Concept Of Islam And Sharia Law - 1551 Words

â€Å"LIFE UNDER SHARIA LAW† CONCEPT OF ISLAM AND SHARIA LAW Islam is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion which is governed by the Quran, their holy book. It is the religious text that is considered by the Islam followers as the discourse from God. An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim. Islam is second most practiced religion of the world after Christianity. All over the world, many countries are Islamic countries and these practices ‘Sharia Law’. Muslims are mainly divided into two sects, Sunnis and Shias. Sharia Law is the body of Islamic Law. This Arabic term means ‘way’ or ‘path’ in English. Sharia law is a legal framework that governs and regulates public as well as some private aspects of lives of those living in a legal system based†¦show more content†¦It contains the 5 pillars of Islam, which are: Affirmation: Affirmation or Shahadah which affirms that there is no God except Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. Prayers: Prayers or Salah should be offered five times a day. Fasts: Every Muslim should fast or Sawm during the month of Ramadan. Charities: Every Muslim has been directed to do charity, known as Zakat in Arabic. Pilgrimage to Mecca: Every Muslim must go on pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives. This pilgrimage is known as Hajj. Law that governs the Human interactions or ‘al-mu’amalat’: This section of Sharia Law mainly covers the following aspects of the day to day lives of adherents of Islam. These aspects include: Marriage, child custody, adoption, divorce etc. Laws of Inheritance Financial transactions Endowments Penal punishments Judicial matters like the laws for witnesses and laws regarding evidence Eating and drinking habits that mainly include the ritual slaughtering and hunting and laws relating to consumption of alcohol Warfare and peace After the sections of Sharia Law, comes the Schools of Sharia Law. There are four major schools of the Sunni Sharia Law. These schools are: Hanifi, Maliki, Shafi’I and Hanbali. On the other hand there is only one major school for the Shia Sharia Law, which is Jafari. These schools cover the same Sharia law when it comes to matters explained in the Quran but they only differ on the interpretation of the matters that are not expressly stated in the