grate islam

The Qur’an and sunna form the main bases of the sharī’a, the Islamic way of life. Containing elements of law, but going far beyond the notion of law, the sharī’a indicates the totality of actions and attitudes that characterize Islamic life and society. Elaborated by the science of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), the sharī’a covers every aspect of human life, from personal affairs and family relations to the social, economic, and political organization of the community. Muslim scholars speak of four sources of the shari’a: 1) the divine source, the Qur’an; 2) the prophetic source, the sound hadith from the prophet Muhammad; 3) the communitarian, called ijma’, the consensus of the community; 4) the effort of the individual believer, ijtihad , to apply the shari’a in the context of place, time, and culture. Far from being embarrassed by having a religion of law, Muslims believe that the sharī’a is one of God’s greatest gifts. Although the word shari’a does not appear in the Qur’an, all Muslims agree that the concept can be found there. In the Qur’an there are many regulations and legal decisions aimed at giving guidance to the Islamic community in matters related to the ordering of life in society. In the first centuries after the time of Muhammad, Muslim scholars undertook the task of gathering, organizing, and giving a theoretical framework, basic principles, and systematic method of development to these regulations. Many legal systems, ( madhhab , pl. madhāhib ) appeared in the Islamic community and, in the course of time, four systems were eventually recognized among Sunni Muslims. Shi’a have their own Ja’fari madhhab. Each madhhab is considered acceptable, and theoretically every Muslim is free to choose and follow any madhhab. The practical demands of living together have required that, in every region, one or another madhhab is dominant. In North and West Africa, Maliki law is followed. In Southeast Asia, Gujarat in India, southern Arabia, East Africa, and the city of Cairo in Egypt, it is the Shafi’i madhhab which dominates. The Hanafi system is the most widespread, covering most of the Arab countries of the Middle East, Turkey, Central Asia, and the nations of the Indian subcontinent. Since the main regions of Muslim immigration to Europe and North America were those of Hanafi tradition, the Hanafi madhhab is also the main legal system followed there. The Hanbali madhhab is the most restricted geographically, followed only in Saudi Arabia.