Sharia is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on scriptures such as the Quran, Islams holy book, as well as the Sunnah and Hadith - the deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Sharia is the ideal form of divine guidance that Muslims follow to live a righteous life. Human interpretations of sharia, or fiqh, are the basis of Islamic law today. Sharia isn’t the same as Islamic law. Muslims believe sharia refers to the perfect, immutable values understood only by God, while Islamic laws are those based on interpretations of sharia. Interpreting sharia requires deep knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah, fluency in Arabic, and expertise in legal theory.
Sharia guides the personal religious practices of Muslims worldwide, but whether it should influence modern legal systems remains a subject of debate. About half of the world’s Muslim-majority countries have some sharia-based laws, typically governing areas such as marriage and divorce, inheritance, and child custody. Only about a dozen Muslim countries apply sharia to criminal law, in part or in full. Sharia law divides offenses into two general categories: those against God and those against man. Many aspects of Sharia or Islamic law are consistent with modern legal rules found in American law. For example, both legal systems allow rights to personal property, mutual consent to contracts, the presumption of innocence in criminal proceedings, and the right of women to initiate divorce proceedings.
