What is Sharia law?

 


The Sharia is the law governing the Muslim community. It is based on the Quran and the hadis, traditions of the Prophet including a record of his remembered words and deeds. With the expansion of Islamic rule outside Arabia, in areas where customs and traditions were different, qiyas (reasoning by analogy) and ijma (consensus of the community) were recognised as two other sources of legislation. Thus, the sharia evolved from the Quran, hadis, qiyas and ijma.