alsharia

Al-Sharia, commonly rendered as Sharia or Shariah, refers to the body of divine law in Islam believed to govern all aspects of a Muslim’s life. The word sharia is Arabic for “the path” or “the way to the water,” and in Islamic thought it denotes the guidance provided by God for personal conduct, worship, and social and economic life. It is not a single codified code, but a tradition of interpretation and practice that has developed over centuries.

Sharia is derived from four primary sources: the Quran, the holy book of Islam; the Sunnah, the practices and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad; ijma, the consensus of qualified scholars; and qiyas, analogical reasoning when clear guidance is not present in the texts. Classical jurists and scholars organized these sources into legal frameworks and schools (madhahib) in Sunni Islam—Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali—and Ja’fari jurisprudence in Shia Islam. The distinction is often made between sharia as divine guidance and fiqh, the human scholarly effort to interpret and apply that guidance.

Sharia covers worship, personal status (including marriage, divorce, and inheritance), contracts and finance, criminal law (such as hudud and qisas in some traditions), and general ethics. Its application varies widely: some states integrate elements of Sharia into public law, others apply it only to personal matters, and many jurisdictions operate under secular or mixed legal systems. Contemporary discussions frequently address interpretation, reform, and compatibility with human rights norms, reflecting ongoing differences in practice and belief across Muslim communities.