic Law and Human Rights: Conundrums and Equivocations |editor1-first=Carrie |editor1-last=Gustafson |editor2-first=Peter H. |editor2-last=Juviler |year=2016 |title=Religion and Human Rights: Competing Claims?: Competing Claims? |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1315502557}}{{page needed|date=April 2016}}</ref>

In 2009, the journal ''[[Free Inquiry]]'' summarized the criticism of the Cairo Declaration in an editorial: "We are deeply concerned with the changes to the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] by a coalition of Islamic states within the [[United Nations]] that wishes to prohibit any criticism of religion and would thus protect Islam's limited view of human rights. In view of the conditions inside the Islamic Republic of Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Afghanistan, we should expect that at the top of their human rights agenda would be to rectify the legal inequality of women, the suppression of political dissent, the curtailment of free expression, the persecution of ethnic minorities and religious dissenters—in short, protecting their citizens from egregious human rights violations. Instead, they are worrying about protecting Islam."<ref>Paul Kurtz, [[Austin Dacey]], and Tom Flynn. "Defaming Human Rights". ''[[Free Inquiry]]''. February/March 2009, Vol. 29, No. 2.</ref>

[[H. Patrick Glenn]] states that Sharia is structured around the concept of mutual obligations of a collective, and it considers individual human rights as potentially disruptive and unnecessary to its revealed code of mutual obligations. In giving priority to this religious collective rather than individual liberty, Islamic law justifies the formal inequality of individuals (women and non-Islamic people).<ref>Glenn, H. Patrick (2014), pp. 199–205</ref> Bassam Tibi states that the Sharia framework and human rights are incompatible.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tibi |first1=Bassam |title=The Return of the Sacred to Politics as a Constitutional Law The Case of the Shari'atization of Politics in Islamic Civilization |journal=Theoria |volume=55 |issue=115 |pages=91–119 |year=2008 |jstor=41802396 |doi=10.3167/th.2008.5511506}}</ref> Abdel al-Hakeem Carney, in contrast, states that Sharia is misunderstood from a failure to distinguish ''Sharia'' from ''siyasah'' (politics).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carney |first1=ABD Al-Hakeem |title=The Desacralisation of Power in Islam |journal=Religion, State and Society |volume=31 |issue=2 |year=2003 |pages=203–19 |doi=10.1080/09637490308281|s2cid=144779047 }}</ref>

==== LGBTQ rights ====
{{main|LGBTQ people and Islam}}
[[File:World laws pertaining to homosexual relationships and expression.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Homosexual intercourse illegal: {{legend|#800000|[[Capital punishment|Death penalty]]}}{{legend|#cc6633|Death penalty on books but not applied}}
{{legend|#e73e21|Up to [[life in prison]]}}{{legend|#ec8028|Imprisonment}}{{legend|#f9dc36|Prison on books but not enforced}}]]
Homosexual intercourse is illegal in classical Sharia, with different penalties, including capital punishment, stipulated depending on the situation and legal school. In pre-modern Islam, the penalties prescribed for homosexual acts were "to a large extent theoretical" according to the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', owing in part to stringent procedural requirements for their harsher (''hudud'') forms and in part to prevailing social tolerance toward same-sex relationships.<ref name=EI2>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2012 |title=Liwāṭ |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam| edition=2nd|publisher=Brill |editor-last=Bearman |editor-first=P. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor2-first=Th. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor3-first=C.E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor4-first=E. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |editor5-first=W.P. |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4677}}</ref> Historical instances of prosecution for homosexual acts are rare, and those which followed Sharia rules are even rarer.<ref name=iranica-law>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/homosexuality-ii|author=E. K. Rowson|title=Homosexuality in Islamic Law |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica|year=2012|access-date=9 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409045203/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/homosexuality-ii|archive-date=9 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Public attitudes toward homosexuality in the Muslim world turned more negative starting from the 19th century through the [[International propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism|gradual spread]] of [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic fundamentalist movements]] such as [[Salafi movement|Salafism]] and [[Wahhabism]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Falaky |first1=Fayçal |title=Radical Islam, Tolerance, and the Enlightenment |journal=Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture |date=2018 |volume=47 |pages=265–66 |doi=10.1353/sec.2018.0026 |s2cid=149570040 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Daniel |title=Oppression and Subalternity: Homosexual and Transgender in Islam |journal=Journal of the International Relations and Affairs Group |date=2013 |volume=3 |issue=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oz_wBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |pages=109–10 |isbn=978-1304399694 |access-date=18 December 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514154958/https://books.google.com/books?id=oz_wBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109}}</ref><ref name="dialmy">{{cite journal |last1=Dialmy |first1=Abdessamad |title=Sexuality and Islam |journal=The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care |date=13 May 2010 |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=160–68 |doi=10.3109/13625181003793339|pmid=20441406 |s2cid=1099061 }}</ref> and under the influence of sexual notions prevalent in Europe at that time.<ref name=lapidus>{{Cite book| author1=Ira M. Lapidus|author2=Lena Salaymeh |title=A History of Islamic Societies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=Kindle |year=2014| isbn=978-0-521-51430-9 |pages=361–362}}</ref><ref name=beckers>Tilo Beckers, "Islam and the Acceptance of Homosexuality", in ''Islam and Homosexuality, Volume 1'', ed. Samar Habib, 64–65  (Praeger, 2009).</ref> A number of Muslim-majority<ref>{{Cite news |title=How homosexuality became a crime in the Middle East |url=https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/06/06/how-homosexuality-became-a-crime-in-the-middle-east |access-date=2024-05-09 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703034324/https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/06/06/how-homosexuality-became-a-crime-in-the-middle-east |url-status=live }}</ref> countries have retained [[Criminalization of homosexuality|criminal penalties for homosexual acts]] enacted under colonial rule.<ref name=ahmadi>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development|title=Islam and Homosexuality: Religious Dogma, Colonial Rule, and the Quest for Belonging|author=Shafiqa Ahmadi|volume=26|year=2012|issue=3 |pages=557–558 |url=https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1709&context=jcred |access-date=9 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404044040/https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1709&context=jcred|archive-date=4 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=economist>{{cite news|newspaper=The Economist|title=How homosexuality became a crime in the Middle East|date=6 June 2018 |url=https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/06/06/how-homosexuality-became-a-crime-in-the-middle-east|access-date=9 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407190245/https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/06/06/how-homosexuality-became-a-crime-in-the-middle-east|archive-date=7 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In recent decades, prejudice against LGBT individuals in the Muslim world has been exacerbated by increasingly conservative attitudes and the rise of Islamist movements, resulting in Sharia-based penalties enacted in several countries.<ref name=economist/> The [[Death penalty for homosexuality|death penalty for homosexual acts]] is currently a legal punishment in Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, some northern states in Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, parts of Somalia,  and Yemen, all of which have Sharia-based criminal laws. It is unclear whether the laws of Afghanistan and United Arab Emirates provide for the death penalty for gay sex, ''as they have never been carried out''.{{Update inline|date=May 2024}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Afghanistan |title=The Death Penalty in Afghanistan |publisher=Death Penalty Worldwide |access-date=25 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914020231/http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Afghanistan |archive-date=14 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WP">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/|title=Analysis – Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death|first1=Max|last1=Bearak|first2=Darla|last2=Cameron|date=16 June 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=9 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111064457/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/|archive-date=11 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Criminalization of consensual homosexual acts and especially making them liable to capital punishment has been condemned by international rights groups. [[LGBT in Islam#Opinion polls|According to polls]], the level of social acceptance for homosexuality ranges from 52% among Muslims in the U.S. to less than 10% in a number of Muslim-majority nations.

==== Women ====
{{main|Women in Islam|Islam and domestic violence}}
[[File:Odalisque (Boston Public Library).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8| A ''"[[cariye]]"'' or [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[concubine]], painting by Gustav Richter (1823–1884)]]
===== Personal status and child marriage =====
Sharia is the basis for personal status laws in most Islamic-majority nations. These personal status laws determine [[women's rights|rights of women]] in matters of marriage, divorce, and child custody. A 2011 [[UNICEF]] report mentions that Sharia law provisions differ for women in financial matters from general human rights provisions. In many countries, in legal proceedings relating to Sharia-based [[Shia Personal Status Law|personal status law]], in financial cases, a [[Status of women's testimony in Islam|woman's testimony is worth half of a man's]] before a court.<ref name=unicef2011>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/gender/files/REGIONAL-Gender-Eqaulity-Profile-2011.pdf |title=MENA Gender Equality Profile – Status of Girls and Women in the Middle East and North Africa, UNICEF (October 2011) |access-date=22 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605134725/http://www.unicef.org/gender/files/REGIONAL-Gender-Eqaulity-Profile-2011.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1917 codification of Islamic family law in the [[Ottoman Empire]] distinguished between the age of competence for marriage, which was set at 18 for boys and 17 for girls, and the minimum age for marriage, which followed the traditional Hanafi limits of 12 for boys and 9 for girls.  Marriage below the age of competence was permissible only if proof of sexual maturity was accepted in court, while marriage under the minimum age was forbidden. During the 20th century,  most countries in the Middle East followed the Ottoman precedent in defining the age of competence while raising the minimum age to 15 or 16 for boys and 13–16 for girls. Marriage below the age of competence is subject to approval by a judge and the legal guardian of the adolescent. Egypt diverged from this pattern by setting the age limits of 18 for boys and 16 for girls, without a distinction between competence for marriage and minimum age.<ref name=EI2-8-29>{{Cite encyclopedia|author1=Schacht, J.|author2= Layish, A.|author3= Shaham, R.|author4= Ansari, Ghaus|author5= Otto, J.M.|author6= Pompe, S.|author7= Knappert, J. |author8=Boyd, Jean| year=1995 | title=Nikāḥ|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam| edition=2nd|publisher=Brill |editor1=P. Bearman|editor2= Th. Bianquis|editor3= C.E. Bosworth|editor4= E. van Donzel|editor5= W.P. Heinrichs|volume=8|page=29}}</ref>

===== Property rights =====
Islamic law granted Muslim women certain legal rights, such as property rights which women in the West did not possess until "comparatively recent times".<ref>Bernard Lewis (2002), What Went Wrong?, {{ISBN|0195144201}}, p. 83</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Badawi |first=Jamal A. |title=The Status of Women in Islam |journal=Al-Ittihad Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=8 |issue=2 |date=September 1971}}{{page needed|date=July 2016}}</ref><ref name=Feldman>{{cite news |author-link=Noah Feldman |last=Feldman |first=Noah |title=Why Shariah? |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 March 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16Shariah-t.html?ei=5070&em=&en=5c1b8de536ce606f&ex=1205812800&pagewanted=all |access-date=17 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116110730/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16Shariah-t.html?ei=5070&em=&en=5c1b8de536ce606f&ex=1205812800&pagewanted=all |archive-date=16 November 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Starting with the 20th century, Western legal systems evolved to expand women's rights, but women's rights in the Muslim world have to varying degree remained tied to the Quran, hadiths and their traditional interpretations by Islamic jurists.<ref name=alik/><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Hafez, Mohammed |title=Why Muslims Rebel |journal=Al-Ittihad Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=1 |issue=2 |date=September 2006 }}</ref> Sharia grants women the [[right to property|right to inherit property]] from other family members, and these rights are detailed in the Quran.{{sfn|Horrie|Chippindale|1991|p=49}} A woman's inheritance can be unequal if she inherits from her father, as daughters inherit half as much as their brothers.{{qref|4|11|b=y|s=y}}<ref name=davidpowers/>

===== Domestic violence =====
[[Jonathan A.C. Brown]] says:
<blockquote>The vast majority of the ulama across the Sunni schools of law inherited the Prophet's unease over domestic violence and placed further restrictions on the evident meaning of the 'Wife Beating Verse'. A leading Meccan scholar from the second generation of Muslims, [[Ata ibn Abi Rabah|Ata' bin Abi Rabah]], counseled a husband not to beat his wife even if she ignored him but rather to express his anger in some other way. [[Al-Darimi|Darimi]], a teacher of both [[Tirmidhi]] and [[Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj|Muslim bin Hajjaj]] as well as a leading early scholar in Iran, collected all the Hadiths showing Muhammad's disapproval of beating in a chapter entitled 'The Prohibition on Striking Women'. A thirteenth-century scholar from Granada, Ibn Faras, notes that one camp of ulama had staked out a stance forbidding striking a wife altogether, declaring it contrary to the Prophet's example and denying the authenticity of any Hadiths that seemed to permit beating. Even [[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani|Ibn Hajar]], the pillar of late medieval Sunni Hadith scholarship, concludes that, contrary to what seems to be an explicit command in the Qur'an, the Hadiths of the Prophet leave no doubt that striking one's wife to discipline her actually falls under the Shariah ruling of 'strongly disliked' or 'disliked verging on prohibited'.<ref>Jonathan A.C. Brown, ''Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy'', [[Oneworld Publications]] (2014), pp. 275–276</ref></blockquote>

The [[An-Nisa, 34|Surah 4:34]], in the Quran, has been debated for domestic violence and also has been subject to [[An-Nisa, 34#Debates and discussion about the text|varied interpretations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/4/34/men-are-given-authority-over-women-and-corrective-measures-for-disobedient-women-and-arbitration-in-family-disputes |title=Surah 4:34 (An-Nisaa), Alim&nbsp;– Translated by Mohammad Asad, Gibraltar (1980) |access-date=29 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927231420/http://www.alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/4/34/men-are-given-authority-over-women-and-corrective-measures-for-disobedient-women-and-arbitration-in-family-disputes |archive-date=27 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eui.eu/DepartmentsAndCentres/RobertSchumanCentre/Research/InternationalTransnationalRelations/MediterraneanProgramme/MRM/MRM2011/ws04.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927154118/http://www.eui.eu/DepartmentsAndCentres/RobertSchumanCentre/Research/InternationalTransnationalRelations/MediterraneanProgramme/MRM/MRM2011/ws04.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Salhi and Grami (2011), Gender and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa, Florence (Italy), European University Institute|archivedate=27 September 2013}}</ref> According to some interpretations, Sharia condones certain forms of domestic violence against women, when a husband suspects ''[[nushuz]]'' (disobedience, disloyalty, rebellion, ill conduct) in his wife only after admonishing and staying away from the bed does not work.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Farid |last1=Esack |chapter=Islam and Gender Justice: Beyond Simplistic Apologia |chapter-url={{Google books|riz_cIdSq0gC |page=187 |plainurl=yes}} |pages=187–210 |editor1-first=John C. |editor1-last=Raines |editor2-first=Daniel C. |editor2-last=Maguire |year=2014 |title=What Men Owe to Women: Men's Voices from World Religions |publisher=SUNY |isbn=978-0791491553 }}</ref> These interpretations have been criticized as inconsistent with women's rights in domestic abuse cases.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Mathias |last1=Rohe |chapter=Shari'a in a European Context |chapter-url={{Google books|bY1sReuxDy0C |page=93 |plainurl=yes}} |pages=93–114 |editor1-first=Ralpho |editor1-last=Grillo |editor2-first=Roger |editor2-last=Ballard |editor3-first=Alessandro |editor3-last=Ferrari |editor4-first=André J. |editor4-last=Hoekema |editor5-first=Marcel |editor5-last=Maussen |editor6-first=Prakash |editor6-last=Shah |year=2009 |title=Legal Practice and Cultural Diversity |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=978-0754675471 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Funder |first1=Anna |title=''De Minimis Non Curat Lex'': The Clitoris, Culture and the Law |journal=Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems |volume=3 |issue=2 |year=1993 |pages=417–67}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Zainah |last1=Anwar |chapter=Law-Making in the Name of Islam: Implications for Democratic Governance |chapter-url={{Google books|6Js6QXUbmjYC |page=121 |plainurl=yes}} |pages=[https://archive.org/details/islaminsoutheast0000unse/page/121 121–34] |editor1-first=K S |editor1-last=Nathan |editor2-first=Mohammad Hashim |editor2-last=Kamali |year=2005 |title=Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=978-9812302830 |url=https://archive.org/details/islaminsoutheast0000unse/page/121 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bakht |first1=Natasha |title=Family Arbitration Using Sharia Law: Examining Ontario's Arbitration Act and its Impact on Women |journal=Muslim World Journal of Human Rights |volume=1 |issue=1 |year=2007 |ssrn=1121953 |doi=10.2202/1554-4419.1022|s2cid=144491368 }}</ref> [[Musawah]], [[Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women|CEDAW]], KAFA and other organizations have proposed ways to modify Sharia-inspired laws to improve women's rights in Muslim-majority nations, including women's rights in domestic abuse cases.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.musawah.org/cedaw-and-muslim-family-laws-search-common-ground |title=CEDAW and Muslim Family Laws: In Search of Common Ground |year=2012 |publisher=[[Musawah]] |access-date=18 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624100604/http://www.musawah.org/cedaw-and-muslim-family-laws-search-common-ground |archive-date=24 June 2016 |url-status=live }}{{page needed|date=July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brandt |first1=Michele |last2=Kaplan |first2=Jeffrey A. |title=The Tension between Women's Rights and Religious Rights: Reservations to Cedaw by Egypt, Bangladesh and Tunisia |journal=Journal of Law and Religion |volume=12 |issue=1 |year=1995 |pages=105–42 |jstor=1051612 |doi=10.2307/1051612|s2cid=154841891 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/86247/lebanon-move-to-take-domestic-violence-cases-out-of-religious-courts |title=Lebanon – IRIN, United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs (2009) |work=IRINnews |date=22 September 2009 |access-date=31 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812051407/http://www.irinnews.org/report/86247/lebanon-move-to-take-domestic-violence-cases-out-of-religious-courts |archive-date=12 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/10/19/uae-spousal-abuse-never-right |title=UAE: Spousal Abuse never a Right |date=19 October 2010 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226083817/https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/10/19/uae-spousal-abuse-never-right |archive-date=26 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Others believe that wife-beating is not consistent with a more modernist perspective of the Quran.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Hamid R. |last1=Kusha |chapter=Qur'anic Perspectives on Wife Abuse |pages=595–602 |editor1-first=Nicky Ali |editor1-last=Jackson |year=2007 |title=Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0415969680}}</ref> Many Imams and scholars who learned Shariah in traditional Islamic seminaries object to the misuse of this verse to justify domestic violence. Muslims for [[White Ribbon Campaign]] was launched in 2010 with Imams and Muslim leaders committing to join with others to work to end violence against women.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Muslims Launch Annual White Ribbon Campaign |url=http://iqra.ca/2013/canadian-muslims-launch-annual-white-ribbon-campaign/ |website=Iqra.ca |date=15 November 2013 |access-date=12 September 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213746/http://iqra.ca/2013/canadian-muslims-launch-annual-white-ribbon-campaign/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Khutbah]] campaigns were held in many parts of the world to speak out against domestic violence and encourage Muslim congregants to eradicate domestic abuse.<ref>{{cite web |title=Call to Action to Eradicate Domestic Violence |url=http://iqra.ca/2011/call-to-action-to-eradicate-domestic-violence/ |website=Iqra.ca |date=16 November 2011 |access-date=12 September 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213810/http://iqra.ca/2011/call-to-action-to-eradicate-domestic-violence/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Muslim Council of Britain urges Imams to speak out against domestic abuse this Friday |url=https://mcb.org.uk/press-releases/muslim-council-of-britain-urges-imams-to-speak-out-against-domestic-abuse-this-friday/ |website=Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) |date=19 March 2014 |access-date=12 September 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213800/https://mcb.org.uk/press-releases/muslim-council-of-britain-urges-imams-to-speak-out-against-domestic-abuse-this-friday/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stewart |first1=Philippa H. |title=Imams rally against domestic violence in the UK |website=www.aljazeera.com |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/03/imams-rally-domestic-violence-uk-160326110808840.html |access-date=12 September 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213800/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/6/18/imams-rally-against-domestic-violence-in-the-uk |url-status=live }}</ref>

===== Rape =====
Rape is considered a serious crime in the Sharia law since the Islamic prophet Muhammad ordered rapists to be punished by stoning.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mohammad Hashim Kamali|title=Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: A Fresh Interpretation|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=67}}</ref>  The terms ''ghasaba'' and ''ightasaba'' have been used by traditional jurists when discussing sexual assault and its punishment. Imam Al-Shāfi'ī defined rape as: "Forcing a woman to commit zinā against her will". To the Ḥanafis, illegal intercourse is considered rape when there is no consent and no deliberate action from the victim. In Mālik's view, rape refers to any kind of unlawful sexual intercourse by usurpation and without consent. This includes instances when the condition of the victims prevents them from expressing their resistance, such as insanity, sleep, or being underage. The [[Hanbali]]tes, similar to the Mālikites, consider the use of any kind of force as a denial of consent from the victim. The threat of starvation or suffering the cold of winter is also regarded as being against one's will.<ref name="Noor">{{cite journal |last1=Noor |first1=Azman Mohd |date=1 January 2010 |title=Rape: A Problem of Crime Classification in Islamic Law |journal=Arab Law Quarterly |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=417–438 |doi=10.1163/157302510X526724}}</ref>

=== Slavery ===
{{see also|Islamic views on slavery|Islamic views on concubinage}}
Sharia authorized the institution of slavery, using the words ''abd'' (slave) and the phrase ''ma malakat aymanukum'' ("that which your right hand owns") to refer to women slaves seized as captives of war.<ref name="blbr">* Bernard Lewis (2002), What Went Wrong?, {{ISBN|0195144201}}, pp. 82–83;
* Brunschvig. 'Abd; Encyclopedia of Islam, Brill, 2nd Edition, Vol 1, pp. 13–40.</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml Slavery in Islam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006015406/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml |date=6 October 2018 }} BBC Religions Archives</ref> Under Islamic law, Muslim men could have sexual relations with female captives and slaves.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mazrui |first1=Ali A. |title=Islamic and Western Values |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=76 |issue=5 |year=1997 |pages=118–32 |jstor=20048203 |doi=10.2307/20048203}}</ref><ref name=alik>Ali, K. (2010). Marriage and slavery in early Islam. Harvard University Press.{{page needed|date=July 2016}}</ref><ref>Sikainga, Ahmad A. (1996). Slaves Into Workers: Emancipation and Labor in Colonial Sudan. University of Texas Press. {{ISBN|0292776942}}.</ref><ref>Tucker, Judith E.; Nashat, Guity (1999). Women in the Middle East and North Africa. Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0253212642}}.</ref> Sharia, in Islam's history, provided a religious foundation for enslaving non-Muslim women and men but allowed for the [[manumission]] of slaves.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jean Pierre Angenot |title=Uncovering the History of Africans in Asia |page=60 |isbn=978-9004162914 |publisher=Brill Academic |date=2008 |quote=Islam imposed upon the Muslim master an obligation to convert non-Muslim slaves and become members of the greater Muslim society. Indeed, the daily observation of well defined Islamic religious rituals was the outward manifestation of conversion without which emancipation was impossible.|display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref name=pl1>{{cite book |last1=Lovejoy |first1=Paul |title=Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa |date=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521784306 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/transformationsi0000love/page/16 16–17] |quote=The religious requirement that new slaves be pagans and need for continued imports to maintain slave population made Africa an important source of slaves for the Islamic world. (...) In Islamic tradition, slavery was perceived as a means of converting non-Muslims. One task of the master was religious instruction and theoretically Muslims could not be enslaved. Conversion (of a non-Muslim to Islam) did not automatically lead to emancipation, but assimilation into Muslim society was deemed a prerequisite for emancipation. |url=https://archive.org/details/transformationsi0000love/page/16}}</ref> A slave woman who bore a child to her Muslim master (''umm al-walad'') could not be sold, becoming legally free upon her master's death and the child was considered free and a legitimate heir of the father.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kecia Ali |title=Slavery and Sexual Ethics in Islam, in Beyond Slavery: Overcoming Its Religious and Sexual Legacies |editor=Bernadette J. Brooten |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0230100169 |pages=107–119 |quote=The slave who bore her master's child became known in Arabic as an "umm walad"; she could not be sold, and she was automatically freed upon her master's death. [p. 113]|date=15 October 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Umm al-Walad|editor=John L. Esposito|encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2014 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2424|access-date=18 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801050417/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2424 |archive-date=1 August 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Terrorism ===
{{further|Islamic terrorism|Islamic extremism|Jihad|Jihadism|Salafi jihadism}}
[[File:North face south tower after plane strike 9-11.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Al-Qaeda]] ideologues have used their interpretation of Sharia to justify terrorist attacks.]]
Some [[Islamic extremism|extremists]] have used their interpretation of Islamic scriptures and Sharia, in particular the doctrine of [[jihad]], to justify acts of war and terror against Muslim as well as non-Muslim individuals and governments.<ref name=aenexeter/>{{sfn|Horrie|Chippindale|1991|p=4}}{{sfn|Horrie|Chippindale|1991|p=100}} The expert on terrorism [[Rachel Ehrenfeld]] wrote that the "Sharia's finance ([[Islamic banking and finance|Islamic banking]]) is a new weapon in the arsenal of what might be termed [[Generations of warfare#Fifth generation|fifth-generation warfare (5GW)]]".<ref name=ZakatForTerror2>{{cite book |last= Norwitz |first= Jeffrey H. | title = Pirates, Terrorists, and Warlords: The History, Influence, and Future of Armed Groups Around the World | publisher = [[Skyhorse Publishing]] | location = New York| year = 2009 | pages = 84–86}}</ref> However, Sharia-compliant financing actually requires a person to stay away from weapons manufacturing.<ref name="Jamaldeen">{{cite web |last1=Jamaldeen |first1=Faleel |title=Seven Prohibited Industries in Islamic Financial Investments |url=https://www.dummies.com/personal-finance/islamic-finance/seven-prohibited-industries-in-islamic-financial-investments/ |access-date=7 September 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213729/https://www.dummies.com/personal-finance/islamic-finance/seven-prohibited-industries-in-islamic-financial-investments/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="JamesChen">{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=James |title=Shariah-Compliant Funds |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shariah-compliant-funds.asp |website=Investopedia |access-date=7 September 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227213729/https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shariah-compliant-funds.asp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Todorof |first1=Maria |title=Shariah-compliant FinTech in the banking industry |journal=ERA Forum |date=1 August 2018 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.1007/s12027-018-0505-8|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In classical fiqh, the term ''jihad'' refers to armed struggle against oppressors.<ref name=OEIP>{{cite encyclopedia|first1=Rudolph|last1=Peters|first2=David|last2=Cook|title=Jihād|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2014|isbn=978-0199739356 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t349/e0057 |access-date=16 April 2019 |doi=10.1093/acref:oiso/9780199739356.001.0001 |url-status=live|archive-date=23 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123114402/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref:oiso/9780199739356.001.0001/acref-9780199739356-e-0263}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|author=Tyan, E. | year= 2012 | title=D̲j̲ihād|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam| edition=2nd|publisher=Brill |editor=P. Bearman |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs| doi= 10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0189 }}</ref> Classical jurists developed an elaborate set of rules pertaining to jihad, including prohibitions on harming those who are not engaged in combat.<ref>{{cite web |author=Bernard Lewis |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1001547201928681240 |title=Jihad vs. Crusade |publisher=Opinionjournal.com |date=27 September 2001 |access-date=4 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816162048/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1001547201928681240 |archive-date=16 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Blankinship|first=Khalid Yahya|author-link=Khalid Yahya Blankinship|year=2011|title=Parity of Muslim and Western Concepts of Just War|journal=The Muslim World|volume=101|issue=3|page=416|doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.2011.01384.x|issn=1478-1913|quote=In classical Muslim doctrine on war, likewise, genuine non-combatants are not to be harmed. These include women, minors, servants and slaves who do not take part in the fighting, the blind, monks, hermits, the aged, those physically unable to fight, the insane, the delirious, farmers who do not fight, traders, merchants, and contractors. The main criterion distinguishing combatants from non-combatants is that the latter do not fight and do not contribute to the war effort.}}</ref> According to [[Bernard Lewis]], "[a]t no time did the classical jurists offer any approval or legitimacy to what we nowadays call terrorism"<ref>Bernard Lewis (with Buntzie Ellis Churchill) 'Islam: The Religion and the People' (2008). Pearson Prentice Hall. p. 151</ref> and the terrorist practice of suicide bombing "has no justification in terms of Islamic theology, law or tradition".<ref>Bernard Lewis (with Buntzie Ellis Churchill) 'Islam: The Religion and the People' (2008). Pearson Prentice Hall p. 153</ref> In the modern era the notion of jihad has lost its jurisprudential relevance and instead gave rise to an ideological and political discourse.<ref name=hallaq334>{{cite book |author=Wael B. Hallaq |title=Sharī'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbOtAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=335 |isbn=978-1107394124 |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212220338/https://books.google.com/books?id=IbOtAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 |url-status=live}}</ref> While modernist Islamic scholars have emphasized defensive and non-military aspects of jihad, some radicals have advanced aggressive interpretations that go beyond the classical theory.<ref name=hallaq334/> For al-Qaeda ideologues, in jihad, all means are legitimate, including targeting Muslim non-combatants and the mass killing of non-Muslim civilians.<ref name=aenexeter/>

Some modern ulema, such as [[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]] and [[Sulaiman Al-Alwan]], have supported attacks against Israeli army reservists and hence should be considered soldiers, while [[Hamid bin Abdallah al-Ali]] declared that suicide attacks in Chechnya were justified as a "sacrifice".<ref name=aenexeter/><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3874893.stm Controversial preacher with 'star status'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229043134/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3874893.stm |date=29 December 2016 }} BBC article, by Agdi Abdelhadi on 7 July 2004</ref> Many prominent Islamic scholars, including al-Qaradawi himself, have issued condemnations of terrorism in general terms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kurzman.unc.edu/islamic-statements-against-terrorism/ |title=Islamic Statements Against Terrorism |author=Charles Kurzman |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410093855/http://kurzman.unc.edu/islamic-statements-against-terrorism/ |archive-date=10 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> For example, [[Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh]], the [[Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia]] has stated that "terrorizing innocent people [...] constitute[s] a form of injustice that cannot be tolerated by Islam", while [[Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy]], [[Grand Imam of al-Azhar]] and former [[Grand Mufti]] of Egypt has stated that "attacking innocent people is not courageous; it is stupid and will be punished on the Day of Judgment".<ref name=aenexeter>Anisseh Engeland-Nourai, [https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10036/3417/VanEngeland_THE%20CHALLENGE%20OF%20FRAGMENTATION%20OF%20INTERNATIONAL%20HUMANITARIAN%20LAW.pdf?sequence=6 The Challenge of Fragmentation of International Humanitarian Law Regarding the Protection of Civilians – An Islamic Perspective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122043455/https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10036/3417/VanEngeland_THE%20CHALLENGE%20OF%20FRAGMENTATION%20OF%20INTERNATIONAL%20HUMANITARIAN%20LAW.pdf?sequence=6 |date=22 January 2015 }} School of Law, University of Bedfordshire, pp. 18–25</ref><ref>Ira Lapidus, ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World edited by Francis Robinson''. Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 297–98. See Bibliography for Conclusion.</ref>

=== Blasphemy ===
{{Main|Islam and blasphemy}}{{Blasphemy laws worldwide}}
In classical fiqh, [[Islam and blasphemy|blasphemy]] refers to any form of cursing, questioning, or annoying God, Muhammad or anything considered sacred in Islam,<ref name="khan">Siraj Khan, Blasphemy against the Prophet, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture (Editors: Coeli Fitzpatrick and Adam Hani Walker), {{ISBN|978-1610691772}}, pp. 59–67</ref><ref>R Ibrahim (2013), Crucified Again, {{ISBN|978-1621570257}}, pp. 100–01</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiederhold |first1=Lutz |title=Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and his companions (sabb al-rasul, sabb al-sahabah): The introduction of the topic into shafi'i legal literature and its relevance for legal practice under Mamluk rule |journal=Journal of Semitic Studies |volume=42 |issue=1 |year=1997 |pages=39–70 |doi=10.1093/jss/XLII.1.39}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Saeed |first=Abdullah |author2=Hassan Saeed |title=Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |year=2004 |location=Burlington VT |pages=38–39 |isbn=978-0754630838}}</ref> including denying one of the [[Prophets in Islam|Islamic prophets]] or scriptures, insulting an [[angels in Islam|angel]] or refusing to accept a religious commandment.<ref>Lorenz Langer (2014). ''Religious Offence and Human Rights: The Implications of Defamation of Religions'' Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-1107039575}} p. 332</ref> Jurists of different schools prescribed different punishments for blasphemy against Islam by Muslims and non-Muslims, ranging from imprisonment or fines to the death penalty.<ref name="khan" /><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Blasphemy: Islamic Concept |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion |volume=2 |pages=974–76 |publisher=Thomson Gale |location=Farmington Hills, MI |year=2005}}</ref><ref>[[Ibn Taymiyyah]] (a [[Salafi]], related to Hanbali school), ''[[As-Sarim al-Maslul 'ala Shatim ar-Rasul|al-Sārim al-Maslūl 'ala Shātim al-Rasūl]]'' (or, A ready sword against those who insult the Messenger), Published in 1297 AD in Arabic, Reprinted in 1975 and 2003 by Dar-ibn Hazm (Beirut), the book is on blasphemy/insulting Muhammad and the punishment per sharia</ref><ref>Jerusha Lamptey (2014), Never Wholly Other: A Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism, Oxford University Press, Chapter 1 with footnotes 28, 29 p. 258</ref> In some cases, Sharia allows non-Muslims to escape death by converting and becoming a devout follower of Islam.<ref>Carl Ernst (2005), "Blasphemy: Islamic Concept", Encyclopedia of Religion (Editor: Lindsay Jones), Vol 2, Macmillan Reference, {{ISBN|0028657357}}</ref>  In the modern [[Muslim world]], the laws pertaining to blasphemy [[Blasphemy law|vary by country]], and some countries prescribe punishments consisting of fines, imprisonment, [[flogging]], [[hanging]], or [[Beheading in Islam|beheading]].<ref name="psns">P Smith (2003). "Speak No Evil: Apostasy, Blasphemy and Heresy in Malaysian Syariah Law". ''UC Davis Journal Int'l Law & Policy''. 10, pp. 357–73.
*N Swazo (2014). "The Case of Hamza Kashgari: Examining Apostasy, Heresy, and Blasphemy Under Sharia". ''The Review of Faith & International Affairs'' '''12'''(4). pp.&nbsp;16–26.</ref>

Blasphemy laws were rarely enforced in pre-modern Islamic societies, but in the modern era, some states and radical groups have used charges of blasphemy to burnish their religious credentials and gain popular support at the expense of liberal Muslim intellectuals and religious minorities.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam|title=Blasphemy|editor= Juan Eduardo Campo|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2009}}</ref>

Blasphemy, as interpreted under Sharia, is controversial.<ref>Harun Omer, [http://thesharia.com/the-invented-islam-punishment-for-blasphemy/ "The Invented Islam – 'Punishment for Blasphemy'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092312/http://thesharia.com/the-invented-islam-punishment-for-blasphemy/ |date=22 December 2015 }}, ''TheSharia.com'', 2015</ref> Representatives of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] have petitioned the United Nations to condemn "defamation of religions" because "Unrestricted and disrespectful freedom of opinion creates hatred and is contrary to the spirit of peaceful dialogue".<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/263450/anti-blasphemy-measure-laid-rest-nina-shea An Anti-Blasphemy Measure Laid to Rest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119065732/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/263450/anti-blasphemy-measure-laid-rest-nina-shea |date=19 January 2015 }} Nina Shea, National Review (31 March 2011)</ref> The [[Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam]] subjects free speech to unspecified Sharia restrictions: Article 22(a) of the Declaration states that "Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shariah."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/cairodeclaration.html |title=University of Minnesota Human Rights Library |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103121418/http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/cairodeclaration.html |archive-date=3 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Others, in contrast, consider blasphemy laws to violate freedom of speech,<ref>Brian Winston (2014), The Rushdie Fatwa and After: A Lesson to the Circumspect, Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-1137388599}}, p. 74, Quote: "(In the case of blasphemy and Salman Rushdie) the death sentence it pronounced was grounded in a jurisprudential gloss on the Surah al-Ahzab (33:57)"</ref> stating that freedom of expression is essential to empowering both Muslims and non-Muslims, and point to the abuse of blasphemy laws in prosecuting members of religious minorities, political opponents, and settling personal scores.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21635070-pakistans-blasphemy-laws-legitimise-intolerance-bad-mouthing Bad-mouthing: Pakistan's blasphemy laws legitimise intolerance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910235624/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21635070-pakistans-blasphemy-laws-legitimise-intolerance-bad-mouthing |date=10 September 2017 }} The Economist (29 November 2014)</ref><ref>[https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2015/01/johnson-blasphemy Blasphemy: Dangerous words] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707161612/https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2015/01/johnson-blasphemy |date=7 July 2017 }} The Economist (7 January 2015)</ref><ref name=bbc-blasphemy>{{cite web|title=What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12621225|website=BBC News|access-date=18 April 2019|date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405093821/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12621225|archive-date=5 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Blasphemy law in Pakistan|In Pakistan, blasphemy laws]] have been used to convict more than a thousand people, about half of them [[Ahmadi]]s and [[Christians]].<ref name="Böwering">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA72 |page= 72 |title= The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |editor= Gerhard Böwering |editor2= Patricia Crone |editor3= Mahan Mirza |publisher= Princeton University Press |year= 2013 |isbn= 978-0691134840 |access-date= 18 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190406141758/https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA72 |archive-date= 6 April 2019 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name=bbc-blasphemy/> While none have been legally executed,<ref name="Böwering"/> two Pakistani politicians, [[Shahbaz Bhatti]] and [[Salmaan Taseer]], have been assassinated over their criticism of the blasphemy laws. The Pakistani blasphemy laws are based upon [[Indian Penal Code|colonial-era legislation]], which made it a "crime to disturb a religious assembly, trespass on burial grounds, insult religious beliefs or intentionally destroy or defile a place or an object of worship", with these laws being modified between 1980 and 1986 by the [[Government of Pakistan|military government]] of General [[Zia-ul Haq]] to make them more severe. A number of clauses were added by the government in order to [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq#'Sharization' of Pakistan|"Islamicise" the laws]] and deny the Muslim character of the [[Ahmadi]] minority.<ref name=bbc-blasphemy/>

== Comparison with other legal systems ==
[[File:Legal Systems - Global.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Legal systems of the world.<ref>[http://www.juriglobe.ca/eng/syst-onu/index-alpha.php Alphabetical Index of the 192 United Nations Member States and Corresponding Legal Systems] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722022209/http://www.juriglobe.ca/eng/syst-onu/index-alpha.php |date=22 July 2016 }}, Website of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa</ref> Sharia in green, [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] in blue, common law in red.]]

=== Jewish law ===
{{Further|Halakha|Seven Laws of Noah}}
Islamic legal tradition has a number of parallels with [[Judaism]]. In both religions, revealed law holds a central place, in contrast to [[Christianity]] which does not possess a body of revealed law, and where theology rather than law is considered to be the principal field of religious study.{{Sfn|Dahlén|loc=chpt. 2a|2003}}{{sfn|Stewart|2013|p=496}} Both Islamic and Jewish law (''[[Halakha]]'') are derived from formal textual revelations (Quran and [[Pentateuch]]) as well as less formal, orally transmitted prophetic traditions (''[[hadith]]'' and ''[[mishna]]''). According to some scholars, the words ''sharia'' and ''halakha'' both mean literally "the path to follow". The ''fiqh'' literature parallels [[Rabbinical Judaism|rabbinical law]] developed in the [[Talmud]], with fatwas being analogous to [[History of responsa in Judaism|rabbinic ''responsa'']].{{sfn|Glenn|2014|pp=183–84}}{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}}

However, the emphasis on ''qiyas'' in classical Sunni legal theory is both more explicitly permissive than Talmudic law with respect to authorizing individual reason as a source of law, and more implicitly restrictive, in excluding other, unauthorized forms of reasoning.{{sfn|Glenn|2014|pp=183–84}}

=== Common law systems ===
{{Main|Common law}}
Early Islamic law developed a number of legal concepts that anticipated similar such concepts that later appeared in English [[common law]].<ref name=Makdisi>{{Citation|last=Makdisi|first=John A.|title=The Islamic Origins of the Common Law|journal=[[North Carolina Law Review]]|date=June 1999|volume=77|issue=5|pages=1635–1739}}</ref><ref name=Devichand>{{cite news|author=Mukul Devichand|title=Is English law related to Muslim law?|work=BBC News|date=24 September 2008|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7631388.stm|access-date=5 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927214803/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7631388.stm|archive-date=27 September 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarities exist between the royal English [[contract]] protected by the action of [[debt]] and the Islamic ''Aqd'', between the English [[assize of novel disseisin]] and the Islamic ''Istihqaq'', and between the English [[jury]] and the Islamic ''Lafif'' in classical Maliki jurisprudence.<ref name=Makdisi/><ref>{{Cite journal|first=Jamila|last=Hussain|title=Book Review: ''The Justice of Islam'' by Lawrence Rosen|journal=[[Melbourne University Law Review]]|volume=30|year=2001}}</ref> The [[law school]]s known as [[Inns of Court]] also parallel [[Madrasah]]s.<ref name=Makdisi/> The methodology of legal [[precedent]] and reasoning by [[analogy]] (''[[Qiyas]]'') are also similar in both the Islamic and common law systems,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Islamic Finance: Law, Economics, and Practice|first=Mahmoud A.|last=El-Gamal|year=2006|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0521864145|page=16}}</ref> as are the English [[Trust law|trust]] and [[Agency (law)|agency]] institutions to the Islamic ''[[Waqf]]'' and ''[[Hawala]]'' institutions, respectively.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gaudiosi |first=Monica M. |title=The Influence of the Islamic Law of Waqf on the Development of the Trust in England: The Case of Merton College |journal=[[University of Pennsylvania Law Review]] |volume=136 |issue=4 |date=April 1988 |pages=1231–61 |doi=10.2307/3312162 |jstor=3312162 |s2cid=153149243 |url=http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_review/vol136/iss4/6 |type=Submitted manuscript |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329174253/http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_review/vol136/iss4/6/ |archive-date=29 March 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Islamic Law: Its Relation to Other Legal Systems|first=Gamal Moursi|last=Badr|journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law|volume=26|issue=2 – Proceedings of an International Conference on Comparative Law, Salt Lake City, Utah, 24–25 February 1977|date=Spring 1978|pages=187–98 [196–98]|doi=10.2307/839667|jstor=839667}}</ref><ref name=Devichand/>

Elements of Islamic law also have other parallels in Western legal systems. For example, the influence of Islam on the development of an international law of the sea can be discerned alongside that of the Roman influence.<ref name=Tai>{{cite journal |last1=Tai |first1=Emily Sohmer |title=Book Reviews: Hassan S. Khalilieh, ''Admiralty and Maritime Laws in the Mediterranean Sea (ca. 800–1050): The "Kitāb Akriyat al-Sufun" vis-à-vis the "Nomos Rhodion Nautikos"'' |journal=Medieval Encounters |volume=13 |issue=3 |year=2007 |pages=608–12 |doi=10.1163/157006707X222812}}</ref> [[George Makdisi]] has argued that the madrasa system of attestation paralleled the legal scholastic system in the West, which gave rise to the modern university system. The triple status of ''[[faqih]]'' ("[[Master of Laws|master of law]]"), ''[[mufti]]'' ("professor of [[Fatwā|legal opinions]]") and ''mudarris'' ("teacher"), conferred by the classical Islamic legal degree, had its equivalents in the medieval Latin terms ''[[Magister (degree)|magister]]'', ''[[professor]]'' and ''[[Doctor (title)|doctor]]'', respectively, although they all came to be used synonymously in both East and West.<ref name="G-Makdisi">{{cite journal |last1=Makdisi |first1=George |title=Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=109 |issue=2 |year=1989 |pages=175–82 |jstor=604423 |doi=10.2307/604423}}</ref>

Makdisi suggested that the medieval European doctorate, ''licentia docendi'' was modeled on the Islamic degree ''ijazat al-tadris wa-l-ifta'', of which it is a word-for-word translation, with the term ''ifta''' (issuing of fatwas) omitted.<ref name=G-Makdisi/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Devin J. |last=Stewart |title=Degrees, or Ijaza |editor=Josef W. Meri |encyclopedia=Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |page=203 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MypbfKdMePIC&pg=PA203 |isbn=978-0415966917 |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212193030/https://books.google.com/books?id=MypbfKdMePIC&pg=PA203 |archive-date=12 December 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also argued that these systems shared fundamental freedoms: the freedom of a professor to profess his personal opinion and the freedom of a student to pass judgement on what he is learning.<ref name=G-Makdisi/>

There are differences between Islamic and Western legal systems. For example, Sharia classically recognizes only [[natural persons]], and never developed the concept of a [[legal person]], or [[corporation]], i.e., a legal entity that [[Limited liability|limits the liabilities]] of its managers, shareholders, and employees; exists beyond the lifetimes of its founders; and that can own assets, sign contracts, and appear in court through representatives.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Timur |last1=Kuran |author-link1=Timur Kuran |date=Fall 2005 |title=The Absence of the Corporation in Islamic Law: Origins and Persistence |journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=785–834 |doi=10.1093/ajcl/53.4.785 |jstor=30038724 |hdl=10161/2546 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Interest prohibitions imposed secondary costs by discouraging record keeping and delaying the introduction of modern accounting.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kuran |first1=Timur |title=The logic of financial westernization in the Middle East |journal=Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization |volume=56 |issue=4 |year=2005 |pages=593–615 |doi=10.1016/j.jebo.2004.04.002}}</ref> Such factors, according to Timur Kuran, have played a significant role in retarding economic development in the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Timur|last=Kuran |date=Summer 2004 |title=Why the Middle East is Economically Underdeveloped: Historical Mechanisms of Institutional Stagnation|journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives|volume=18|issue=3|pages=71–90 |doi=10.1257/0895330042162421|doi-access=free}}</ref> However, the rise of monopoly wealth and corporations have proven to also be detrimental to the economic equality of a society. Ziauddin Sardar also suggests that the promotion of equitable wealth distribution and suppression of monopoly capital are a part of Islam's message that emphasises genuine equity and justice.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ziauddin Sardar |date=28 January 2011 |title=The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East, By Timur Kuran |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/long-divergence-how-islamic-law-held-back-middle-east-timur-kuran-2196199.html|access-date=2 May 2021|website=The Independent|archive-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502065733/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/long-divergence-how-islamic-law-held-back-middle-east-timur-kuran-2196199.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* [[Criticism of Islam]]
* [[Criticism of Islamism]]
* [[Dīn]]
* [[Glossary of Islam]]
* [[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists]]
* [[Imam Nawawi's Forty Hadith]] – a brief collection of forty ''hadith'' by the founder of the [[Shafi'i|Shāfiʿī]] school – each used to illustrate a fundamental of ''shariah''
* [[Islamic advice literature]]
* [[Islamic republic]]
* [[Islamic Sharia Council]] – a court in the United Kingdom with no legal authority
* [[Judicial independence]]
* [[Ma'ruf]]
* [[Parliamentary sovereignty]]
* [[Principle of legality in French criminal law]]
* [[Sources of Islamic law]]
* [[Halakha]]
* [[Theonomy]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{notelist}}<references group="Note" />
== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|first=Nisrine|last=Abiad|title=Sharia, Muslim States and International Human Rights Treaty Obligations: A Comparative Study|publisher=British Institute of International and Comparative Law|year=2008}}
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{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web|url=http://www.catheyallison.com/Reliance_of_the_Traveller.pdf |title=Reliance of the Traveller |author=[[Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri]], [[Nuh Ha Mim Keller]] |date =1368|work=Amana Publications |access-date=5 August 2022}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2001 |title=Encyclopaedia of the Quran |last=Brockopp |first=Jonathan E. |editor=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |volume=1 |pages=396–397 |entry=Concubines}}
* Coulson, Noel J. (1964). ''A History of Islamic Law''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh U.P.
* Potz, Richard (2011), [http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-and-the-world/european-overseas-rule/richard-potz-islamic-law-and-the-transfer-of-european-law?set_language=en&-C= ''Islamic Law and the Transfer of European Law''], [http://www.ieg-ego.eu/ EGO – European History Online], Mainz: [http://www.ieg-mainz.de/likecms/index.php Institute of European History], retrieved: 25 March 2021 ([https://d-nb.info/1036230066/34 pdf]).
* [[Joseph Schacht|Schacht, Joseph]] (1964). ''An Introduction to Islamic Law''. Oxford: Clarendon

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170203033813/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t125/e1107 "Islamic law"] – in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Islam'', via Oxford Islamic Studies Online
* [http://sharialaw.com Sharia Law] – information and misconceptions about sharia law
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170202054116/http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/226 "Sharia" by Knut S. Vikør] – In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics'', via Bridging Cultures, National Endowment for the Humanities & George Mason University
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081121033722/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0473 "Law" by Norman Calder et al.] – In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World'', via Oxford Islamic Studies
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140903142056/https://www.unaa.org.au/brunei-implements-sharia-law.html Brunei implements sharia law] – UNAA (United Nations)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140905022923/http://yulr.org/sharia-law-in-the-international-legal-sphere/ Sharia Law in the International Legal Sphere] – Yale University
* [http://bostonreview.net/john-bowen-private-arrangements-sharia-England "Private Arrangements: 'Recognizing Sharia' in Britain"] – anthropologist John R. Bowen explains the working of Britain's sharia courts in a ''[[Boston Review]]'' article
* [http://www.quraanicstudies.com/no-error-in-qur-an-division-of-inheritance-according-to-quran/ Division of Inheritance According to Qur'an] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220104104/http://www.quraanicstudies.com/no-error-in-qur-an-division-of-inheritance-according-to-quran/ |date=20 February 2015 }})
* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/6895 Explanation of "The Reward of the Omnipotent"] – manuscript in Arabic, from the late 19th or early 20th century about Sharia.

{{Portal bar|Law}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sharia| ]]
[[Category:Islamic jurisprudence]]
[[Category:Islamic terminology]]
[[Category:Legal codes]]
[[Category:Religious law]]
[[Category:Religious legal systems]]