Primary Source Of Islamic Law example essay topic

The law, defined as the body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political authority, is an important facet of any community. It provides guidelines for those in the community to follow so that they may have the most peaceful and problem- free life. Islam takes this notion of peace and obedience and applies to everyday living for the members of its community. Islam law is of great importance to the Muslim community because it provides specific courses of action for living and also supplies mechanisms for considering how to deal with situations that are not discussed in the law. Islam law covers all aspects of life; it has its own personal, moral, civil, ethical, societal, and criminal law.

All these laws come from God through revelations that are sent through His angel, Gabriel to the Prophet, Muhammad. The laws have been transmitted over time to the people of Islam in the two forms: the direct word from Allah, namely the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet, the sunnah. The primary source of Islamic law which is the foundation of every Muslim's faith and practice is the Quran. The Quran deals with all subjects that concern humankind, mainly the relationship between God and humankind and how this relationship relates to the guidelines that are required to be followed by all Muslims. Within the Quran are not only instructions of how an individual must conduct his or herself but there are also principles relating to all aspects of social and cultural life of the Muslim community. The second source of Islamic law which is just as important is the Sunnah.

This term represents Muhammad's actually carrying-out of the principles set forth in the Quran. This source can be looked at as "the Quaran in Action". Where the Quran is general, the Sunnah is particular and detailed. The Quran is at times vague, the Sunnah makes its principles clear and unambiguous. The Sunnah explains what is meant by the Quran and provides conceptual ways to incorporate the principles of the Quran. The next two sources of Islamic law are dependent upon the aforementioned sources, the Quran and the Sunnah.

They gain their authority from the Quran and Sunna. First is the idea of consensus. A consensus is an agreement among a group of people about a specific subject, namely, in this context, the agreement of Muslims about the doctrine and belief of Allah and his teachings. When faced with novel or peculiar situations for which there were no resolutions to be found in the Quaran or Sunnah, leaders of the Muslim community would try to come to some agreement about how to deal with the situations; consensus came to be the chief way of dealing with the issue. Finally, there is the notion of analogy in interpreting the law.

This also comes into play when there is no set resolution found in the Quran or Sunnah for a novel problem. Through analogical deduction based on the stipulations set forth in the two primary sources of Islamic law, the Quran and Sunnah, decisions can be made. Islam is a prime example of how a community should be run. Complete with laws and principles that apply to all aspects of social, personal, and cultural life, Islamic law does not leave much room for disobedience and misinterpretation.

Even in times of novel situations and absolute misunderstanding, the law incorporates great means of practicality in coming to terms with and solving these issues. Without the law, Islam would be helpless. The entire Muslim community relies on these guidelines set forth by Allah and brought to them by the Prophet Muhammad to give them courses of action to follow in their everyday living. Devoid of these guidelines, Islam would not be the prospering entity it is today.