Ijtihad

Legal systems of the world

Fiqh

Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Fiqh (فقه‎) is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is often described as the human understanding of the sharia, that is human understanding of the divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and His companions). Fiqh expands and develops Shariah through interpretation (ijtihad) of the Quran and Sunnah by...

Juristic exchange between Abu Dawood and Ibn Hanbal. One of the oldest literary manuscripts of the Islamic world, dated October 879.

Sharia

What Is Sharia? Sharia, Sharia law, or Islamic law (شريعة) is a religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God’s immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations. It has been described as “one of the major intellectual...

Quran with stand, Grand mosque in Kuwait

Sources of Sharia

Sources of Sharia Various sources of sharia are used by Islamic jurisprudence to elaborate the body of Islamic law. The scriptural sources of traditional Sunni jurisprudence are the Qur’an, believed by Muslims to be the direct and unaltered word of God, and the Sunnah, consisting of words and actions attributed to...