What is Shari'ah?

WHAT IS SHARI'AH?

   The term Shari'ah carries two meanings: (i) the first relates to the commands of Allah the Almighty which encompasses all aspects of human life; and (ii) the other relates specifically to the Islamic law or Fiqh.

   In order not to confuse the readers, the former will be termed Shari'ah Kubra while the latter will be termed as Shari'ah Sughra or Fiqh. However, for ease of references, the term Shari'ah will be used mainly for Shari'ah Kubra while the term Fiqh will be used mainly for Shari'ah Sughra.

   Shari'ah literally means path or way to a watering place in the desert. Since many Arabs who lived during the time of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) were desert dwellers and were influenced by the ways of desert; water and direction leading to water place were essential to their life. 

   In the religious sense, Shari'ah means the way which directs man's life to the right path. From the word 'the right path' therefore, came the meaning 'law'. According to Imam al-Qurtubi the Shari'ah means a different commandments of Allah and revelations for us to follow. Meanwhile, other scholars define Shari'ah according to its literal meaning in which the Shari'ah is the injunctions revealed by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad for us to follow the way of ad-din/religion that is Islam.

   The word Shari'ah also has its correlation with the word 'din', which literally means 'submission' or 'following'. Shari'ah is the ordination of the way shown by Allah through His Prophets, whereas 'din' is the following of that way by man.

   Shari'ah, conceptually, refers to a set of rules, regulations, teachings and values governing the lives of Muslims. These rules, regulations, teachings, and values cover every aspect of life, including worship, morals, individual attitude and conduct, political, social, economic, criminal and civil aspects. 

   Therefore, Shari'ah principles are more than Fiqh, covering the total way of life that includes faith and practices, personal behavior, legal and social transactions. In other words, Shari'ah is a comprehensive principle of a total way of life.  

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