What is Sharia Law?

Sharia is a comprehensive system of Islamic religious law derived from the Quran, the sayings and actions of Muhammad (Sunnah), and classical legal manuals. It is presented in the document as a binding, divinely based legal and moral code that governs personal behavior, family relations, criminal justice, and governance, and is described as not subject to amendment to fit changing human values or democratic constitutional frameworks

Sources and Nature of Sharia:

The Quran is described as the literal word of God revealed to Muhammad over 23 years and is treated as the primary source of law. Classical jurists and legal texts (such as Umdat al-Salik) and hadith collections (including Bukhari and Muslim) are cited as authorities that elaborate and systematize legal rules. Sharia is characterized as a total system that claims religious and political supremacy, intended ultimately to regulate all areas of life and to dominate other legal orders.

Personal Status and Gender Rules:

Gender inequality appears in testimony and inheritance: one male witness equals two female witnesses in certain financial contracts, and a son’s share of inheritance equals that of two daughters. Husbands are granted disciplinary authority over wives, including staged measures that culminate in physical discipline. Women’s movement is restricted in some juristic rules, requiring a husband or male relative for certain travel. Custody rules can remove a woman’s custody of her children from a prior marriage if she remarries.

Marriage, Sexuality, Honor:

Interfaith marriage is restricted: Muslim women are forbidden from marrying non-Muslim men, and Muslims are warned against marrying “polytheists” unless they convert. Underage marriage is supported in some traditions through the reported marriage of Muhammad to Aisha and commentary allowing marriage contracts for pre‑pubescent girls, with consummation permitted at very young ages. Female genital cutting is described as obligatory for both men and women in some classical legal text. “Honor killing” is discussed in the context of rules that exempt parents from retaliation for killing their offspring in certain cases, tied to family “disgrace. Accusations of rape by women are constrained by evidentiary rules that require four male witnesses, and absent such proof, an accusation can be treated as self‑incrimination for illicit sex.

Criminal Punishment and jihad:

Sharia criminal law (hudud) includes fixed penalties such as amputation, flogging, stoning, crucifixion, and execution for offenses like adultery, theft, “spreading mischief,” and certain acts interpreted as waging war against God. Apostasy (leaving Islam) is treated as a capital offense in many classical sources, with explicit calls for execution of those who abandon the religion. ihad is defined in some cited legal texts as warfare against non‑Muslims to establish Islam, supported by scriptural passages commanding fighting disbelievers and collecting jizya (a tax) from subdued non‑Muslim subjects (dhimmis). he document highlights quotes portraying war and coercion as integral to enforcing religious obedience.

Attitudes Towards non-Muslims and Dissent:

Several verses and juristic comments are presented as teaching Islamic supremacy and the rejection of any religion other than Islam, describing non‑Muslims as “the most vile of created beings. Jews and Christians are explicitly described as people whom believers should not befriend, with commands to fight them until they pay jizya and are subordinated. The text emphasizes statements from modern Islamist figures (e.g., Hassan al‑Banna, Ayatollah Khomeini, Omar Ahmad) that Islam’s nature is to dominate and to make Islamic law the highest authority. Taqiyya (religiously sanctioned dissimulation) is presented as permission to conceal true beliefs and show outward friendship to non‑Muslims while harboring hostility, justified by scriptural and commentary passage. Rules on slander and blasphemy restrict speech that exposes or criticizes others, encouraging silence about faults unless it benefits Muslims.